June 18, 2019 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has delayed for one month the release of its final assessment of Vineyard Wind’s offshore wind farm plan. But the bureau still intends to meet an August deadline to decide yea or nay on the proposal, an agency spokesman said.
The bureau was to issue the final environmental impact statement on June 7 before following with a final decision on the plan — called a record of decision — on Aug. 16, according to the agency’s timeline in March.
Now the bureau says that it will issue the final impact statement in early July. It still plans to meet the Aug. 16 decision date.
The one-month delay gives the bureau more time to review and analyze public comments on the draft version of the report, Vineyard Wind spokesman Scott Farmelant said.
“That date works for the project’s schedule,” he said of Aug. 16 timetable.
Both the federal bureau and Vineyard Wind have tight schedules for the proposed 84-turbine offshore wind project, to be built 15 miles south of the Islands. The project could potentially be the first industrial-sized offshore wind farm in the country.