HYANNIS – NOAA Fisheries of New England and the Mid-Atlantic has opened a 30-day public comment period regarding proposed incidental take regulations related to US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Program.
The project would be located offshore within Maryland’s Wind Energy Area, and the regulations would govern the “take” of small amounts of marine mammals exposed to the noise created by the project’s activities over five years.
Take would be permitted by harassment only, with take by mortality, serious injury, or non-auditory injury prohibited within the proposed regulation.
NOAA has preliminarily determined that the take would have negligible impact on marine mammals and fish stocks and that the regulations would include mandatory mitigation measures for wind development.
NOAA officials also stated that disturbances to migrating North Atlantic Right Whales would be limited to short term behavioral disturbances, or “Level-B Harassment.”
The public commenting period will be open until February 3, 2024.
To view documents related to the proposed action, click here.
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