The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Coastal Management (DCM) hereby gives notice that public review and comment is invited on a proposed federal action.

The State’s review of a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Consistency Determination (CD) will determine whether issuing up to three commercial wind energy leases and approving site assessment activities (including the installation, operation and decommissioning of up to six meteorological buoys) within the WEA offshore North Carolina is consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the enforceable policies of North Carolina’s Coastal Management Program. The proposed action includes:

Lease issuance (including reasonably foreseeable consequences associated with shallow hazards, geological, geotechnical, archaeological resources, and biological surveys); and
Site Assessment Plan approval (including reasonably foreseeable consequences associated with the installation of meteorological buoys).

A more thorough description of the proposed federal actions may be examined in the Related Contents section below.

DCM is evaluating whether the proposed federal action is consistent with the enforceable policies of the State’s Coastal Area Management Act and rules of the NC Coastal Resources Commission. To assist in this evaluation, DCM is inviting the public to offer comments on the proposed federal action.

Please submit written comments by February 23, 2022 to Daniel Govoni, Federal Consistency Coordinator, 400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, NC 28557, or by email to DCMcomments@ncdenr.gov. Please put “Wilmington East WEA” in the subject line. All comments will be considered in developing the state’s consistency response. Notice of the decision regarding this matter will be provided upon request.