“To prohibit commercial offshore wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1 in the Gulf of Maine, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section (1) prohibits, notwithstanding section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337), the issuance of any lease, license, permit, or other authorization for commercial offshore wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1 (defined as EEZ Nearshore Management Area 1 in 50 C.F.R. 697.18, a lobster fishery management area in the Gulf of Maine); and (2) directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study, due within 120 days of enactment, assessing the sufficiency of environmental review processes by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and other relevant agencies for Gulf of Maine offshore wind projects, including impacts on marine mammals, finfish, benthic resources, fisheries, essential fish habitat, and fisheries-dependent communities, as well as stakeholder consultation practices.