Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Atlantic Shores South Project Offshore of New Jersey

Resumen

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, the National Marine Fisheries Service (hereafter, "NMFS") promulgates regulations to govern the incidental taking of marine mammals by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project 1, LLC, the project company of the original applicant, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC, a joint venture between EDF-RE Offshore Development LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of EDF Renewables, Inc.) and Shell New Energies US LLC, during the construction of the Atlantic Shores South Project (hereafter, "Atlantic Shores South" or the "Project"), an offshore wind energy project located in Federal and State waters offshore of New Jersey, specifically within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (hereafter, "BOEM") Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (hereafter, "OCS") Lease Areas OCS-A-0499 and OCS- A-0570 (hereafter, "Lease Areas") and along export cable routes to sea-to-shore transition points. The Project will be divided into 2 projects in 2 areas: Project 1 and Project 2 (the combined hereafter referred to as the "Project Area"), over the course of 5