The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) protect marine mammals in United States waters. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) also regulate human activities around marine mammals and endangered species. During the OSW development process, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) oversees multi-year, multi-step regulatory processes mandated under NEPA, the MMPA, and the ESA. Some number of “incidental takes” of marine mammals may be permitted during the offshore wind development process; take means that there is a disturbance of a marine mammal, however minor in scale. Offshore wind companies are not issued permits for take in which an animal is killed or injured beyond the point of recovery. For more detailed information and scientific citations, please see the full FAQ document linked below.

A range of mitigation approaches are used by the offshore wind industry and/or other industries in various regions to help avoid and minimize potential effects to marine mammals from sound and vessel collisions. Mitigations generally fall into three categories: approaches to reduce the likelihood of marine mammal presence in an area when sound-generating activities occur, reduce the sound that is emitted into the environment, or mitigate risk of vessel strikes. The effectiveness of mitigation measures depends on many factors including species, specifications/implementation, and compliance. The mitigation plan for each offshore wind project is informed by the species within the area, the geographic and environmental features of the area (such as seabed sediment type, which can influence options for turbine foundations), and the cost of the mitigation measure and is defined by federal agencies (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NOAA Fisheries), with additional approval by the International Maritime Organization required for vessel-related mitigation. Increasing our environmental, biological, and technical knowledge can lead to better decision-making and implementation of various mitigation techniques. For more detailed information and scientific citations, please see the full FAQ document linked below.

The details of requirements for specific offshore wind projects varies based on permit requirements from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and can be found in various permitting documents including the Construction and Operations Plan Approval and the Record of Decision. In general, these requirements relate to reducing collision risk from vessels and impacts from sound during construction. To reduce vessel-related impacts, requirements generally include vessel speed restrictions (10 knots or less during certain periods of the year) and dedicated observers on vessels (when traveling above 10 knots). Generally, requirements related to reducing sound-related impacts during construction activities include temporal restrictions on pile-driving activities, mitigation measures during pile driving (e.g., Protected Species Observers and passive acoustic monitoring), ramp-up/soft start during sound-generating activities, and use of sound abatement systems (e.g., bubble curtains) during pile driving. Offshore wind mitigation and monitoring requirements are much more stringent than those for other maritime industries such as shipping. For more detailed information and scientific citations, please see the full FAQ document linked below.

Protected Species Observers (PSOs) are trained professionals who monitor marine animals that are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and/or Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This monitoring occurs in relation to anthropogenic activities and helps a wide range of entities comply with federal requirements. There is a certification process and standards for PSO training, and credentials of individuals are reviewed by NOAA Fisheries for specific projects to ensure they have appropriate training and/or experience to perform the necessary duties. PSOs collect data to inform implementation of marine mammal mitigation measures for a variety of activities associated with offshore wind energy development and to enhance the understanding of potential OSW impacts on marine mammals. Data include sightings of live, entangled, or dead marine mammals; marine mammal sightings to inform implementation of a mitigation measure (such as changing a vessel speed/trajectory or shutting down a sound-generating activity when animals are present in the vicinity); a record of PSO observation effort and methods; and offshore wind farm operations data (e.g., project name, location, details about active acoustic sources). The federal agencies who receive PSO data and reports from offshore wind projects include NOAA Fisheries, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). For more detailed information and scientific citations, please see the full FAQ document linked below.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for permitting offshore renewable energy development in federal waters under the Outer Continental Shelf Renewable Energy Program (authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005). Offshore wind project federal permitting and authorizations relating to marine mammals are under the purview of BOEM, NOAA Fisheries, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The permitting process includes separate approvals for site assessment activities, construction and operation activities, Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations, and incidental take authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). All of these approvals and/or consultations aim to assess the level of impact of project activities and identify required mitigation measures (including avoidance and minimization efforts). Incidental Take Authorizations (ITAs) granted by NOAA Fisheries under the MMPA and Incidental Take Statements granted under the ESA, are required for activities such as site assessment surveys and construction activities that could impact marine mammal species or stocks. Authorizations are only granted if the activities would: 1) MMPA: take “small numbers” of marine mammals and be likely to have no more than a “negligible impact” on the species or stock. In the authorization, the agency prescribes permissible methods of taking and other means (e.g., mitigation measures) of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, or 2) ESA: either not be likely to adversely affect the species or critical habitat, or if there are expected to be adverse effects, that the activity would not Jeopardize the species or critical habitat. For more detailed information and scientific citations, please see the full FAQ document linked below.