POWER September 2023 - 17

LEGAL & REGULATORY
Streamlined Permitting
Key to California's Floating
Offshore Wind Development
Lindsay Puckett
E
arlier this year the Biden administration hosted its inaugural
Floating Offshore Wind Shot Summit, showcasing the
efforts of federal departments to work with state, tribal,
industry, and other interests to develop 15 GW of floating offshore
wind in the U.S. by 2035. Recent efforts to implement
this goal include the Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management's (BOEM's) offshore wind energy auction
in December 2022 for five leases off California's central and
northern coast, with the potential to generate more than 4.6
GW of electricity.
The Pacific Outer Continental Shelf has deeper waters, requiring
floating platforms with wind turbines connected by
electrical cables and attached to the seafloor. In addition to
reducing the significant cost of this technology, success will
hinge on coordination among federal, state, and local agencies
to develop the necessary port and transmission infrastructure
to bring the wind energy to shore and regulatory
permitting process.
California's Assembly Bill 525, adopted in 2021, requires
the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a strategic
plan for offshore wind energy development in federal waters
off the California coast to meet its goal of 2 GW to 5 GW
of energy by 2030, and 25 GW by 2045. The strategic plan,
which is due to the California Natural Resources Agency and
state lawmakers this year, will be informed by a permitting
roadmap for wind energy facilities, and associated electricity
and transmission infrastructure.
An offshore wind project could require more than 20 permits
or approvals from federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
The CEC released a draft permitting roadmap for public comment
in December 2022, followed by a staff report in April
2023 recommending state agencies coordinate their permitting.
The CEC envisions an interagency agreement to determine
roles, timeframes, and implementation, and a single
permit application checklist. The public, tribes, and stakeholders
will have opportunities to provide input, and the roadmap
may evolve over time.
Federal and State Environmental Review and
Permitting
After BOEM enters a lease for offshore wind development, individual
lessees proceed with site assessment activities and
surveys to determine baseline environmental conditions, and
submit a site assessment plan within one year from lease issuance.
No further environmental review under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or consistency determination
from the California Coastal Commission under federal law is
needed for site assessment activities previously considered by
BOEM as part of the lease sale, unless there is significant new
information or changes to the activities.
A lessee submits a construction and operations plan to
September 2023 | POWER
BOEM within six months prior to completion of site assessment.
BOEM will analyze the project's potential environmental
impacts and any necessary mitigation measures under NEPA,
and consult with other federal agencies. A project may also
need approvals from other federal agencies such as the Army
Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
State and local agencies should receive sufficient information
from BOEM and lessees during site assessment to begin
environmental review under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). A lessee's application for a lease from
the State Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over tidelands,
submerged lands, or public trust lands, will likely trigger
the most extensive review for the state. The State Lands
Commission will likely be the lead agency under CEQA and
may agree to conduct joint NEPA review. Another approach to
CEQA could be a programmatic Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) used to streamline later review for individual projects.
Lessees will submit their applications for permits from state
responsible agencies while the draft EIR is being finalized after
public review under CEQA. This could include the Department
of Fish and Wildlife, the Coastal Commission, and the Regional
Water Quality Control Board. The responsible agencies will consider
the CEQA document once it is certified by the lead agency.
The Coastal Commission plans to consider applications for
a coastal development permit simultaneous with its hearing
on whether the construction and operations plan is consistent
with the state's coastal management program as required for
federal activities. Therefore, it is essential for California and
BOEM to coordinate environmental review. Tribal consultation
requirements could also be coordinated and occur at a programmatic
level including multiple lessees and projects.
Continually Evolving Regulatory Process
The CEC's draft permitting roadmap does not focus on upgrades
needed at ports and waterfront facilities or electric transmission
lines beyond their first onshore points of interconnection,
which will be addressed in the strategic plan. It is also silent on
the potential for a project's submarine cables to cross one or
more of the national marine sanctuaries spanning the California
coast, which generally prohibit cable installation except for limited
activities allowed with a permit or other authorization from
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is only a snapshot of evolving federal and state regulatory
processes for offshore wind development that will need
to be continually monitored. Given BOEM's approximately
10-year lease, assessment, and permitting timeline, coordination
among regulatory agencies will be crucial to minimizing
project delay. ■
-Lindsay Puckett is Of Counsel with Stoel Rives LLP.
Note: The CEC's final permitting roadmap
had not been released as of this writing.
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POWER September 2023

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