Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project Offshore New York

NMFS has received a request from Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted North America, Inc. (Ørsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2023-2028) incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore of New York in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-0487). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving (impact and vibratory), potential unexploded ordnance or munitions and explosives of concern (UXO/MEC) detonation, and vessel-based site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on this proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final rule, if issued. The proposed regulations would be effective November 20, 2023 - November 19, 2028.