Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
With the energy focus turning to offshore projects and some concern from environmentalist, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) reiterated its commitment to make every effort to protect ocean creatures.
"BOEM is deeply committed to ensuring responsible offshore wind energy development and to protecting marine species, like the North Atlantic right whale,” BOEM director Amanda Lefton was quoted as saying in a recent news release. “Continued collaboration with our federal and non-federal partners is essential to our success in both endeavors.”
The BOEM and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are developing "a science and management strategy" to help these animals as the Department of the Interior pursues development of offshore wind energy, frontiersin.org reported.
“These partnerships embody the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to confronting the climate crisis and sustaining our oceans for future generations,” Lefton said.
To ensure that offshore wind power projects do little harm to ocean species, legislators on Wednesday introduced a bill to underscore the goal. U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) have introduced the “Right Whale Coexistence Act,” formerly known as the SAVE Right Whales Act. If the act becomes law, it would create a $15 million grant program, distributed annually between 2022 and 2032 for funding to develop, test and implement technologies that could reduce the whales' risk of injury from entanglement or vessel strikes, nrdc.org says.
BOEM and NOAA also have pledged to implement the NOAA Fisheries’ Federal Survey Mitigation Program, working with regional partners to create an implementation strategy over the next year. That strategy will include description of commitments from offshore wind developers and the federal government and a timeline for initial actions, a BOEM release reports.
