ACHP Executes MOA for MD Offshore Wind Project

On August 27, 2024 the ACHP executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Maryland Offshore Wind Project. This MOA represented the tenth Section 106 agreement developed for commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects approved under the Biden Administration. These ten projects represent the potential for more than 15 gigawatts of clean energy from offshore wind - equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve President Biden's goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

Biden-Harris Administration Marks Major Milestones for Offshore Wind, Approves Tenth Project | U.S. Department of the Interior (doi.gov)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the federal agency that permits these projects, was responsible for conducting the Section 106 process under the National Historic Preservation Act. The NHPA requires that federal agencies identify historic properties and assess the effects of the projects they carry out, fund, or permit on those properties. Federal agencies also are required to consult with parties that have an interest in the undertaking or its effects on historic properties.

The ACHP has participated in all of these consultations, which have included a diverse array of consulting parties, historic properties, and measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse effects. Avoidance and minimization measures have included the standardization of wind turbine siting, height, color, and illumination. Mitigation measures have involved documentation and interpretation, brick and mortar preservation and rehabilitation projects, and other property specific creative measures well as mitigation funds for consulting party identified initiatives. BOEM's ability to successfully execute these agreements represents the importance of the Section 106 process in balancing protection of historic properties with energy development.