Shipping Safety Fairways Along the Atlantic Coast; Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Overseas Environmental Impact Statement

The American Clean Power Association, Oceantic Network, and RENEW Northeast, Inc. oppose the proposed shipping safety fairways because they believe the current plan unnecessarily restricts offshore wind development and removes significant clean energy generation capacity. They specifically argue that Alternative 2 is flawed because it conflicts with existing leases and fails to accurately assess the significant economic and social impacts on the offshore wind industry and local communities.

The New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association (NEFSA) opposes the current Draft PEIS/OEIS because it fails to adequately analyze the specific areas where commercial fishing, shipping, and offshore wind development overlap. They request a 90-day extension of the comment period, additional public meetings, and supplemental analyses that focus on port-specific impacts and the preservation of fishing access.

The Virginia Maritime Association, a trade association representing over 450 maritime-related businesses, supports the full build-out of the proposed Atlantic Coast shipping safety fairways. They specifically urge the Coast Guard to select Alternative 2, which includes east-west fairway extensions to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), to ensure safe navigation and deconfliction with offshore energy projects.

Portland Pilots, an organization representing maritime pilots, supports the establishment of shipping safety fairways and vessel routing measures along the Atlantic Coast. They argue that these measures are essential for proactive maritime safety, especially with increasing offshore development, and provide significant safety benefits that outweigh minor increases in sailing time.