The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Apr. 18 on its proposal to establish 18 shipping safety fairways and 1 fairway anchorage, 2 traffic separation scheme extensions, 1 precautionary area expansion, and 6 new precautionary areas with associated traffic lines on the Atlantic Coast, noting increased interest in offshore commercial development, including offshore renewable energy installations. The recommended fairways, schemes, and areas are based on recommendations included in the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study.
In conjunction with the proposal, the Coast Guard separately announced that it is seeking comments by Friday, Mar. 8 on its intention to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that will evaluate the potential environmental consequences of the proposed actions. In conjunction with the comment period, public meetings will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 31 (Westport, MA), Wednesday, Feb. 7 (Savannah, GA), Monday, Feb. 12 (Norfolk, VA), and Thursday, Feb. 15 (virtual).
