Empire Wind (EW 1 and EW 2) Pre-Construction Benthic Monitoring Surveys, 2023-2024

INSPIRE Environmental (INSPIRE) conducted pre-construction benthic surveys at the Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire) planned offshore wind farms Empire Wind 1 (EW 1) and Empire Wind 2 (EW 2), located in the designated BOEM renewable energy lease area OCS-A 0512 (Lease Area), and along the planned EW 1 export cable route in New York state and federal waters. This data package provides the data collected during benthic surveys in 2023 and 2024 to assess baseline conditions as well as to document the distribution and abundance of Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus), in accordance with the Empire Wind Fisheries and Benthic Monitoring Plan (INSPIRE 2023).INSPIRE prepared the data associated with benthic conditions for sharing through the RWSC seafloor data repository (SPI, PV, sediment grabs). References and short descriptions from each survey are summarized below. A survey code is provided along with each reference, corresponding each benthic survey to the benthic data CSVs available for download.(EW_23B1) INSPIRE Environmental. 2024. Empire Wind Pre-Construction Benthic Monitoring Survey Report, New York State Waters. Prepared for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. February 2024. https://www.empirewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2023-Empire-Wind-Pre-Construction-Benthic-Monitoring-Survey-Report-New-York-State-Waters_R.pdfINSPIRE Environmental conducted a benthic survey from 30 August to 1 September 2023 along the New York (NY) state waters portion of the planned EW 1 export cable route. The objective of this survey was to characterize seafloor conditions, including the collection of geophysical, biological, and chemical parameters, prior to the installation of the EW 1 export cable. The survey design and sampling approach was developed from discussions with local and state agencies through the New York Article VII permitting process. Following EW 1 cable installation, the baseline data obtained during this 2023 survey will be compared to post-construction benthic survey results to assess any effects resulting from installation activities and operation of the EW 1 export cable.(EW_24B1) INSPIRE Environmental. 2025. Empire Wind 2024 Pre-Construction Benthic Monitoring Survey Report – Federal Waters. Prepared for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. April 2025.: https://www.empirewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EW_24B1_Pre-Con-Benthic-Monitoring-Report_R1_R.pdfINSPIRE Environmental conducted a pre-construction benthic survey from 10 to 22 August 2024 at the planned offshore wind farm EW 1 and along the planned EW 1 export cable route in federal waters. These 2024 benthic data provide a description of baseline conditions that will be compared with post-construction results following the development of the project. The survey design was a Before-After-Gradient (BAG) design, consisting of selected wind turbine generator and offshore substation foundation locations and a BAG design along the EW 1 export cable route stratified by two pre-determined benthic habitat characterizations. Stations were positioned with increasing distance from the location of the planned infrastructure (either a foundation location or the export cable centerline).(EW_23F1) INSPIRE Environmental. 2024. Empire Wind Scallop Monitoring Survey 2023 Annual Report. Prepared for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. January 2024.: https://www.empirewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2023-Annual-Report-Empire-Wind-Scallop-Monitoring-Survey_R.pdfThe 2023 sea scallop monitoring survey was conducted from 17 to 21 June 2023 in the Empire Wind Lease Area, which includes the EW 1 and EW 2 offshore wind farm areas, and a Reference Area. The first year of pre-construction scallop monitoring (June 2023) was conducted to satisfy the following goals of providing: site-specific information about Atlantic sea scallop baseline densities in the Empire Wind Lease Area; baseline data to be used to examine potential shifts in scallop distributions in the Empire Wind Lease Area that may be associated with wind farm construction and/or operation; and baseline data to be used to examine potential changes in scallop densities in the Empire Wind Lease Area during either the construction or post-construction time periods.(EW_24F3) INSPIRE Environmental. 2025. Empire Wind Scallop Monitoring Survey 2024 Annual Report. Prepared for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. April 2025.: https://www.empirewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Empire_24F3_Scallop-PV_AnnualDataReport_R1_R.pdfThe 2024 sea scallop monitoring survey was conducted from 14 to 22 August 2024 in the Empire Wind Lease Area, which includes the EW 1 and EW 2 offshore wind farm areas, and a Reference Area. The second year of pre-construction scallop monitoring (June 2024) was conducted to satisfy the following goals of providing: site-specific information about Atlantic sea scallop baseline densities in the Empire Wind Lease Area; baseline data to examine potential shifts in scallop distributions in the Lease Area that may be associated with offshore wind construction and/or operation; and baseline data to be used to examine potential changes in scallop densities in the Lease Area during either the construction or post-construction time periods.------References:INSPIRE Environmental. 2023. Empire Wind Fisheries and Benthic Monitoring Plan. Prepared for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. May 2023. https://www.empirewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Empire-Wind-Fisheries-and-Benthic-Monitoring-Plan_Rev2.pdf