Offshore wind developer gets permit to map seafloor in state waters off SLO County coast

One offshore wind developer has been granted a permit to map the seafloor in state waters near Morro Bay.

On Friday, the California Coastal Commission voted 10-1 to approve a permit for Atlas Wind to take sediment samples and use sound surveys to learn more about the seafloor. The permit expires in two years.

The surveys will occur in an area northwest of the Morro Bay Harbor from about 0.25 miles offshore to the boundary between state and federal waters 3 nautical miles from shore, Wyer said. Atlas Wind will not conduct surveys inside or in front of the Morro Bay Harbor, she said.

The survey data will show Atlas Wind where it can place cables on the ocean floor to carry electricity to land, Coastal Commission senior environmental scientist Holly Wyer said.

Atlas Wind, owned by the international energy company Equinor , already started site surveys in its lease area in federal waters in April. Those surveys will inform where to anchor floating platforms for the wind turbines.

Atlas Wind is one of three corporations that hold leases to build floating wind turbines in the 376-square-mile Morro Bay Wind Energy Area about 20 miles away from Cambria and San Simeon. Golden State Wind launched site surveys of its lease area on July 1, while Even Keel Wind plans to start surveying its lease area next year. Golden State Wind and Even Keel Wind have not announced plans to survey state waters.

Members of REACT Alliance , a local citizens group that formed to oppose the offshore wind project, urged the commission to deny the permit.

“About five days ago, I woke up crying. I was thinking about the enormity of what is happening on our Earth, what is happening in the oceans,” REACT Alliance president Mandy Davis said at the meeting. “T his industry will absolutely destroy our coastal communities and the oceans around here.”

REACT Alliance members said the site surveys would disrupt local fisheries and harm marine life. One member, Andrea Lueker, showed photos of dead whales on the East Coast and blamed offshore wind development and the ships that service those projects for the whale deaths.

Wyer, however, said there is no scientific evidence available to prove that offshore wind development is killing whales.

Commissioner Katie Rice said reports of whale deaths are “distressing,” but evidence points to climate change as the cause — not offshore wind.

“That’s what this whole wind issue is all about,” Rice said — transitioning away from fossil fuels to combat climate change.

“This is an important step in moving forward in the state’s renewable energy goals,” Atlas Wind permitting director Patrick Tennant said at the meeting.

Atlas Wind to conduct sound surveys, take sediment samples

Atlas Wind hired the company Ocean Infinity to map the seafloor using three types of equipment: a multibeam echosounder, a side scan sonar and a sub-bottom profiler, Wyer said.

The equipment emits pulses of sound that create images of the seafloor.

The multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler emit between 200 kHz and 850 kHz of sound, which is outside of the hearing range of most sea life, according to the staff report.

Fish and sea turtles hear sounds between 2 and 4 kHz, while larger marine mammals can hear up to 160 kHz, the staff report said.

Only the sub-bottom profiler will emit sounds between 2 and 16 kHz, which can be heard by marine wildlife, the staff report said.

The sub-bottom profiler emits “short, intermittent pings of a relatively narrow beam of sound,” the staff report said.

The impact of the sound is reduced if the sea life is more than 5 meters away from the source, and the vessel is required to stay at least 100 meters away from marine mammals, the staff report said.

The equipment is permitted by the California State Lands Commission Low-Energy Offshore Geophysical Survey Permit Program , and it is routinely used by federal agencies and academic and research institutions. For example, the Monterey Submarine Canyon was mapped with the same equipment, Wyer said.

Atlas Wind applied to use two vessels to conduct the site surveys.

The nearshore vessel is the 30-foot RV Taku, which will operate in waters less than 130 meters deep, Tennant said. Meanwhile, a 360-foot vessel will operate in deeper waters.

The larger vessel will deploy autonomous underwater vehicles that carry survey equipment to the seafloor.

The RV Taku will have one, smaller autonomous underwater vehicle to deploy survey equipment. The RV Taku will also tow some survey equipment behind the vessel or mount it to the hull, the staff report said.

The acoustic surveys will produce maps that help Atlas Wind know which areas to avoid for construction — such as cultural or archaeological resources, rocky reefs, seamounts and other sensitive habitats.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians will review the survey data real-time to monitor for cultural resources, Wyer said.

Atlas Wind will take about 25 days to conduct the acoustic surveys, she said.

From there, Atlas Wind will partner with the Chumash tribe to decide where to take sediment samples from the ocean floor.

Coastal Commission requires marine wildlife monitoring, oil spill contingency plan

The permit requires a list of mitigation measures to limit impacts on the environment, fisheries and cultural resources.

Atlas Wind must develop a Marine Wildlife Monitoring and Mitigation Plan and an oil spill contingency plan, Wyer said.

Vessel speeds must not exceed 10 knots, and the vessels must stay 500 meters away from large marine mammals like whales and 100 meters away from smaller creatures like sea turtles.

Atlas Wind must employ at least two licensed and trained protected species observers to watch for marine life. The observers will halt the vessel and survey activities as needed if they spot a protected species.

The permit requires Atlas Wind to examine the project area for fishing gear before starting each survey. If the surveys damage any gear, the company must retrieve it. A fisheries liaison must also keep fishermen informed about when and where the surveys are occurring.

Finally, if the surveyors find cultural resources, they must stop survey activities within a 150-foot diameter of the item and notify the appropriate Native American tribes immediately, the staff report said.