HUMBOLDT BAY OFFSHORE WIND HEAVY LIFT MARINE TERMINAL PROJECT

Background and Overview

The Federal government has established goals of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy by the year 2030 and 110+ GW of offshore wind by 2050. The State of California has established goals of deploying 5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 25 GW of offshore wind energy by 2045. Per the studies linked below that have been published by the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Renewable Energy Lab, and the California Energy Commission, major port development throughout California will be required in order for the Federal/State goals to be realized. The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District (District) is developing the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Multipurpose Marine Terminal (“Project”) to support offshore wind energy development. For more detailed background information regarding offshore wind and the District’s proposed project, see the videos linked below.

Tribal Engagement

In June of 2023 (prior to the initiation of the project’s CEQA process), the Harbor District invited 10 Tribal governments to consult with the District regarding the project.  To date, seven Tribes have accepted that invitation.  The District is actively working with these Tribes to understand their concerns and evaluate project alternatives.  These communications with Tribes are occurring as a part of the AB 52 process and are therefore confidential.  Therefore, the District does not openly disclose the nature of our engagements with Tribes.  Any Tribal government representative that would like to learn more should contact Rob Holmlund using the information above under “Contact.”  

Project Specific Community Engagement Commitments and Strategies

The District is committed to open and meaningful community engagement processes throughout the project development process. The District has adpoted a “Community Engagement Commitments and Strategies Plan” which can be found by clicking here. 
 
The Community Engagement Strategy: outlines the purposes of the Project; identifies the District’s objectives related to community engagement; determines the internal criteria that the District will utilize to evaluate impacts, equity, and engagement throughout the life of the project; lists anticipated categories and examples of interests groups, interested parties, and affected communities; identifies planned communication strategies; and outlines plans to establish several community-based advisory committees. 

Grants

The Harbor District has received funds from the following grant programs for this project. Copies of the latest grant applications can be accessed by clicking on the grant: 
The INFRA grant (>$426M) will be used to finalize project design and to fund project construction, including access roads, onsite utilities, a 40-acre upland staging site, a 1,200 linear foot wharf, and a several acre berth. 

The INFRA grant also includes:
  • $51,000,000 for environmental restoration;
  • $1,100,000 for a  paved multipurpose trail;
  • $2,300,00 for an eco-shoreline transition from the bay to the upland site;
  • $10,000,000 for a large on-site solar array to provide renewable energy to the project operations;
  • $1,200,000 for public recreation access (fishing pier, kayak launch, or other);
  • $3,000,000 for a dredge material dewatering area; and
  • $6,000,000 for a Community Benefit Program intended to benefit local Tribes, fishermen, and nearby residents.

Videos and Presentations

The Harbor District is committed to sharing project-specific information with local residents, stakeholders, interested parties, and affected communities. Providing pre-recorded video presentations is one of the many ways the District is sharing information. The number of videos released will grow over time, with some videos linked below and some planned videos to come.

Draft Project Descriptions, Designs, Project-specific Studies, CEQA Documentation, etc.

Draft project documents will be provided as they become available. Note that these do not represent final products and are works in progress:
The District will be preparing a CEQA EIR, a NEPA EIS, and several permits throughout 2024 and 2025. More information will be posted here as it becomes available.

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  • 1-Primary documents of interest (these are the documents that provide the most immediate information regarding the project):
  • 2-CEQA related:
    • CEQA - Project Description
    • CEQA Notice of Preparation (NOP) for Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Multipurpose Marine Terminal Project
    • CEQA Notice of Preparation Project Description
    • Notice of Extended Comment Period for the Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Multipurpose Marine Terminal Project (SCH No. 2023060752)
  • 3-Environmental and Special Studies
    • Environmental Assessment - Assessment
    • Marine Biology - Marine Resources Assessment
    • Marine Biology - Pile Driving Sound Assessment
    • Upland Biology - Birds and Bats
    • Upland Biology - Botanical Survey Results
    • Upland Biology - Env Sensitive Habitat Areas
    • Upland Biology - Habitat Mitigation
    • Upland Biology - Shorebird Survey
    • Upland Biology - Terrestrial Biology Report
    • Upland Biology - Wildlife and Habitat
    • Wetlands - Federal Wetland Delineation
    • Wetlands - Initial Wetland Delineation
    • Wetlands - State Wetland Delineation
  • 4-Preliminary Engineering Design
    • Basis of Design - Preliminary BOD
    • Civil - Conceptual Design
    • Civil - Infiltration Testing Results
    • Civil - Offsite Drainage
    • Civil - Onsite Drainage
    • Civil - Stormwater Treatment
    • Civil - Utilities Assessment
    • Drawings - 15 Percent Drawings
    • Marine Design - Wharf Layout
  • 5-Engineering Studies 
    • Bay Navigation - Navigation Assessment
    • Construction - Construction Scenario and Cost Estimate
    • Construction - Dense Aggregate Sourcing
    • Construction - Work Force
    • Dredging - Dredge Sampling Considerations
    • Electrical - Electrical and Green Port Conceptual Engineering Assessment
    • Electrical - Electrical and Green Port Design
    • Electrical - Electrical Loads
    • Geotechnical - 15 Percent Design Geotech
    • Geotechnical - Data Report
    • Geotechnical - Marine Geotech Field Program
    • Geotechnical - Presentation
    • Geotechnical - Seismic Study
    • Geotechnical - Upland Geotech Results
    • Geotechnical - Wharfs
    • Hydrology - Coastal Hazards Analysis
    • Hydrology - Flood Analysis
    • Hydrology - Hydrodynamics and Sedimentation
    • Marine Design - Anchoring Restrictions
    • Marine Design - Shore Protection
    • Marine Design - Wet Storage
    • Operations - Terminal Operations 
    • Surveying - Survey Results and Title Constraints
    • Upland Transportation - Access Roads
    • Upland Transportation - Operational Analysis
  • 6-Preliminary Concept Maps 
    • Preliminary overview of Humboldt Bay, including general project site, Federal Navigation Channel, Candidate Sites for Wet Storage, and Coastal Dependent Lands
    • 2021 Conceptual Master Plan for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind and Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project
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Public Meetings

The Harbor District will be periodically hosting public meetings regarding offshore wind. The District Board of Commissioners holds a regularly-scheduled public meeting at 6:00 PM on the second Thursday of each month. Occasionally, the Board also meets for additional special meetings at other times as announced. Regular and special Board meetings frequently include discussions regarding offshore wind. Members of the public and interested parties are welcome to attend open Board meetings. Agendas and information regarding Board meetings can be found here: https://humboldtbay.org/. Planned and past meetings are outlined below:
  • To date, the District has hosted dozens of community and stakeholder meetings, with more to come.
  • Planned/upcoming meetings:
    • Date pending: Community workshop regarding District’s offshore wind port project.
    • Date pending: Public Hearing on Draft EIR.
    • Date pending: Public Hearing on Final EIR.
    • Other public meetings are likely; dates/titles are to be determined and then published on this webpage.

Involvement of Interest Groups, Interested Parties, and Affected Communities

The Harbor District anticipates that this project will be of interest to many different categories of interested parties and affected communities. In addition to the general public meetings outlined above, the District has been and will continue to host meetings with interest groups, interested parties, and affected communities. These include, but are not limited to:
  • Tribal governments identified by the Native American Heritage Commission as the Tribes with whom the District should communicate regarding this project, as well as other Tribal governments in the general region that request to be informed and provide input on the project.
  • Individuals/businesses related to fishing/aquaculture and various fishing related groups/organizations.
  • Individuals and associations of residents that live near the project site.
  • Property owners that are neighbors to the project site.
  • Individuals/businesses that own properties, docks, wharfs, and/or shipping facilities adjacent to or within Humboldt Bay.
  • Individual business owners and business-advocacy organizations (such as Chambers of Commerce, Humboldt Builders Exchange, etc).
  • Labor unions, labor advocacy organizations, and labor/business-support NGOs (such as Operating Engineers, ILWU, etc).
  • Environmental, conservation, and recreational advocacy NGOs (such as Baykeeper, Surfrider, and EPIC).
  • Local/regional advocacy Non-Governmental-Organizations (NGOs), non-profits, and community organizations (such as the Peninsula Community Collaborative and CoreHub).
  • Other NGOs and non-profits.
  • Nearby jurisdictions and government entities (such as County of Humboldt, City of Eureka, and Special Districts).
  • Local, State, and Federal governmental agencies (regulatory/permitting agencies, utility providers, funding agencies, and other government agencies)
  • Local, State, and Federal elected officials
  • Educational organizations/institutions
  • Private citizens
  • Private development companies, offshore wind development companies, etc.
  • Other west coast ports
See the Community Engagement Strategy linked above for more information regarding this topic and for a list of meetings that have occurred to date.

Other Related Studies, Reports, and Sources of Information

The following is a list of studies, reports, and sources of information regarding the bigger picture. The following are good sources about offshore wind in general and are not specifically about the Harbor District's project: