Issue
Before establishing areas for offshore wind farms, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requests information, nominations, and comments from industry and the public. In South Carolina, the official notice in the Federal Register provided a textual description and static map of the area, but the project required an interactive map that incorporated data about the site, including location of proposed boundaries and information about the various conditions and resources surrounding the proposed area.
Process
The MarineCadastre.gov project team worked with the South Carolina Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force to develop a web-based, interactive map. Users can turn data layers on and off, zoom in to a specific area of interest, and add additional data layers from other sources, such as South Carolina state data. Authoritative and regularly updated information available from the map includes the proposed boundaries, coastal energy facilities, vessel density maps, and federal georegulations. People are using this map to visualize the proposed boundaries and see how this fits into the larger ocean planning picture.
Impact
Stakeholders are using the map to better understand potential impacts of offshore energy development in South Carolina and provide feedback to BOEM early in the planning process.
