By Peter Brennan
The Interior Department’s Inspector General said Wednesday that the Minerals Management Service did not violate environmental laws during its review of the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm. The Inspector General noted, however, that concerns remain over the project’s potential impact on air travel.
The Inspector General’s office said it was acting in response to “multiple complaints” filed in the fall of 2008 over the Cape Wind Environmental Impact Statement, which MMS submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency on January 16, 2009.
The proposed 130-turbine wind farm has been in the permitting process for over eight years. It was dealt another setback early this month when the National Park Service declared the proposed site — Nantucket Sound — eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said this month that he will step in to bring the permitting process to a conclusion in April.
The Interior Department watchdog office reported that local airport officials have outstanding concerns over the impact of the wind farm on local air travel, including the use of radar.
“Several transportation entities located in the Cape Wind Project area, including all three local airports and the two major ferry operators, feel their concerns and comments about the impact of the project to the navigational safety of the area were not adequately considered by MMS,” the report said.
The MMS has said that it does not have expertise on aviation issues and must rely on the FAA. On February 13, 2009, the FAA issued a “Presumed Hazard Determination” due to the potential for “physical or electromagnetic interference with an air navigational system,” according to the Inspector General’s report.
“If the FAA determines that the interference can be mitigated, the FAA would then conduct negotiations with the developer of the project in an attempt to agree on appropriate mitigation measures,” the Inspector General’s report said.
If that occurs and the FAA agrees with Cape Wind on mitigation measures, the agency will issue a “Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation.” If the FAA and Cape Wind cannot agree on mitigation measure the agency will issue a “Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation.”
5. February 2010 at 9:13 am
This is a very balanced article as, unlike others, it addresses public safety concerns expressed in the OIG Report. I’m impressed that the author, Peter Brennan, has the facts straight on FAA hazard determinations.
The most important public policy consideration is public safety.
There should be no compromise that places Nantucket Sound navigators and air travelers in harms way. Full weight of opinion should be given to those most familiar with Nantucket Sound’s present limitations and the Cape Wind Project proposal.
Thank You,
Barbara Durkin
5. February 2010 at 10:46 am
For thosse interested in more details regarding Cape Wind’s threat to public safety, you may review the related testimony and reports, here:
http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2009/09/19/3290406-cape-wind-a-public-safety-hazard-proposed-for-nantucket-sound-
7. February 2010 at 12:06 am
I am the Peter Kenney identified on page 2 of the I.G.’S report on CAPE WIND. My contact with the DOI IG’s office is what began this whole sleigh ride. The national press have never read all of the reports on Cape Wind, have not analyzed its economic impacts, have not researched its various deceptions about such things as turbine availability and true costs, as I have for the past nine years, and have generally supported this project simply because it sounds good. It does sound good….in fact it sounds too god to be true. This is largely because it is to good to be true. When will we see in print a complete cost analysis? A complete description of the equipment to be used? A complete description of the many and serious problems reported in the Inspector General’s report. When?