With some local fishery officials labeling the situation as “David vs. Goliath,” the Long Island Power Authority, in partnership with Florida Power and Light, issued responses to the United States Army Corps of Engineers regarding approximately 1,000 comments from those both for and against the proposed offshore wind park project.
With some local fishery officials labeling the situation as “David vs. Goliath,” the Long Island Power Authority, in partnership with Florida Power and Light, issued responses to the United States Army Corps of Engineers regarding approximately 1,000 comments from those both for and against the proposed offshore wind park project.
“We were really surprised at the number of negative comments,” said Richard Moore, one of the three chairpersons of the Save Jones Beach Ad Hoc Committee, which was created in July of this year to combat the project. Moore, along with some of his colleagues, had previously gone to the main headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers to view some of the comments people issued about the proposed wind farm. “Our main objective is to get some key questions answered,” Moore added.
As previously reported, the proposal would put 40 wind turbines off the South Shore of Long Island. The turbines would take up an area of eight square miles, and would be located approximately 4.1 miles south of Cedar Beach on Fire Island. A cable to transmit the …
“We were really surprised at the number of negative comments,” said Richard Moore, one of the three chairpersons of the Save Jones Beach Ad Hoc Committee, which was created in July of this year to combat the project. Moore, along with some of his colleagues, had previously gone to the main headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers to view some of the comments people issued about the proposed wind farm. “Our main objective is to get some key questions answered,” Moore added.
As previously reported, the proposal would put 40 wind turbines off the South Shore of Long Island. The turbines would take up an area of eight square miles, and would be located approximately 4.1 miles south of Cedar Beach on Fire Island. A cable to transmit the power to a converter substation, which is not yet built, will run through West Amityville, where the substation will be located. While LIPA would receive the energy, the company has contracted with FPL, which will build, own and maintain the turbines.
Critics, particularly local fisheries, have questioned the environmental impact of the project, with some stating that LIPA is pushing forward without considering the cost to local businesses.
“The reason people come out here is to fish,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director for the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, who previously stated that the wind farm would “displace” several fisherman from “prime fishing grounds.”
Brady provided a copy of a letter sent to the Army Corps of Engineers, in which she expressed her dismay over the project. “Half of all of New York’s landed loligo squid in 2001 ... is caught in the area that LIPA wishes to install offshore windmills,” she wrote. Brady also stated that “the majority of this New York-landed squid is caught by the trawl fleet .... Not only would windmills disrupt New York’s fishermen and their squid fishery, but also affect New Jersey and Rhode Island’s squid fishery.”
Moore said he feels the amount of power the wind turbines will provide is not significant enough to go forward with the project. “We’re very concerned about the possible impacts,” he said.
When winds are at an adequate rate, 44,000 homes would be able to be powered by the wind turbines, as previously reported, and 144 mega-watts of power from LIPA’s fuel purchases would be cut.
Questioning the safety of a cable in the ocean, as well, Brady claims that the communication between LIPA, FPL and local fisheries has been poor. “No one has made an attempt to contact us at any point over the last two years,” she said.
However, LIPA officials contend that they have been in touch with local fishing agencies. “There has been, at the very least, some outreach,” said Bert Cunningham, vice president of communications for LIPA. “We’ve sent them information and been in contact with them as far back as 2002.”
“We don’t agree that LIPA’s been working very closely with us,” Moore said. “We’ll be watching this project very closely.”
Others in the community have also expressed concerns. “I heard Richie Kessel [LIPA chairman] and his dog and pony show,” said Bob Doxy, owner of Doxy Clams, a local fishery. “It [the wind farm] is going to disrupt a lot of natural resources .... There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”
Due to a federal bill signed by President George W. Bush this past August, the project will soon come under the purview of US Department of the Interior’s Mineral Management Service, according to Cunningham.
“We don’t have a specific time frame,” said Michael Vissichelli, chief of the eastern permit section for the Army Corps of Engineers, referring to the date when the MMS will take over as the lead agency. In the meantime, Vissichelli said they will still be involved with the project, and are now reviewing LIPA’s and FPL’s responses. Their main job, according to Vissichelli, is to determine whether or not to issue a permit for the cable.
While Vissichelli confirmed that an environmental assessment will “have to be done as part of the decision,” Moore is concerned that an EA is not enough. “A full environmental impact study needs to be done before anything else,” Moore said, noting that he is hoping an Environmental Impact Statement, which he said is more extensive, is done.
“A detailed evaluation of all the individual items is just beginning to get underway,” Cunningham said. Noting that the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet issued a permit for the proposed cable, Cunningham responded to critics, including Moore and Brady, regarding the environmental safety of the project.
“There have been studies for other kinds of projects that seem to indicate that [the cable] is not going to have an impact on the marine life,” Cunningham said, referring to studies done on the cross-sound cable.
As for details behind the responses LIPA and FPL issued to the Army Corps of Engineers, Cunningham refused to comment, stating, “We’re not going to try to supersede their process.” Giving the project a timeline of 18 to 24 months, Cunningham stressed that the project is “in the early stages.”