State Properties Committee OKs Deepwater cable easements

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Deepwater Wind's plan to build a demonstration wind farm in waters off Block Island cleared another hurdle on Tuesday when state officials approved agreements that will allow the underwater transmission cable from the wind farm to make landfall at Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett.

After a more than three-hour meeting, the State Properties Committee voted 2-to-0 in favor of easements that will be granted by the state Department of Environmental Management and the state Department of Transportation in return for $1.7 million in total compensation.

Under Deepwater's plan, which still requires permits from the state Coastal Resources Management Council and other agencies, the cable would run under Scarborough beach to a parking lot and then under state roads to a switchyard that would be built next to Route 1. The entire route of the transmission line would be on land owned by either the DOT or the DEM.

At Tuesday's meeting, Ron Renaud, chairman of the committee, and member Robert Griffith, who represents the state Department of Administration, voted for the easement agreements. Member Richard Woolley, representative of the Attorney General's office, abstained.

Before the vote, Woolley said that Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has concerns about the Deepwater project. Specifically in regard to the cable, Woolley said that Kilmartin believes the state should receive payment from Deepwater because it will be digging up state roads in an area that receives a lot of traffic.

The easement agreement with the DOT only covers property where Deepwater plans to build its switchyard. The portion of work being done on Route 108 and Burnside Avenue in Narragansett will be covered by utility permits in an administrative process.