next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects [Paul's note: of potential local relevance given NSPC application] ----- Nantucket Sound Wind Farm Raises Controversy HYANNIS, Massachusetts, July 10, 2002 (ENS) - A coalition of environmental and animal welfare organizations is seeking to block a proposed wind tower in Nantucket Sound. The groups called today for state and federal officials to withhold permits for the test tower - the first step in building a proposed 28 square mile wind farm in the Sound - until environmental and wildlife impact studies have been completed. Proponents of the wind farm say the project is abiding by a rigorous impact review of the project, but the coalition said that the process was not at all rigorous. In a statement released today, the coalition said that while it supports wind energy as an alternative energy source, the coalition members can not support the wind farm project without a thorough review of its potential impacts. International Wildlife Coalition executive director Daniel Morast said that what little is known about potential environmental and wildlife impacts of such a project is not encouraging. "From the standpoint of the fishery and wildlife which migrate through Nantucket Sound, this project could have devastating impact," said Morast. "Wind generation may be benign as a general concept, but constructing an industrial complex with 170 towers that exceed the Statue of Liberty in height may not be a benign experience for the fish and wildlife that call that this area home." In a joint letter sent to appropriate state and federal officials, the coalition members said they have a number of specific concerns about possible impacts, and want the project developers to answer those and other concerns before a smaller test tower is permitted for installation in the Sound. "Cape Wind Associates wants to transform 28 square miles of Nantucket Sound into a commercial windmill farm and yet environmental concerns, including potential wildlife impacts, have been largely ignored to this point," said Fred O'Regan, president of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "Sound science should drive any decision to move forward with this project, including all testing phases." The coalition pointed out that the target area for the proposed wind farm is a common summering area for endangered turtles such as leatherbacks, loggerheads and green turtles. The area is frequented by gray and harbor seals, white-sided dolphins, harbor porpoises, right whales, humpback whales and minke whales. The wind farm would be constructed in an area designated as essential for fish habitats under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA) because a number of species, including squid, flounder, sea bass, flounder, stripe bass and blue fish, spawn in the area. More than 500,000 birds are found during migration in the Nantucket Shoals area because it is in the middle of the Atlantic flyway, a major East Coast migratory pathway for birds that could be harmed by the operation of the 170 turbine propellers. "Studies of other wind farms internationally have raised concerns about adverse impacts on wildlife that were discovered only after the construction," said Sharon Young, marine issues director for the Humane Society of the United States. "Environmental groups want to see a proactive study rather than retrospective regret." -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- SUST-MAR TIP: our archives are http://www.chebucto.ca/lists/sust-mar CBC enviro news-briefs follow: -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- HEAVY METAL FOUND IN LITTLE SACKVILLE RIVER Preliminary results of water testing show aluminum has leaked or been dumped into the Little Sackville River. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_killresult020718 RESIDENTS HOPE TO BLOCK SUB-SEA PIPELINE PLANS The ink is barely dry on a proposed $2-billion pipeline and there are already signs that some fishermen and Shelburne Country residents don't want the project to get off the drawing board. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=nselpaso190702 TRUCKERS DON'T LIKE NEW JOB FOR RCMP Nova Scotia Truckers and the New Democrats are calling on the Hamm government to stop the transfer of truck safety enforcement to the RCMP. They say the police will not be able to do the job properly. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_trucksafe020718 © Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects