fyi

From: "Walter Regan" <wregan@accesscable.net>
To: <sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca>
References: <3D2C264C.2CF37992@fox.nstn.ca>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 12:50:44 -0400
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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[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."



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SUST-MAR TIP:  our archives are http://www.chebucto.ca/lists/sust-mar

CBC enviro news-briefs follow:
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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

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