Groups Sue To Stop Cape Wind Project

The Center supports the Cape Wind Project.

Several groups filed suit late last week against the proposed Cape Wind project saying that the proposed development may have violated several federal laws including the Endangered Species Act. The project, recently approved by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The groups include the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Cetacean Society International, The Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, Californians for Renewable Energy and Three Bays Preservation.

The Groups argue that

“required scientific studies were not done and that mandated protective measures were ignored in approving the controversial 130-turbine project slated for Nantucket Sound, a principal bird migration corridor off the Massachusetts coast.”

Issues raised by the suit include claimed refusals to adopt recommended protective measures for certain birds, such as shutting turbines down during peak migration periods; refusals to collect or submit acoustic, radar, infrared, or observational data on bird migration; and a failure to “prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement when new information came to light that a large aggregation of the highly imperiled North Atlantic Right Whale was present in the project area.”

This is a frivilous lawsuit and we hope it is dismissed quickly. The Cape Wind folk have been trying to get approval to build this offshore wind project for about 10 years. If their experience is any indication, not many other companies will be follow. Unnecessary delays kill projects. (Frank Maisano)