Corps Hearings Begin Monday on Nantucket Sound Wind Farm

By IAN FEIN

Vineyard residents who want to weigh in on the controversial wind
farm proposed for Nantucket Sound will have their best chance when the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its entourage arrive on-Island Monday
for the first of four regional public hearings.

The Vineyard hearing will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. in the
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center.
Registration for those who want to speak begins at 5 p.m.

Supporters and opponents of the proposal - which aims to build
130 turbines over 24 square miles of Horseshoe Shoal - have spent
the last few weeks rallying turnout for the event, which is expected to
attract media coverage from across the region and possibly even abroad.

"It's an important moment for public
participation," said Mark Rodgers, communications director for the
developer, Cape Wind Associates. "It's an opportunity for
the folks on the Island, regardless of what their take on the project
is, to be able to speak out and offer their thoughts and suggestions to
the regulatory agencies," he added.

"We're putting the action alert out," said Susan
Nickerson, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket
Sound, a Cape-based nonprofit that formed in response to the wind farm
proposal. "It's time for people that are worried about this
project to make their concerns heard. The Army Corps has really just one
opportunity for public comment, and that time is now."

The Army Corps will accept written comments through Feb. 24, but
Monday's forum offers an opportunity for Island residents to voice
their opinions before some of the project's biggest players. Cape
Wind president James Gordon is expected to attend, as well as Army Corps
district commander Col. Thomas Konig, who will make the final permitting
decision. Because the proposed location is in federal waters more than
three miles offshore, the Army Corps is the lead regulatory authority
for the project.

"If you want to say something right to their face,
here's your opportunity," Army Corps spokesman Tim Dugan
said this week. "You can talk to some of the key people before or
after the hearing - the people who are making the
decisions."

If approved, the $700 million project would be the nation's
first offshore wind farm. The closest turbine to the Island would be
about five and a half miles northeast of Cape Pogue and nine miles from
Edgartown. Cape Wind estimates the wind farm would produce an average
annual output of about 170 megawatts, enough electricity to power
roughly three-quarters of the Cape and Islands.

Debate intensified following the long-awaited release of the Army
Corps' draft environmental impact statement on Nov. 9. After
nearly three years of review, the draft found that the project would
have air quality and economic benefits and little or no long-term
negative environmental effects aside from marring some scenic views.

The draft's release triggered the upcoming hearings and public
review period, when people are encouraged to point out things that the
Army Corps may have overlooked in its draft statement. After the comment
period closes on Feb. 24, the Army Corps and its 16 cooperating agencies
will conduct any further review they deem necessary and then prepare a
final impact statement. The final statement will be followed by a 30-day
review period before the Army Corps can decide whether to issue a
permit, though additional public hearings are not required.

"We're still in the middle of the process, and this is
not necessarily the last chance, but it's a good opportunity to
weigh in on any significant concern," Mr. Dugan said. "You
don't want to wait until the last day to say, ‘Hey, you
forgot about this.'"

Mr. Dugan said written and oral comments will be incorporated
equally into the Army Corps' formal record, but he noted that
people often prefer to make their comments at the public hearing and to
listen to what other people have to say.

He stressed that Monday's hearing will not be an opportunity
for debate or discussion. Speakers will be held to a two-to-five minute
time limit, depending on how many people register, and questions will be
entered into the record, but not answered at the hearing.

"It's basically a one-way hearing; we just take
testimony," Mr. Dugan explained. "It's not a two-way
street with questions back and forth. The panel is not there to answer
questions."

Moderated by Army Corps chief of public affairs Larry Rosenberg, the
hearing will begin with a quick overview of the proposed project, as
well as explanations of the Army Corps and state jurisdictions, before
the floor is opened to public comment.

According to Army Corps protocol, oral testimony will be heard in a
specific order: beginning with members of Congress, followed by the
state governor, other elected state officials, local elected officials,
and then representatives of federal, state and local agencies before the
general public.

Members of the general public will speak in the order in which they
register. If time runs out before all of those registered have a chance
to speak, the Army Corps will provide another opportunity for them to
make oral testimony.

The Army Corps encourages people to speak at only one event, freeing
up the floor for local residents. Mr. Dugan said he does not expect
Monday's hearing to be as crowded as the one on the Cape the
following day. Others think the Vineyard forum may attract a lot of
attention because it is the first public hearing.

"It's hard to gauge turnout," Ms. Nickerson said.
"This is the most significant chance people will have to speak
out, so we're hoping they pick up on the urgency. But it's
hard to predict what the outcome will be."

The Army Corps will hold additional public hearings Tuesday in West
Yarmouth and Wednesday on Nantucket. The fourth and final hearing will
be held in Cambridge the following week.

Written comments may be e-mailed to wind.energy@usace.army.mil or
mailed to Cape Wind Energy Project EIS manager Karen K. Adams, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division, 696
Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751.