A bipartisan group of senators are calling on US federal government to finalise the supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) and mitigate delay to the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in US waters.
Massachusetts senators Edward Markey (Democrat) and Elizabeth Warren (Democrat), Louisiana senators Bill Cassidy (Republican) and John Kennedy (Republican), along with representatives Richard Neal, William Keating and Joseph Kennedy (Massachusetts), as well as Steve Scalise (Louisiana), have sent a letter to the Department of Interior and the Department of Commerce.
The letter is in response to the decision by Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – the designated lead agency on offshore wind – will need to implement a supplemental EIS, before issuing a final EIS, which could significantly delay the 800MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind project, off the coast of Massachusetts.
The lawmakers are calling on federal agencies to judiciously evaluate impacts to the New England commercial fishing industry, finalise the supplemental EIS promptly, and mitigate any additional delay that may threaten the project.
In the letter the senators and representatives wrote: “We believe it is possible for multiple industries to coexist in mixed use regions offshore.
“We urge your departments to work together to find a solution that will address concerns raised by stakeholders, protects the environment, and allows the Vineyard Wind project to remain viable.”
In response to BOEM’s announcement earlier in the month that it would launch a supplemental EIS as part of efforts to study the cumulative effects of multiple offshore wind farms being developed off the US north-east coast, developer Vineyard Wind said: “While we appreciate that the discussion on cumulative impacts is driven by rapid growth of the industry beyond our project, we urge the federal government to complete the review of Vineyard Wind 1 as quickly as possible.”
Despite the delay, the developer said it remains “deeply committed” to the emerging industry’s success.