The NewsRoom
Release: #3789
Date: March 4, 2008

MMS to Hold Public Hearings on Cape Wind
 Energy Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Yarmouth, Nantucket, Oaks Bluff and Boston Hearings Set

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is holding four public hearings in Massachusetts from March 10-13, 2008, to obtain public comment on the recently published Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cape Wind Energy Project.  The draft EIS is available for review online. 

The Cape Wind Energy Project would be comprised of 130 wind turbine generators that could generate a maximum electric output of 468 megawatts and an average output of 182.6 megawatts. The project is proposed to be located in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts.

The Draft EIS provides a description of the proposed action, including the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning phases. A detailed analysis of the impacts of the proposed action on specific resources is presented in the document. The Draft EIS considers all reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including a no action alternative. Seven alternatives are analyzed in detail in the Draft EIS: the proposed action at Horseshoe Shoal, no action, a smaller configuration at Horseshoe Shoal, phased development at Horseshoe Shoal, a condensed array at Horseshoe Shoal, or alternative sites at Monomoy Shoals and south of Tuckernuck Island. Following public comment, MMS will publish a Final EIS this Fall.

The DEIS is not an approval or disapproval for the project.  Rather it is an evaluation tool used in the decision making process.

Public hearings on the DEIS will be held at the following locations:

	Monday, March 10, 2008, at Mattacheese Middle School Auditorium in West Yarmouth,        Massachusetts at 6:00 p.m.
	Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at Nantucket High School Auditorium in Nantucket, Massachusetts at 5:00 p.m.
	Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Auditorium in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts at 5:00 p.m.
	Thursday, March 13, 2008, at Campus Center Ballroom, University of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts at 6:00 p.m.

On-site registration for those wishing to speak during the public hearings will begin one hour before each hearing starts.  MMS is also accepting written comments through March, 20.  Comments may be submitted using the online comment form under “projects open for comment.”  All comments, whether delivered in person at the hearings, via e-mail, or by regular mail, receive the same weight in MMS’s evaluation.

Comments may also be mailed to:

MMS Cape Wind Energy Project
TRC Environmental Corporation, Wannalancit Mills
650 Suffolk Street
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854

Under authority of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, MMS will regulate alternative energy projects and alternate use of facilities on the OCS.  Examples include, but are not limited to, wind energy, wave energy, ocean current energy, solar energy, and hydrogen production.  Alternate uses of existing facilities may include, but are not limited to, offshore aquaculture, research, education, recreation, and support for offshore operations and facilities.

Media Contact:
    Nicolette Nye       703-787-1011
 

MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior

Privacy | Disclaimers | Accessibility | Topic Index | FOIA