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Mass Audubon comments on Cape Wind DEIS

Mass Audubon Urges Army Corps to Produce Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Cape Wind Project

February 24, 2005

Mass Audubon has submitted a 37-page comment letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers in response to the Cape Wind Energy Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Today is the deadline for public comment.

Download Mass Audubon's comments on Cape Wind DEIS*

The project applicant, Cape Wind Associates, plans to build 130 wind turbines in the Horseshoe Shoal area of Nantucket Sound. It is the first and largest offshore wind energy project proposed in the United States.

“This project review is the precedent and standard by which future offshore wind energy proposals will be measured in the United States,” said Laura Johnson, Mass Audubon’s president. “And we need to get it right.”

In its comment letter, Mass Audubon requests a supplemental impact statement believing there needs to be a better analysis of the data presented and more information on birds that use the sound. The conservation organization also recommends specific mitigation measures and conditions to offset any potential harmful environmental impacts.

“We will continue to examine the scientific data for Nantucket Sound especially regarding avian life,” said Jack Clarke director of advocacy at Mass Audubon. “Ultimately, when key data gaps are addressed, policymakers will be better positioned to weigh the benefits of this non-polluting renewable energy project against known detriments of increased fossil fuel burning and global climate change.”

You can find out more about Mass Audubon's position statement on wind energy at www.massaudubon.org/wind.

Download Comments:

• Mass Audubon's Comments on Cape Wind DEIS*
• Mass Audubon's Technical Comments on Cape Wind DEIS*

*Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader; click here for more information.