Former RI Attorney General James E. O’Neil, Esq. Letters to Rhode Island Coastal Resources – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Deepwater Wind
Rhode Island Coastal Resources February 1, 2013
Management Council
Re: Objection to Deepwater Wind Requested Waiver of Application Fee
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please be advised that I respectfully request that my objection to request for waiver of application fee be recorded and be a matter of record in this matter. In addition to objecting to Deepwater’s requested waiver, I am also requesting that a public hearing be scheduled in order that the public be afforded the opportunity to be heard and to witness the process as CRMC considers Deepwater’s request.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers February 1, 2013
Re: Deepwater Wind
File Number NAE-2009-789
Dear Mr. Elliot,
I am respectfully requesting that the Corps comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and applicable Federal regulations by compiling an objective, independent environmental impact statement relating to the Deepwater application. Deepwater’s proposed project will consist of five wind turbines, measuring approximately 660 feet in height, covering 117 acres of ocean located three and a half miles, south, southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island. Dredging which will be essential to the project as well as the obstruction of navigation will be significant. The recent concern regarding the decrease in Winter Flounder and the impact the Deepwater project will have on that precious population is clearly an issue. Some have argued that the turbine structures will create a reef which will attract a greater population of fish. If in fact such premise has a ring of truth, one must then wonder how can the hard working members of our fishing fleet harvest fish in waters being “beaten” by turbines. This is not simply a public works project; this is a project by a private developer who stands to earn millions.
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