Tag Archives: Governor Mills
Reagan Paul: Hope Floats, But Not for UMaine’s VolturnUS Floating Offshore Wind Platform
Last year, LD 1895 “An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind Resources” passed, which got the ball rolling on Maine’s push for offshore wind port. The port will be the culmination of a more than decade-long taxpayer-funded effort to develop a floating offshore wind research array project, with the goal of eventually turning the Gulf of Maine into an industrialized wind farm. The viability of this technology was to be tested through an array of 12 wind turbines using the patented VolturnUS concrete, semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine platform design created by Dr. Habib Dagher of the University of Maine, over the last decade. The Portland Press Herald conceded that this floating offshore wind research array project is too cost-prohibitive without an almost billion-dollar dedicated wind port facility off the coast of Maine, which means that a port must be constructed before the state can even move forward with the research array outlined in LD 1895. Enter Sears Island. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:46
Maine DOT seeks $456 million federal grant to help fund wind port on Sears Island
The Dirigo Atlantic Floating Offshore Wind Port Project. The Maine Department of Transportation said May 17 that it has applied for $456 million in grant funding from the federal government to help construct the East Coast’s first floating offshore wind port on a portion of state-owned Sears Island that is reserved for port development. “Maine has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help transform our economy, protect our environment, create good-paying jobs, and support the generation of clean, affordable, reliable energy for Maine and the region,” said Bruce Van Note, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, in a news release. “At the direction of Governor Mills, we will work collaboratively across the Administration to bring every federal dollar available to Maine to help us seize this opportunity for our people, our environment, and our future.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:33
Maine Fishermen, scientists find flaws in potential wind energy lease areas
BOEM officials called the meeting to review newly released draft maps of where federal leases could be offered in the Gulf of Maine, known as the “call” area. They wanted fishermen’s feedback to see where the maps fell short based on what fishermen know from working on the water. “This is very difficult for our industry to face,” said Dustin Delano, New England Fishermen Stewardship’s chief operating officer, former vice president of the Maine Lobster Association and a fourth-generation lobsterman out of Friendship. “A lot of us feel this is going to wipe us off the map.” The fishermen present were unconvinced but resigned. >click to read< 07:55
Court decision a major win for Maine’s lobster industry
In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with the plaintiffs, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and plaintiff-intervenors the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Lobstering Union, and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, ruling that NMFS distorted the science driving the regulation, relying improperly on assumptions and worst-case scenarios when determining the risk posed by industry to right whales. The court noted that the lack of data led NMFS to conclude the lobster and Jonah crab federal fisheries kill 46 whale deaths per decade, a “staggering departure from the two documented deaths known to have originated in all U.S. fisheries over a period of nine years.” >click to read< 09:58
Governor Mills Announces Cost Relief for Maine’s Commercial Fishermen and Aquaculturists
The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will use $8.3 million in Federal funding to reimburse resident commercial fishermen, dealers, processors, and aquaculturists for the cost of their 2022 licenses, as well as additional fees associated with licenses such as trap tag fees for lobster license holders. The Department will also waive lease fees for active commercial leases for the 2022 lease year through a separate process. The first round of payments, which amount to $4.2 million, will be mailed by the end of this month for license holders who purchased their license between November 15, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Reimbursements for licenses purchased during each of the remaining quarters of 2022 will be mailed separately. >click to read< 16:45
Mills & Keliher Respond to First Circuit Court Decision Reinstating Lobster Fishery Closure
Governor Mills and Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher issued the following statements today on the U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision to reinstate a 967 square mile fisheries closure off the Maine coast. “This is a deeply disappointing result. This sudden closure will cause significant economic hardship for Maine’s lobster industry,,, Patrick Keliher noted the operational and safety challenges posed by the recent court decisions. “This industry is suffering from whiplash, trying to change plans based on these rapidly evolving court decisions,” said Commissioner Keliher. “Moving gear around 30 miles off-shore at this time of the year also poses a serious safety risk for fishermen. Fishermen’s lives are at stake and NOAA and the courts have an obligation to take fisherman safety into concern when they make these decisions.” >click to read< 08:41
