Story Published:
Jun 25, 2010
Story Updated:
Jun 28, 2010
MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. – A renewable energy advocacy group from California and conservation groups from as far away as Texas have partnered with the Alliance to Save Nantucket Sound in a district court lawsuit against the federal agencies that approved the industrial Cape Wind energy factory in Nantucket Sound, an area sacred to the Wampanoag people.
The lawsuit filed June 25 by the Alliance and its partners names as defendants the newly appointed Michael Bromwich, director of the newly-named U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (until recently known as the Minerals Management Service), Ken Salazar, secretary of the Interior Department, and Rowan Gould, acting director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The lawsuit charges that in their rush to approve the 25-square-mile wind energy plant, which would be the country’s first offshore wind power plant, the officials violated federal environmental and wildlife protection laws, failed to conduct the required scientific studies, and ignored mandated protective measures.
The Obama administration has promoted the Cape Wind project as a model of renewable energy power in promoting its vision of the eastern seaboard dotted with similar offshore wind factories.
Salazar approved the Cape Wind project in late April. Proposed to be built in public waters triangulated by Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Wind includes 130 wind turbine generators towering 440 feet above water level across 25 square miles of the sound; a 66.5-mile buried submarine transmission cable system; an electric service platform with 40,000 gallons of oil; a helicopter landing pad; and two 115-kilovolt lines crossing 25 miles to the mainland power grid.
The approval was given despite a massive outpouring of objections from environmental groups, local towns, local and federal officials and the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoags nations – the People of the First Light. Cape Wind’s towering turbine would obscure their view of the rising sun in ceremony and destroy the ocean bed, which was once dry land where their ancestors lived and died.
The lawsuit filed today in federal district court in Washington, D.C. contends that MMS and FWS violated the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and National Environmental Policy Act by approving Cape Wind.
Plaintiffs include Public employees for Environmetnal Responsibility, Cetacean Society International, Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, Californians for Renewable Energy, Three bays Preservation and the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, as well as individuals Cindy Lowry, Barbara Durkin and Martha Powers. They are represented by the Washington, D.C. public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal.
While the Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation is a member of the Alliance, it had hoped to file a separate lawsuit, said Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais.
“We have real standing in this issue. We know our claims are significant and have merit, however, the financial and potential political costs have not afforded us much in the way of any further pro-bono representation. We know that good legal representation costs money, and while we have plenty of heart, commitment and grounds for a potential win, based upon the merits of our claims; we simply don’t have the money to pay for it.
“So, unfortunately, once again, ‘he with the most money’ may prevail and not the one with the most viable claims, the most at stake and the most to lose. Big business, big money, political favors and favoritism may win the day. But all of us in this – the Cape Cod and Islands region – will lose.”
Among the lawsuit’s specific issues are:
- The refusal to adopt recommended protective measures for the endangered Roseate Tern and the threatened Piping Plover, such as shutting turbines down during peak migration periods;
- The refusal to collect or submit acoustic, radar, infrared, or observational data on bird migration; and
- The failure to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement when new information came to light that a large aggregation of the highly imperiled North Atlantic Right Whale was present in the project area.
The Alliance has also filed an Administrative Procedures Act appeal against the Federal Aviation Administration’s ruling in favor of Cape Wind.
‘The FAA, having first issued a finding of ‘presumed hazard’ and acknowledged there would be radar interference and serious safety concerns from the turbines, then miraculously issued a determination of no hazards, so the Alliance and the Town of Barnstable, which owns and operates the municipal airport, filed a petition challenging the FAA’s determination of no hazards,” said Audra Parker, president and CEO of the Alliance.
The approval included mitigation costs of more than $15 million from Cape Wind.
“The FAA had as one means of mitigation an unproven technical fix which required a $15 million upgrade to a radar system, but they said if that didn’t work – thereby acknowledging that it’s an unproven fix – they’ll put the burden on pilots and traffic and everyone who uses Nantucket Sound,” Parker said. “They’ll reroute some of the 400,000 flights a year, so they’d have to use more fuel and create more noise for the communities to circumnavigate the 25 square miles to accommodate the developer and his private profit at any cost to the rate payers, the tribe’s culture, and public safety.”
You have indicated this comment should be removed.
The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .
feather flight said on Saturday, Jul 3 at 5:00 AM
Wampanoag Friends, each morning I offer thanks for passing the sun on to us. I stand with you in the words of our Creator.
46718193Anonymous said on Friday, Jul 2 at 7:22 AM
To Native with a brain …This isn’t a choice between coal and oil or nuclear. This isn’t science class. This is a religion and ethics class. This is a choice between windmills being put in a place which desecrates a sacred place or being put somewhere else. You think about it.
46656949WAMP1MASHPEE said on Tuesday, Jun 29 at 10:37 AM
WELL HERE I AM MY THOUGHTS I DO SEE THE SUN RISE IN THE EAST EACH DAY AND I DO ENJOY THE BEACH AS I HAVE FOR WELL OVER 50YEARS AND I DO SO HOPE TO FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS I BELIEVE MY PEOPLE DID NOT GET ANY INFORMATION ON THIS WIND STUFF OR THEY CHOSE TO IGNORE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AS WE ALL KNOW CASINO CASINO THATS NOT THE END ALL TO OUR PROBLEMS YOU HAVE TO START AT THE TOP AND FIX WHAT WE HAVE WHICH IS NOT MUCH IN THE LINE OF A GREAT LEADER NOR HIS FOLLOWERS SO IF THE WIND COMES I HOPE IT BLOWS ALL THE BAD AIR OUT AND MAY BE WE CAN SEE THE SUN RISE ONCE AGAIN
46447529Getupstandup said on Tuesday, Jun 29 at 7:58 AM
Where are the First Americans for Obama on this most important high profile dispute about American Indian Religious Freedom? President Obama could still do the right thing and choose to honor his promises to Indian Country. There are many reasons why alternative energy is an important focus of our economy and our long term interests as a nation but wasn't Obama supposed to be different in how he respected and honored tribal people? The whole world has been watching the Cape Wind affair. The whole world knows that the Wampanaogs greeted the Pilgrims and the whole world understands that greeting the morning sun is a simple, ancient rite practiced by millions for millenniums across racial, national, religious and class boundaries. President Obama revealed himself by choosing corporate interests over tribal interests. Where are the First Americans for Obama? I guess we will be hearing from them when they work to get out the vote in a few months.
46436448Political will said on Monday, Jun 28 at 7:21 PM
Wampanoags fund the fight for casinos but not religious freedom. "Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless." "What giants?" asked Sancho Panza. "Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length." "Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone." Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, 1604
46411179NotSoCrazyHorse said on Monday, Jun 28 at 4:31 PM
To Native with a brain: The point isnt the source of energy being developed, it is the administrative negligence and corruption by dissing the enviromental studies, etc. to get their agenda done at any cost (and their friends will benefit $$$$$).
46401189concerned chumash said on Monday, Jun 28 at 4:19 PM
Ibelieve that as native people we need to support alternative enegry projects as good stewards of this land that the creator has given to us to care for, but I don't believe that we should do so at the cost of our sovereign right to practice our ceromonies and protect the sacred burials of our ancestors. This is our responsibility.
46400308Native with a Brain said on Monday, Jun 28 at 12:22 PM
Would you rather have coal and oil? How about nuclear? Next time you turn on your lights, AC and TV, think about where that power comes from and the devastation it causes. Wind and solar are safe and clean and don't benefit the fossil fuel energy companies that destroy our planet for profit. Wonder who funds the anti-wind studies? Think about it.
46382003another islander said on Monday, Jun 28 at 9:10 AM
To Political will How is economic development connected to spirituality and religious ceremony? I am missing the connection and/or your point.
46369263Political will said on Monday, Jun 28 at 7:41 AM
Google Wampanoag and casino.
46365019Another Islander said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 11:48 PM
JFK Jr. died trying to navigate his plane to Martha's Vineyard without having the 130 wind turbines to avoid. Pilots take caution. Wind energy is good. This "Cape Wind" project is just foolish.
46356824NotSoCrazyHorse said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 8:54 PM
Oak Bluff............that is Valerie Jarrett territory, she has a home there, and that is also where Pres. Obama's friend Prof. Gates lives. There is your political connection there.
46351154Gale Courey Toensing said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 2:23 PM
To Islander: Thanks for pointing out my error in naming the island. A correction is forthcoming.
46334024Christina McMullen said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 1:11 PM
I believe we all want "clean" energy, but the approach is all wrong. Currently the emphasis is on one centralized source of energy that is sold to individual homes at a profit for some big company. There are solutions that would allow individual home owners to outfit their own homes to generate the energy they need. There are roof shingles and siding that produce electricity even in low light levels, small wind turbines that are shaped like globes about 3ft diameter which can be mounted on roof tops with out causing flicker or other problems. These devices combined with energy saving technologies should be able to generate or save energy equal to these proposed off shore wind turbines. With this individual approach, regional black outs are less likely to occur. There would be no gigantic structures that violate rights or obscure natural beauty. I believe these solutions are not being promoted because the rich and powerful would rather be in control of our energy for huge profits.
46331093Jennifer Randolph said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 11:44 AM
I took the photo in Oak Bluffs while I watched the sunrise for the summer solstice with my 8 year old daughter. Watching the sunrise is something that my mother did with me as a child on my birthday. It is something that I have done with my daughter. We were at what is called the "Ink Well" in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. As I explain to my children: The Creator gives every people a gift, ours is to be among the first see the birth of the day on this continent. It should be treasured and respected. It upsets not only me, but my 8 year old already. She is upset because she may not be able to share the gift that was given to her people with her children one day. I am thankful that I have been able to share it with her. Unfortunalty my other two daughters are too young. There is no amount of money that can compensate us for this loss. I know there are not enough words to describe what it means to us as a family and Indian Nation.
46326503Islander said on Sunday, Jun 27 at 8:12 AM
Unfortunately, when a writer gets basic facts wrong, it damages the credibility of everything in the story. The story is datelined Nantucket, yet Nantucket's involvement in the issue has been minimal, and none of the major debates and events regarding the Cape Wind project have taken place here in Nantucket. Likewise, the sunrise photo is identified as being taken on Nantucket, which it was not. Oak Bluffs is on Martha's Vineyard, not Nantucket. There is no Wampanoag land on Nantucket.
46313359Celeste Strikes With A Gun said on Saturday, Jun 26 at 6:12 PM
Canada signed and ratified the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity and Kyoto. The U.S. participates in biodiversity and climate change matters along with “Indigenous” individuals from the Americas. But the latter have failed to “talk for us.” Instead, they advocated for wind power and the inclusion of Traditional Knowledge into environmental assessments. This allows white people to steal our culture and spirituality. In my Peigan experiences, we were encouraged, or coerced, to participate in government hearings. Since there seems to be those who are willing to sing and dance for white people, it was done and never considered a factor in “rubber stamping” licenses for development. Alberta privatized the hearing process and certain “Piikani” individuals seem to have arbitrarily adopted their consultation policy. We need to deal with Indigenous individuals who have compromised our interests… As Indigenous Peoples we connected with the cosmos.. Now, it is a sin to question development.
46285618Cliff Carroll said on Saturday, Jun 26 at 9:10 AM
Continued Your intestinal fortitude shown in the pursuit of the truth and protection of your nation is greatly appreciated by those of us who have been fighting this outrage for over 9 years. In the end, the truth will kill this project and protect these lands, thank you for exposing the truth. My best regards, Cliff Carroll
46241584Cliff Carroll said on Saturday, Jun 26 at 9:08 AM
Gale, Congratulations! This is one of the most in-depth and honest articles about one of America’s dirtiest renewable energy plants and gravest threats to sacred Indian culture and religious rights. Your efforts to get under the skin of the dirty politics starting from the Massachusetts Governor and all the way to Salazar and Obama’s desk are unmatched. Salazar should never have been allowed to walk the sacred grounds along Nantucket Sound. For him to come and visit with the Aquinnah and then the Mashpee Wampanoag, share the first light ceremony and then allow a for private developer to excavate 25 square miles of sacred burial grounds is one of the most disgraceful acts that the US has committed against the Indian nation. I can only hope you continue to expose and uncover the dirty politics of clean power and the future fight to prevent the desecration of the Wampanoag’s cultural and religious grounds. Your intestinal fortitude shown in the pursuit of the truth and protection of
46241394Skinwalker said on Friday, Jun 25 at 11:59 PM
Funny Money talk
46227979Add a comment
Most Popular