{"id":4004,"date":"2013-07-01T15:17:31","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T19:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/?p=4004"},"modified":"2015-04-02T15:01:57","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T19:01:57","slug":"guest-column-wind-farm-planning-how-to-be-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/guest-column-wind-farm-planning-how-to-be-heard\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Column – Wind farm planning: How to be heard"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hallowell-SH\"Many fishermen are asking what they can do to preserve fishing opportunities in the wake of ocean wind energy development.\u00a0 The answer is threefold:\u00a0 be aware of what is being proposed in your area; know what governmental body is in charge; and engage early and often in the regulatory processes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Multiple state and federal entities have authority over ocean wind energy development.\u00a0 In federal waters, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has authority to lease the outer continental shelf to renewable energy developers.\u00a0 These include ocean wind, tidal, and wave energy developers.\u00a0 States have the authority to locate projects within their waters.<\/p>\n

Projects in federal waters either are isolated or located within wind energy areas (WEAs).\u00a0 WEAs are best thought of as large areas zoned for wind energy development.\u00a0 Once created, a wind energy developer can apply to BOEM for a lease within the WEA.\u00a0 BOEM then expedites the review of a lease request in a WEA, and the project is fast-tracked.<\/p>\n

Depending on developers\u2019 interest, one or more wind farms can be sited within a WEA\u2019s borders.\u00a0 For example, BOEM can issue up to five leases in the Massachusetts WEA and another four leases in the adjoining Rhode Island\/Massachusetts WEA.<\/p>\n

WEAs are not created in a vacuum.\u00a0 Instead, they are the product of state-centric intergovernmental task forces convened by BOEM.\u00a0 For example, the Massachusetts WEA was the product of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task Force, which worked with BOEM to delineate the boundaries of the WEA.\u00a0 BOEM then announced the proposed WEA and asked for public comment.<\/p>\n

Several other states, including Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina, have worked with BOEM to establish intergovernmental task forces.<\/p>\n

The state-centric process creates major problems for fishermen, in large part because, for a fisherman homeported outside of a WEA state, the first time he is notified of a proposed WEA is when a notice is published in the Federal Register.\u00a0 So, in the case of the Massachusetts WEA, a fisherman who fishes off Massachusetts in federal waters, but is homeported outside of that state, was not given notice of the WEA \u2013 let alone a seat at the table in siting it \u2013 before it was delineated.\u00a0 At that point, the die was already cast.<\/p>\n

A wind energy developer does not have to wait for a WEA to be created.\u00a0 It also can apply to BOEM to lease any portion of the outer continental shelf through an \u201cunsolicited request.\u201d<\/p>\n

When this happens, BOEM has an obligation to first determine if there is competitive interest in the area from other developers.\u00a0 At the same time, BOEM must assess how the proposed project will impact other ocean users, including commercial and recreational fishermen.<\/p>\n

The Long Island WEA grew out of an unsolicited request submitted to BOEM by the New York Power Authority.<\/p>\n

There are opportunities to comment on an ocean wind developer\u2019s requests for a lease in an area outside or inside a WEA when \u201cRequest for Interest\u201d or \u201cCall for Information\u201d notices are published in the Federal Register.<\/p>\n

Fishermen\u2019s organizations should be on the lookout for these notices so that they and their members can comment on proposed projects, demonstrate where they fish with available hard data, and explain how the proposed project will affect their operations and safety.\u00a0 Fishing effort data, resource data, and socioeconomic data all are good things to use in support of comments.<\/p>\n

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Protecting fishing grounds<\/b><\/p>\n

After these initial stages of the regulatory process, there are many additional stages involving the permitting and construction of a project that require fishermen\u2019s input.<\/p>\n

For example, once a WEA is created, BOEM has to take public comment on its environmental assessment and environmental impact statement for the WEA.\u00a0 BOEM then has to repeat that process for each individual lease proposal, taking public comment on proposed lease sales, site assessment activities, and construction and operation plans.<\/p>\n

To date, BOEM\u2019s initial understanding of fisheries-related issues has fallen woefully short of what is sufficient and necessary to protect commercial fishing interests.<\/p>\n

Even though BOEM is bound by a memorandum of understanding to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service before issuing leases, the agency has been slow to appreciate the impact wind energy projects will have if co-located on certain fishing grounds.<\/p>\n

For example, the Massachusetts WEA originally was drawn to overlap the Nantucket Lightship Access Area, which is vitally important to scallopers.\u00a0 Fishermen also have not been notified in advance of a project, especially those homeported outside the state in which the project has been proposed.<\/p>\n

To its credit, however, BOEM did respond to fishermen\u2019s concerns raised during the comment process by reducing the size of both the Massachusetts WEA and Rhode Island\/Massachusetts WEA (see CFN June 2011).<\/p>\n

For the Massachusetts WEA, BOEM removed the original eastern portion because it overlapped the Nantucket Lightship Access Area.\u00a0 For the Rhode Island\/Massachusetts WEA (see chart previous page), BOEM removed the middle bisect because fishing effort data demonstrated that more than four different fisheries operated there.\u00a0 Unfortunately, BOEM did not remove all of Cox\u2019s Ledge, which any fisherman can tell you is incredibly important to multiple fisheries.<\/p>\n

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State projects<\/b><\/p>\n

Wind energy developments in state waters also are being sited.\u00a0 Some state projects are an outgrowth of state coastal and marine spatial plans.\u00a0 It is imperative that fishermen participate early in the development of marine spatial plans, explaining where they fish.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t, regulators cannot set those areas aside to prevent wind energy development from encroaching on their grounds.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island, for example, located its \u201crenewable energy zones\u201d in areas away from where most fishing operations historically occur.\u00a0 The state\u2019s coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) process helped lessen the impact wind energy development will have on fishermen in Rhode Island state waters.<\/p>\n

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Regional planning bodies<\/b><\/p>\n

Federal CMSP processes will offer similar opportunities through the work of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Bodies (RPBs).\u00a0 Supported by the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) respectively, these RPBs are in their infancy and are still trying to figure out their objectives.<\/p>\n

RPB members include one regional fishery management council member and state, federal, and tribal officials.\u00a0 The fishing industry does not have formal representation on the RPBs, so fishermen and fishermen\u2019s associations must engage at every opportunity to advocate for their interests.<\/p>\n

The dizzying array of venues for ocean wind development \u2013 BOEM WEAs, unsolicited requests in federal waters, state projects, and CMSP \u2013 mean that all fishermen must stay vigilant.<\/p>\n

Call your local representatives to get a sense of what proposals may be percolating in waters where you fish.\u00a0 Engage with your regional fishery management council and governor\u2019s office to stay abreast of proposed projects.\u00a0 Contact your industry trade associations.\u00a0 Look beyond where you are homeported and pay attention to what\u2019s happening in waters off the states where you fish.\u00a0 Compile useful data and make your arguments early and often.\u00a0 Regulators have a duty to respond to your concerns, but first, they must hear from you.<\/p>\n

Michele Hallowell is an associate in the Washington, DC office of Kelley, Drye and Warren, LLP and former in-house counsel to the Maine Lobstermen\u2019s Association.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Back to the July 2013 Issue of CFN<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many fishermen are asking what they can do to preserve fishing opportunities in the wake of ocean wind energy development.\u00a0 The answer is threefold:\u00a0 be aware of what is being proposed in your area; know what governmental body is in charge; and engage early and often in the regulatory processes. Multiple state and federal entities … <\/p>\n

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