Cape Wind Permitting Takes Time

Believe it or not, it's been two years since Cape Wind Associates applied to the US Army Corps of Engineers to build a windfarm in Nantucket Sound. And as this article, Wind Backers Impatient As Corps Takes Its Time, Edward Maroney, Barnstable Patriot (10/31/03) reports, project supporters are beginning to grow impatient. For example, the issue of delays was mentioned by Seth Kaplan, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, in an Oct. 20 letter to District Engineer Col. Thomas Koning that was signed by numerous other environmental organizations. The letter asks that a timetable for approval of the draft and final EIS documents be set as soon as possible, noting that an announced completion date of the draft EIS of early 2003 has already slipped. "This slippage undermines the credibility of the process and drains the energy and resources of the members of the public who are intensely interested in this review.," the letter states.

The Corps takes responsibility for the pace of the process, trying to evaluate neutrally whether or not to issue a permit for the project.