Changing Cape Wind Shoreline

Now that the First Circuit has affirmed the Corps authority to license a wind data tower on the Outer Continental Shelf (see Alliance to Protect Nantucket v. Corps of Engineers , Docket No. 03-2604 (2/16/05), the state of Massachusetts is trying another approach to maintain control: redefining the state's coastline, as reported in Windfarm debate strikes again , Mike Marzelli, Daily Collegian.com, 2/18/05. As the article explains:

State officials said Tuesday that a recently discovered pile of rocks in Nantucket Sound could change the state's offshore border and expand state-controlled water by about 12 square miles. That would push back federal territorial water and could affect a developer's bid to erect the nation's first offshore wind power farm in the sound.

Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Edward Kennedy and others oppose the wind farm, which would consist of 130 turbines standing more than 420 feet high in Nantucket Sound. But they have little control over it, since it's planned for federal water.

According to the article, the U.S. Minerals Management Service is expected to post a notice about the border change in the Federal Registry by the end of the month, said Jon Carlisle, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation, which oversees state boundaries. For another article about this development, view this article, Massachusetts making boundary change that could limit planned offshore windmills, Telegram.com (2/18/05).

Surely, there must be something wrong with the existing system for offshore permitting if a pile of rocks can make all of the difference to which agency will take the lead in licensing the project - and make the decision as to whether it will go forward or not.