Pilots Aren't Only Ones Concerned About Impact Of Nantucket Farm

A proposed 25 square-mile wind farm project along the East Coast of the United States has attracted the attention of several national organizations, according to The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

As ANN reported in February, the FAA issued a presumed hazard determination for the Cape Wind project due to radar interference to the 400,000 flights that travel over Nantucket Sound annually.

Echoing the concerns of local airports, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association urged the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a final determination of hazard for Cape Wind because of radar interference and impacts to visual flight rule (VFR) flights. In a March 20, 2009 letter to FAA, AOPA wrote that they oppose the project "due to the negative impact on both VFR operations as well as the impacts on air traffic radar systems that serve flight operations into Barnstable Municipal, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Memorial Airport."

It isn't "just" the pilot community who have issues with Cape Wind, however. In support of the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes, the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) has objected to the proposed Cape Wind location due to unavoidable cultural, religious, and archaeological impacts. In a February 12, 2009, resolution, USET called upon the Department of Interior (DOI) to halt any further action on Cape Wind stating that the project "will forever change the physical integrity of the Sacred Site."

The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), the national trade group representing US-flagged passenger vessels, recently issued a resolution calling upon DOI's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to refrain from issuing a permit for Cape Wind. In its February 17, 2009, resolution, PVA restated its enduring opposition to Cape Wind because of the project's "hazardous impact on navigation and safety of passengers on ferry vessels."

The Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises, the local ferry operators that transport 3 million passengers a year between Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, have opposed Cape Wind because of its close proximity to ferry routes and interference to navigational radar... the latter  also a concern for aviators.

FMI: www.saveoursound.com, www.nantucketairport.com/, www.capewind.org