The NewsRoom
Release: #3504
Date: June 19, 2006

Minerals Management Service Schedules Public Meetings and Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Long Island Offshore Wind Project

Agency Newly Charged with Renewable Energy to Host Meetings in Area (2 pages)

WASHINGTON – The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) will hold two public scoping meetings on Long Island, New York in July 2006 to obtain comments from the public on the proposed Long Island Offshore Wind Project (LIOWP). The meetings are scheduled in accordance with the environmental scoping process mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and are the first step in the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.

The LIOWP proposal is for construction and operation of a 40-turbine wind energy facility on approximately eight square miles of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off Long Island. The EIS will identify physical, biological, socioeconomic, and human resources in the project area and assess potential impacts of the project on these resources from pre-construction to decommissioning.

The scoping meetings will be held as follows:

July 10, 2006 West Babylon High School Performing Arts Center
                     500 Great East Neck Road, West Babylon, New York, 11704

July 11, 2006 Massapequa High School (auditorium)
                     4925 Merrick Road, Massapequa, New York, 11758

Both meetings will begin at 7:00 p.m. and run no later than midnight. Registration for each meeting will begin on site at 5:30 p.m.

MMS is also accepting written comments electronically, using the online comment form available on the MMS website or by mail to:

All comments must be received by August 21, 2006 and should specifically address the site-specific aspects of this proposed wind park. The MMS will consider the LIOWP proposal and the “no action” alternative, as well as alternatives identified during scoping, which could consist of modifying the size or configuration of the development, phasing the development, or alternative sites. The MMS also requests comments on how potential impacts might be mitigated and monitored.

Significant resources to be analyzed are expected to include, among others:  geology; oceanography; climate; upland and coastal resources; water and air quality; birds and bats; marine mammals; sea turtles; fish; benthic invertebrates; endangered and/or threatened species; vessel traffic; socioeconomic resources; urban and suburban infrastructure and land use; cultural and historical properties; cultural and historical archaeology; commercial and recreational fishing; visual aesthetics; tourism and recreation; human resources such as demographics; income profiles; and property values; and competing usage of the waters and sea bed of New York State and the Federal OCS.

Impact-producing factors expected to be considered during the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a wind facility would include, among others: visual aesthetics; sea bed disturbance; routine and accidental vessel or facility discharges; noise and vibration; rotation of rotor blades resulting in the potential for bird collisions;  installation and decommissioning activities; and economic impacts of the wind facility.

MMS received authority for the OCS Renewable Energy and Alternate Use Program under Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (3 pages). Under this authority, MMS will regulate renewable energy projects and alternate use of existing oil and gas platforms on the OCS. Renewable energy includes wind, wave, solar, and underwater current. Alternate uses of existing facilities may include, but are not limited to, aquaculture, research, education, recreation and support for offshore operations and facilities.

Relevant Web Sites:
   MMS Main Website
   Gulf of Mexico Website

Media Contacts:
   Gary Strasburg, (202) 208-3985

MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior
 

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