[OR_Archaeology] Ruling Could Setback Wind Farm Proposed for Nantucket Sound

[Susan White]

For those of y'all that have been following the Nantucket Sound - Cape
Wind project with interest, here's a link and cut-n-paste of the
Keeper's decision and Salazar's response...

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/01/ruling-could-setback-wind-farm-proposed-nantucket-sound5180

"Clean energy" and cultural values are colliding not far from Cape Cod
National Seashore in Nantucket Sound, where a proposal to erect a wind
farm was handed a potential setback Monday when Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar pointed to a determination that the Sound is eligible for
listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The secretary issued a statement regarding the proposed wind farm after
a determination by the National Park Service’s Keeper of the National
Register of Historic Places that Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing
because of its significant archeological, historic, and cultural values.
Those values, he said, must be considered in the Minerals Management
Service's review process regarding a permit for the Cape Wind project
proposed to be built in Horseshoe Shoals.

“America’s vast offshore wind resources offer exciting potential
for our clean energy economy and for our nation’s efforts to reduce
our dependence on foreign oil,” said the secretary. “But as we begin
to develop these resources, we must ensure that we are doing so in the
right way and in the right places. The Keeper’s finding that Nantucket
Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register provides
information that will help us to undertake final consultations and
analysis of potential impacts of wind development on historic and
cultural resources in Nantucket Sound.

“After several years of review, it is now time to move the Cape Wind
proposal to a final decision point. That is why I am gathering the
principal parties together next week to consider the findings of the
Keeper and to discuss how we might find a common-sense agreement on
actions that could be taken to minimize and mitigate Cape Wind’s
potential impacts on historic and cultural resources. I am hopeful that
an agreement among the parties can be reached by March 1. If an
agreement among the parties can’t be reached, I will be prepared to
take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion. The
public, the parties, and the permit applicants deserve certainty and
resolution.”

The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes, the "People of the First
Light," had sought the listing determination, arguing that the proposed
wind farm would impact sacred rituals they conduct on the Sound by
obscuring the sunrise. The tribes also have contended the project would
impact submerged tribal burial grounds. Others object to the project
because they believe it would blight the viewshed and create
environmental and navigational impacts.

The company behind the project says that if built the "130 wind
turbines will gracefully harness the wind to produce up to 420 megawatts
of clean, renewable energy. In average winds, Cape Wind will provide
three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity needs."

While Secretary Salazar acknowledged the energy potential held in the
winds that blow across the Sound, he also urged caution in permitting
the project.