[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 84 (Friday, May 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   VINYARD WIND OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT

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                            HON. ANDY HARRIS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 14, 2021

  Mr. HARRIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to include in the Record an 
article written by David Stevenson, the Director of the Center of 
Energy and Environmental Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute. This 
article summarizes many of the various concerns raised by multiple 
stakeholders with regard to current plans for offshore wind development 
on the United States' Outer Continental Shelf. These concerns are 
particularly timely in light of the Biden Administration's approval of 
the Vineyard Wind Offshore Wind Project off the coast of Massachusetts 
earlier this week.
  For years I have sought to raise concerns with proposed offshore wind 
projects relating to commercial and recreational fisheries, 
navigational safety, national security, natural resources, 
environmental conservation and the impacts these massive projects have 
on local communities. Nonetheless, the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management has decided to move ahead with the approval of this project 
without adequately accommodating these concerns. I fear that this 
project is a harbinger of what is to come and that in the not-so-
distant future, much of our East Coast will be pocked by these large 
industrial projects to the detriment of all of the interests I have 
already mentioned.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my fellow members and the Biden administration 
to address these issues before it is too late to ensure the responsible 
development of our treasured coastal and marine resources.

                      [From CRI News, May 4, 2021]

Offshore Wind Too Ugly for the Hamptons but OK for Other Beach Resorts?

  (By David T. Stevenson, Director Center for Energy & Environmental 
                                Policy)

       Officials in New York and the Federal Government determined 
     that the proposed offshore wind turbine lease area off the 
     Hamptons is too close and ruins the serene ocean viewshed. 
     They also noted it is a threat to navigation, fishing, and 
     endangered marine mammals.
       The Fairway lease areas sit as close as 12 miles off the 
     Long Island coast near the Hamptons.
       In official comments to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy 
     Management (BOEM) submitted July 30, 2018, New York suggested 
     the wind turbines be no closer than 20 miles from shore. This 
     recommendation was based upon an earlier study by BOEM that 
     concluded that 600-foot-high turbines produced a ``dominate 
     impact ``on the beach view 15 miles offshore.
       Adjusting for the new 50% taller turbines, the suggested 
     distance from the shore should be 30 miles. In Europe, the 
     closest lease area for these jumbo turbines is 44 miles out.
       The New York decision begs the question of why lease areas 
     from Maryland to Massachusetts aren't being rejected on the 
     same merits.
       There are four proposed lease areas within 20 miles of the 
     islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island. 
     Another four lease areas are off southern New Jersey, 
     Delaware, and Ocean City, Maryland, which range between 10 
     and 13 miles off major beach resorts.
       Yet BOEM is about to approve the ``Vineyard Wind'' project 
     just 14 miles from shore, establishing a precedent likely to 
     influence federal decisions on all the other projects.
       Visibility is a small part of New York's concerns. The 
     State's extensive outreach revealed proposed lease areas 
     posed a great concern to a high number of commercial and for-
     hire fishermen.
       The passage around or between wind farms could pose a 
     safety risk for vessels attempting to maintain a course 
     heading and could increase vessel costs, especially for the 
     fishing industry facing daily hazards and a potential loss of 
     fishing gear.
       The BOEM Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 
     ``Vineyard Wind'' project concluded that the leases would 
     have a major impact on Coast Guard Search and Rescue 
     Operations.
       They also determined a major negative impact on scientific 
     studies used to determine the annual fishing limits for 
     various species. Both impacts relate to the need to fly 
     higher to find people in need of rescue and to make fish 
     counts.
       There are other potential environmental impacts.
       There are only 356 endangered Northern Right Whales left, 
     and they regularly visit many of the proposed lease areas. 
     Recent accidental deaths were caused by vessel strikes, 
     entanglements, and ocean noise, all of which will be worsened 
     by offshore wind projects.
       Horseshoe crab blood is the only known substance for 
     testing antigens in vaccine development. The COVID-19 vaccine 
     could not have been developed without it. The blood is 
     harvested, and the crabs are returned to the sea. The crabs 
     burrow into the sandy seafloor to hibernate for the winter, 
     primarily in a federal reserve off the New Jersey, Delaware, 
     and Maryland coast.
       Offshore wind projects, with acres of cement and rocks to 
     prevent sand scouring, would land on top of the reserve, and 
     electric cables and turbines will create noise and 
     electromagnetic fields with an unknown impact on the crabs. 
     The crab's eggs are critical food for migrating birds like 
     the endangered Red Knot.
       The problems discussed above are common to the eight lease 
     areas located too close to shore.
       The Hamptons have some of the most expensive beachfront 
     home values in the country. Many of those homes are owned by 
     wealthy Manhattanites. One can only wonder how much influence 
     these wealthy folks had on the decision to shut down the 
     Fairways lease areas.
       What's good enough for New Yorkers should be good enough 
     for the rest of the East Coast.

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