[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12483-12484]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ACT OF 2006

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I rise today to endorse passage of the 
Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006. However, I would 
like to clarify several points with regard to section 414 of the 
conference report. This section deals with construction of offshore 
wind energy facilities in the area off the coast of Massachusetts known 
as Nantucket Sound, and it will require the Secretary of the Interior 
to incorporate any ``reasonable terms and conditions the Commandant of 
the Coast Guard determines to be necessary to provide for navigational 
safety.'' Interpretation of this clause will be critical to ensuring 
that navigation, aviation, and communications are not adversely 
impacted by construction of such a facility.
  A company known as Cape Wind, LLC has proposed the permanent 
installation of 130 wind turbines, each reaching 417 feet in height, on 
24 square miles of Nantucket Sound in an area surrounded by three 
commercial airports, two busy ferry routes, and a major shipping 
channel. The area is heavily utilized by commercial fishermen and 
recreational boaters as well. Perhaps most importantly, the project 
would be situated less than 15 miles from the only PAVE/PAWS missile 
defense radar station on the entire eastern seaboard. Studies conducted 
in and around offshore wind farms in Britain have shown that these 
installations can have adverse impacts on radar for boats, aircraft, 
and air traffic controllers, and they may pose a hazard to navigation.
  It must be left up to the Commandant of the Coast Guard to decide 
what is necessary to prevent negative impact to navigation, aviation, 
and communications caused by the proposed wind farm. We trust the 
Commandant to act responsibly and only prescribe reasonable terms and 
conditions. If someone wants to challenge his decision as unreasonable, 
they will have to raise the matter in court. It will be up to the 
courts, not the Secretary of the Interior, to decide if the 
Commandant's terms and conditions are unreasonable.
  Further, we must remain open to the possibility that the Commandant 
may find that no amount of mitigation could be sufficient to eliminate 
the potential detrimental effects of the specific siting of this 
development. If the final determination of the Commandant is that the 
proposed siting is unacceptable, the Secretary must abide by that 
decision as well, and therefore fail to issue a permit, lease, 
easement, or right-of-way that would allow the facility to be 
constructed on the proposed site.
  The arrangement dictated by section 414 of this bill has precedence 
in the procedure for granting hydroelectric licenses under the Federal 
Power Act. This process requires the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission to include in the terms and conditions of its licenses for 
hydroelectric licenses any conditions deemed necessary to protect the 
interests of other agencies. The United States Supreme Court determined 
that such conditions had to be

[[Page 12484]]

``reasonable'' and the reasonability of the conditions was a matter to 
be determined by the courts, not the Commission.
  I support development of renewable sources of energy, but not at the 
expense of public safety or national security. The provisions included 
in section 414 of this bill ensure that the impacts of Cape Wind's 
potential development on the citizens of Massachusetts and the rest of 
the country will be evaluated fairly and appropriately by those who 
have the expertise to make a final determination on how best to 
mitigate any adverse effects. I urge my colleagues to act swiftly to 
pass the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006.
  Mr. WARNER. I further ask that when the Senate receives from the 
House a message that the House agrees to S. Con. Res. 103 and the 
conference report to accompany H.R. 889 is received from the House, the 
conference report be considered agreed to and the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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