From: Sean
Teehan, Cape Cod Times in enn.com
Cape
Wind cleared its last bureaucratic hurdle Wednesday when the Federal Aviation
Administration released its finding that the project poses no hazard to planes.
The
finding came after a court-mandated re-evaluation of possible safety hazards
the 130-turbine project poses to planes and a GOP inquiry into whether the
FAA's initial approval in 2010 was the result of political pressure from the
left.
"(The
FAA's) aeronautical study revealed that the structure does not exceed
obstruction standards and would not be a hazard to air navigation," the
latest FAA determination reads.
The
project presents no hazard as long as Cape Wind marks and lights obstructions
to planes, files required construction forms with the FAA and builds no
turbines exceeding 440 feet above ground level, the decision reads.
"It's
a big step forward for Cape Wind from a regulatory standpoint," said Mark
Rodgers, a Cape Wind spokesman, in an interview Wednesday evening. In light of
the FAA study, Cape Wind plans to begin construction next year, Rodgers said.
But
the study's release left some Cape Wind opponents frustrated and more convinced
than ever that politics swayed the FAA's finding.
"It's
outrageous in light of a court overturning their previous (finding) and a
congressional inquiry," said Audra Parker, president of the Alliance to
Protect Nantucket Sound, a group that lobbies against the project and filed
several lawsuits in efforts to stop construction. "The FAA is willing to
sacrifice public safety."
The
FAA approved the project in May 2010. But after the Alliance to Protect
Nantucket Sound and the town of Barnstable appealed the decision, the United
States Court of Appeals sent the project back to the agency in October 2011 for
more review. In its decision, the court found the FAA had overlooked its own
rules in making its determination.
Read
more at Cape
Cod Times.
Editor’s Note: The Boston
Business News reports that Cape Wind has selected Falmouth as its on-shore
staging area. This site will create 50 new permanent jobs.
