Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5:24 PM
Salazar Pledges Cape Wind Decision By April
By Amy Harder, NationalJournal.com
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will make a final decision on the Cape Wind project by the end of April, he announced today.
Salazar's comments came after three meetings he hosted today with nearly 30 advocacy groups, American Indian tribes, federal agencies and Massachusetts town leaders regarding the planned offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound, the first project of its kind in the United States. It has been tied up in the permitting process for nine years.
"At the end of the day, I will make a decision on the pending application before the Department of the Interior and working with Minerals Management Service and other agencies in the month of April," Salazar said at a press conference after the meetings, which lasted more than three hours. "That will be the final decision."
Salazar reiterated that he wants the stakeholders to sign a memorandum of agreement by March 1; it's been held up over what the sound's historical value is to local American Indian tribes. If it isn't signed, Salazar said, Interior will move forward without it. He didn't sound hopeful that the parties would reach a decision. "I'm not sure if that can be accomplished," Salazar said. "There is a tremendous amount of passion."
He opened up the conference by highlighting the balancing act his department must strike with the competing interests at stake -- the administration's goal to advance renewable energy and the nation's historical preservation. The National Park Service announced last week that Nantucket Sound is eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places. Salazar added that he doesn't think this particular project is a referendum on wind energy in general. "I don't think Cape Wind is the final future of wind energy, either offshore or onshore," Salazar said.
Interior spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said after the conference that representatives from the offices of Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry (D) and Paul Kirk (D) and Rep. Bill Delahunt (D) attended the meetings.
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