Letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior Supporting Cape Wind

The Honorable Ken Salazar
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Secretary Salazar:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, respectfully requests that you deny the pending request to list Nantucket Sound on the National Register and instead issue a favorable Record of Decision and Lease to the Cape Wind offshore wind project as soon as possible.

Since 2001, the Cape Wind project has undergone a rigorous and comprehensive federal and state permitting review. Opponents of the project have sued over allegations that the turbines would pose navigational and radar hazards, as well as a threat to birds. Affluent homeowners have argued that the unsightliness of the turbines will hurt their views. The intense scrutiny this project has received has only reinforced its environmental soundness. The project, however, faces yet another delay tactic by its opponents who have partnered with local Indian tribes. They claim that construction of the wind farm will impede the tribes’ sacred religious practices, warranting the designation of the entire Nantucket Sound as Traditional Cultural Property for listing on the National Register.

This contention is nothing more than a last ditch effort and desperate attempt to further delay and derail the project from completion. Such a designation would not only result in additional regulatory constraints on commercial activities in the area, but would also set bad precedent and place another tool in the NIMBY arsenal for killing projects. Clearly, there are much broader repercussions to consider here for all offshore renewable energy development across the country.

The fierce opposition to Cape Wind is not an isolated occurrence in Nantucket Sound, but rather a national occurrence across the country as more and more renewable energy projects are delayed and killed. The truth is that the same people and activist groups who are pushing so hard for renewable energy are the very ones standing in its way. These activists tell us they do not want a coal plant in their back yard, but the truth is that they really do not want a wind farm or any other energy source either.

To shed a bright light on this problem, the Chamber launched “Project No Project,” (www.projectnoproject.com) an interactive site highlighting the numerous projects, like Cape Wind, that have been delayed or killed by activist opposition. In just the last few years, 167 renewable energy projects have been stopped by activist groups, who get zoning laws changed, oppose permits, file lawsuits, and bleed projects dry of their financing. The site is designed to draw attention to this growing problem and its negative impact on jobs, development and economic prosperity.

The Department of the Interior must ensure that projects like Cape Wind stay on track, in order to help our nation responsibly meet its energy needs. As America’s first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind will reflect the true spirit of American enterprise and a remarkable step forward toward achieving a green energy economy and energy independence. Cape Wind will be embraced by the nation and, more importantly, will serve as a model of innovation as others look at developing coastal wind resources and other clean energy projects across the country.

Sincerely,

William L. Kovacs

cc: Dr. Janet Snyder Matthews
Associate Director and National Register Keeper
United States Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW, Room 3128
Washington, DC 20240

Mr. J. Paul Loether
Chief of the National Register of Historical Places and National Historic Landmarks
United States Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240