Rhino
06-22-2006, 07:10 AM
Lawmakers Reach Deal on Cape Cod Wind Farm
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
WASHINGTON — Key lawmakers have agreed to drop the idea of giving Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney veto power over a proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, adopting a compromise that could boost the project's prospects.
The proposed gubernatorial veto power was widely seen as a crippling blow to the project, which would be located about six miles off Cape Cod. The proposal has stirred controversy for five years.
The new bill, breaking weeks of stalemate on Capitol Hill, also ensures the Coast Guard a primary role in deciding the fate of the offshore wind farm — a group of 130 turbines that would produce electricity.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a leading project opponent, helped forge the compromise along with several other House and Senate members.
Kennedy, who has raised navigational safety concerns about the wind farm, said the measure gives the Coast Guard a stronger role in the federal approval process.
"It's a significant victory in our effort to deal with the legitimate safety concerns of the project, and I'm grateful to my colleagues for working with us to achieve this result," Kennedy said Wednesday........http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200504,00.html
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
WASHINGTON — Key lawmakers have agreed to drop the idea of giving Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney veto power over a proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, adopting a compromise that could boost the project's prospects.
The proposed gubernatorial veto power was widely seen as a crippling blow to the project, which would be located about six miles off Cape Cod. The proposal has stirred controversy for five years.
The new bill, breaking weeks of stalemate on Capitol Hill, also ensures the Coast Guard a primary role in deciding the fate of the offshore wind farm — a group of 130 turbines that would produce electricity.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a leading project opponent, helped forge the compromise along with several other House and Senate members.
Kennedy, who has raised navigational safety concerns about the wind farm, said the measure gives the Coast Guard a stronger role in the federal approval process.
"It's a significant victory in our effort to deal with the legitimate safety concerns of the project, and I'm grateful to my colleagues for working with us to achieve this result," Kennedy said Wednesday........http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200504,00.html