Saving Seafood

Energy companies bet long on offshore wind

December 23, 2016 — On Dec. 15 Norway-based Statoil put in a winning $42 million provisional bid for a nearly 80,000 acre lease off New York — by far the biggest offshore wind deal brokered by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which up to then had brought in $16 million for a combined 1 million acres in wind leases.

The sale still faces a federal court challenge from commercial fishermen, who say BOEM did not listen to their concerns about impacts on scallop and squid fisheries. But it was the most competitive wind lease with six rounds of bidding, showing the potential developers see for selling into the power-hungry New York metro region.

“The U.S. is a key emerging market for offshore wind — both bottom-fixed and floating — with significant potential along both the east and west coasts,” said Irene Rummelhof, Statoil’s executive vice president for New Energy Solutions. Statoil is investing in floating turbines for deeper-water sites with its Hywind project.

“Statoil is well positioned to take part in what could be a significant build out of offshore wind in New York and other states over the next decade,” Rummelhof said. “This effort is in line with the company’s strategy to gradually complement our oil and gas portfolio with viable renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions.”

The Trump camp has sent signals of hostility toward wind energy. One advisor has called for tighter environmental reviews, and the president-elect himself fought an offshore turbine plan within view of his golf resort in Scotland.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Alternative Energy Collides With Fishermen’s Livelihood Off Long Island

December 15, 2016 — The following is excerpted from an article published in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. It was written by Joseph De Avila:

The federal government on Thursday plans to auction off a parcel of 79,000 acres in the Atlantic Ocean just south of Long Island to build a wind farm over fishing grounds that scallop and squid fishermen say are vital to their trade.

Bidders hope to secure a 25-year lease to operate a wind farm, to sell the electricity to energy-hungry Long Island and the New York City region. Offshore wind is a big part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan for New York to get half of its energy from alternative sources by 2030.

But the commercial fishing industry opposes building wind turbines on this particular stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, which is sandwiched between shipping lanes into and out of the New York harbor. “We are very afraid we are going to lock up an area of the bottom that is definitely favorable for scallop settlement,” said James Gutowski, a scallop fisherman from Barnegat Light, N.J., and chairman of the Fisheries Survival Fund.

Members of the fishing industry say the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management didn’t adequately consider what the impact would have on scallop and squid fishing grounds. The Fisheries Survival Fund and other members of the fishing industry filed a lawsuit last Thursday in a Washington, D.C., federal court seeking an injunction to block the lease from going into effect.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already removed about 1,780 acres from the lease area after the National Marine Fisheries Service flagged that parcel as a sensitive habitat and a prime commercial fishing spot.

The bureau also has awarded 11 offshore wind leases so far, including sites off Massachusetts, Delaware and Virginia. The developers for each of those projects are currently conducting site assessments, according to the bureau, which declined to comment on the lawsuit. A hearing is set for February. Other plaintiffs include the Garden State Seafood Association and the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

Offshore-wind developer Deepwater Wind, based in Rhode Island, began operating the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. on Monday off Block Island, R.I., near the tip of Montauk. It also has a site located between Montauk and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., that it plans to build in phases. The first phase could begin construction in 2019 and would provide enough energy for more than 50,000 homes for Long Island’s South Fork.

A 2011 plan for the strip of the Atlantic Ocean, located about 11.5 miles from Jones Beach, called for building 194 turbines that would generate enough electricity to power 245,000 homes. But today’s improved wind technology could generate even more power, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is managing the auction. “There is significant market demand” in the region, said Tracey Blythe Moriarty, a bureau spokeswoman.

Some 14 organizations have qualified to bid during Thursday’s auction, including the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA. The authority is the first state entity to participate in a federal offshore wind auction, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal 

Hearing Postponed; New York Wind Auction To Proceed As Planned

December 14, 2016 — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has reportedly come to an agreement with fishermen groups that recently filed a lawsuit to delay the upcoming lease sale of the New York Wind Energy Area.

The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) was the lead plaintiff in a suit seeking a preliminary injunction to delay the lease sale for the development of an offshore wind project located approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.

The lease sale, scheduled for this Thursday, can now proceed as planned, reports the Associated Press, which says the lawsuit has been delayed so that both parties can have more time to prepare more documents. A hearing is now scheduled for Feb. 8, 2017.

Read the full story at North American Windpower

Proposed Atlantic wind energy lease auction to proceed

December 13th, 2016 — The federal government’s plan to auction the development rights to a huge offshore windfarm in the Atlantic Ocean between New York and New Jersey will proceed Thursday.

Groups representing the fishing industry in four states sought to delay the auction. But an agreement between the groups and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will allow it to proceed.

A lawyer for the fishing groups says they still will be able to seek a halt to the final sale during a federal court proceeding now scheduled for Feb. 8, 2017.

Andrew Minkiewicz says the delay gives both sides more time to submit documents. A judge in Washington, D.C., agreed to the plan Monday.

The groups, including scallop fishermen, claim the 127-square-mile project would harm their business.

A BOEM spokeswoman declined comment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald 

Court Accepts New Bedford Mayor’s Declaration in Support of Lawsuit Against BOEM

December 9, 2016 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – This morning, the court accepted a declaration by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell in support of a lawsuit filed yesterday by a group of 12 commercial fishing organizations, businesses and municipalties including the Fisheries Survival Fund and the City of New Bedford. The lawsuit alleges the federal government’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), failed to adequately consider the voices of commercial fishermen in the consideration of a proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of New York.

“During my administration, the City also has become a national leader in the development of the offshore wind industry,” said Mayor Mitchell. “Among other initiatives, my administration established the New Bedford Wind Energy Center, the only local economic development agency of its kind in the US, and has facilitated investment in port infrastructure and workforce training programs to support the industry.”

When BOEM previously designated wind lease areas off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, New Bedford worked hand-in-hand with BOEM to ensure fishing voices were considered. Consequently, the wind lease areas were drawn in such a way that they had minimal impact on the commercial fishing industry. In the case of the proposed New York wind farm, however, BOEM, according to the Mayor, has failed to take the same steps to ensure commercial fishing voices are heard.

“The City of New Bedford is joining this lawsuit because in its assessment of the New York Bight for offshore wind development, BOEM has not properly considered the legitimate concerns of the fishing industry,” said Mayor Mitchell. “I believe the opening of the New York Bight for offshore wind leasing, as currently proposed, will cause direct harm to existing fishing interests in New Bedford and elsewhere.”

Read Mayor Mitchell’s full declaration here

Fishing interests, New Bedford sue feds over New York wind turbines

December 9, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD – The New Bedford-dominated northeastern scallop industry, aided by fishing interests in four states, is suing the federal government to try to block a 127 square-mile wind turbine development in what they say are crucial fishing grounds south of Long Island.

The complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks an injunction to stop a Dec. 15 auction in which the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is selling a lease on the location. The scallop industry group Fisheries Survival Fund is leading a dozen plaintiffs, including the City of New Bedford, the Town of Narragansett, R.I., the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, and other entities in Rhode Island and New Jersey.

“The people that make their living on the water were the last ones considered, not the first,” said David Frulla, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Important for scalloping, the area is also one of five main locations to fish for squid in the northeast, he said.

The plaintiffs allege that the bureau has not done enough to seek alternate locations to the one sought by an unsolicited proposal from three New York energy companies: New York Power Authority, Long Island Power Authority, and Consolidated Edison. The companies want to put 194 turbines on about 81,000 acres, according to the complaint.

The complaint says that rather than seek alternatives now, the bureau has deferred analyzing the appropriateness of the site until years from now, after the developers have already invested a substantial amount money.

“In effect, (the bureau) has permitted private companies to lay claim to valuable ocean areas without an adequate public process,” the complaint says.

Bureau spokeswoman Tracey Moriarty said when the agency received the proposal, it embarked on a competitive lease process that included public comment, and it deleted 1,780 acres known as Cholera Bank after the National Marine Fisheries Service identified it as a sensitive area.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishermen Hit Feds With Lawsuit Over Wind Lease Sale

December 9th, 2016 — A lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in an effort to delay the anticipated lease sale of the New York Wind Energy Area.

The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which says it represents the majority of the limited-access Atlantic scallop fleet, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to delay the lease sale for the development of an offshore wind project located approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island, N.Y. The lease sale is scheduled for Dec. 15.

The suit was filed against Sally Jewell, DOI secretary, and Abigail Hopper, BOEM director.

The filing alleges that the leasing process for BOEM did not adequately consider the impact the proposed New York Wind Energy Area would have on the region’s fishermen.

According to the FSF, the site is in the waters of the New York Bight on vital, documented scallop and squid fishing grounds, which serve as essential fish habitat and grounds for other commercially important species, including black sea bass and summer flounder.

The group also claims it is an important foraging area for threatened loggerhead sea turtles and critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The lawsuit argues that fishermen’s concerns regarding the location of the lease area received “virtually no attention or analysis” from government officials ahead of the planned Dec. 15 lease sale – despite repeated feedback from concerned fishing stakeholders.

Read the full story at North American Wind Power

Fishermen Object to New York Wind Farm Lease Sale

December 9th, 2016 — The Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents the majority of the limited access Atlantic scallop fleet, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to delay an anticipated lease sale for the development of offshore wind farms off New York.

A 26-mile long block approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island is scheduled for sale on December 15, 2016.

The Fund argues that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) did not adequately consider the impact the proposed New York Wind Energy Area would have on the region’s fishermen. The site chosen is in the waters of the New York Bight on vital, documented scallop and squid fishing grounds, which serves as essential fish habitat and grounds for other commercially important species, including black sea bass and summer flounder. It is also an important foraging area for threatened loggerhead sea turtles and critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The lawsuit argues that fishermen voiced their concerns but received “virtually no attention or analysis” from government officials. It further states that BOEM failed to identify the proposed wind farm’s environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts, and failed to “consider alternative sites in an open, collaborative, public forum.”

However, BOEM says it has given consideration to comments received on the Environmental Assessment. In response to concerns raised by commercial fishing interests, BOEM has included a lease requirement for the lessee to develop a publicly available Fisheries Communications Plan and work with a Fisheries Liaison to facilitate communication with the fishing industry.

Read the full story at the Maritime Executive 

U.S. plans to lease New Jersey seafloor for wind farm

October 28th, 2016 — The federal government will hold an auction in December to lease nearly 80,000 acres of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor for a developer to build a large wind farm about 18 miles southeast of Sandy Hook.

The triangular area, about 12.5 miles south of Long Beach, on Long Island, is slightly smaller than originally intended, to exclude an environmentally sensitive section of seafloor known as the Cholera Bank, which has an irregular bottom that attracts an abundance of sea life. As a result, it has long been a favorite spot for fishermen to gather year round to bottom fish for blues, cod, blackfish and bonito.

The auction, set for Dec. 15, will come just a year after the Obama administration awarded leases to two companies to build wind farms off the southern coast of New Jersey.

“New York is a critical component in building a robust U.S. offshore wind industry,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees commercial offshore wind leases.

The agency conducted a study to determine the visual impact of a hypothetical wind farm in the area to be leased. The simulation shows how a wind farm would look from Fire Island and Jones Beach on the Long Island coast, as well as from Sandy Hook and Asbury Park along the New Jersey coast.

Read the full story at Asbury Park Press 

BOEM Announces Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Gulf of Mexico Geological and Geophysical Surveys

October 4th, 2016 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that recommends strong measures to protect marine mammals and coastal environments in the Gulf of Mexico from the potential impacts of geological and geophysical (G&G) surveys for oil, gas and minerals.

Completion of the draft PEIS was a condition of a federal court settlement between BOEM and the National Resource Defense Council and other co-plaintiffs announced earlier this year.

“BOEM’s recommended approach offers the strongest practicable safeguards in an effort to eliminate or reduce impacts to marine mammals and the environment,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “We continue to conduct research and monitor the science of this field and work with other agencies and stakeholders to create and maintain the protection of these resources.”

The draft PEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of G&G survey activities on marine mammals, fish, corals, and other environmentally sensitive species in the seabed and water column of the Gulf’s Outer Continental Shelf. The surveys will inform oil and gas exploration and sand extraction in Federal and adjacent state waters. G&G surveys use various technologies to determine whether areas have high potential for energy development or extraction of minerals, such as sand used for coastal restoration; and to identify potential hazards and environmental concerns.

Read the full story at Ocean News & Technology