Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Deeply troubled.’ Keating, Aquinnah tribe want faster notice after wind turbine collapse

July 31, 2024 — After the July 13 collapse of a Vineyard Wind turbine blade in the project area south of Martha’s Vineyard, 48 hours passed before Nantucket officials got word. For the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), the lag was even longer.

It’s a wait that U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Massachusetts, echoing the criticism of leaders on the islands, says was unacceptable.

In a letter last week to the head of the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Keating called foul on a process that failed to alert leaders on Nantucket about the football field-sized blade breaking off in the nearby lease area until two days later.

Keating is now calling on the agency to create protocols that would require local municipal and tribal leaders to be immediately notified of hazardous situations in the wind lease areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and southwest of Nantucket.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Nantucket warns more turbine debris could be headed ashore

July 30, 2024 — Are you heading to Nantucket? You’ll want to exercise caution in the water, and we’re not talking about sharks.

Town officials have warned beachgoers that more pieces of the broken Vineyard Wind turbine are washing up.

The company that manufactures and services the turbines, GE Vernova, informed town leaders recently that several sections of the fiberglass turbine blade broke off from the hub. The company says while this was not unexpected, it has been several days since any debris was observed after the first chunk broke off nearly two weeks ago.

The United States Coastguard continues to enforce a 500-meter safety exclusion zone around the turbine.

Read the full article at Boston 25 News

MASSACHUSETTS: Additional sections of blade fall off Vineyard Wind turbine near Nantucket

July 30, 2024 — More pieces of blade fell off an offshore Vineyard Wind turbine near Nantucket, Massachusetts, Monday. The rotary engine first experienced damage on July 13.

No Vineyard Wind workers were injured when the turbine was first damaged, and no one was reportedly hurt as debris continued to fall. The U.S. Coast Guard is maintaining a 500-meter exclusion zone around the engine for safety, Nantucket officials said.

No new sections of the damaged turbine blade had fallen off since July 18, when a section came off before sinking underwater.

Read the full article at The Washington Times

BSEE extends Vineyard Wind suspension

July 30, 2024 — The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement extended its order suspending electrical generation and construction at the Vineyard Wind offshore project, as investigations continue into the July 13 turbine blade failure.

BSEE issued a new suspension order July 26 to Vineyard Wind 1 “clarifying operational requirements and listing actions the company must take prior to personnel boarding any wind turbines,” the agency said.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

MASSACHUSETTS: Keating criticizes federal response to damaged wind blade

July 29, 2024 — Congressman Bill Keating wants answers and better protocols from the federal government following the Vineyard Wind blade failure that sent countless pieces of foam and fiberglass debris — both tiny and large — to Nantucket shores.

“Numerous state and local officials have contacted my office to express their concerns regarding the lack of communication from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in the aftermath of this incident,” wrote Keating in a letter this week to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

BSEE has been regulating the oil and gas industry for more than a decade, and offshore wind is a new and developing industry in its portfolio. The agency cooperates with federal partner BOEM in the leasing of the expansive outer continental shelf for energy.

Per a government site, BOEM “studies the environment and leases resources,” while BSEE “provides regulatory oversight and enforcement” for environmental compliance, inspections and investigations.

“When debris is washing up on the beach, the first call a resident makes is to their town government, and [BSEE’s] delay in notifying local stakeholders is unfair to those impacted most by this incident,” Keating said in a press release Friday.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Feds pledge ‘comprehensive investigation’ of Vineyard Wind blade failure

July 29, 2024 — After initially signaling plans for an “independent assessment,” federal regulators told the News Service on Thursday that they are conducting a “comprehensive and independent investigation” into an incident that sent part of a Vineyard Wind turbine blade tumbling into the Atlantic Ocean and scattered debris across area beaches.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Thursday that the agency’s work will take a close look at the root cause of the July 13 incident at a turbine that was undergoing testing off the coast of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

“BSEE is conducting its own comprehensive and independent investigation into the causes and factors contributing to the incident and will evaluate all information provided to us,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the News Service. “BSEE’s policy is to release its findings to the public once our investigation is complete. Currently, there is no specific timeframe for the completion of the investigation.”

After the incident, BSEE ordered Vineyard Wind to stop generating power and to halt installation of new turbines, and issued a “preservation order” that a spokesperson previously said would “safeguard any evidence that may be relevant to determining the cause of the incident.”

Read the full article at WHDH

Court leans toward Interior in Vineyard Wind NEPA fight

July 29, 2024 — Federal judges appeared skeptical Thursday of a legal challenge by fishing industry groups against Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project.

In back-to-back oral arguments before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Seafreeze Shoreside and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance respectively urged a three-judge panel to reverse lower court rulings upholding approvals for the project.

A lower court “misread the law,” said Theodore Hadzi-Antich, a senior attorney for the Texas Public Policy Foundation representing Seafreeze Shoreside, referring to a 2023 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in favor of Vineyard Wind.

Read the full article at E&E News

Fishermen Join Lawsuit Against Vineyard Wind After Blade Failure

July 25, 2024 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has called for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior regarding the safety of Vineyard Wind’s turbines. The case, RODA v. Department of the Interior, is scheduled for oral arguments on Thursday.

Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, highlighted recent issues related to the Vineyard Wind project, particularly a blade malfunction that resulted in debris being scattered across important fishing areas. “The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) put the government on notice over two years ago that Vineyard Wind’s turbines aren’t safe. The recent blade disaster has scattered debris over a huge swath of historic fishing grounds, creating serious hazards for mariners and marine life,” Leeman stated.

Leeman raised concerns over the safety testing of the Haliade-X turbines used in the project. “As RODA’s lawsuit explains, there is no evidence Vineyard Wind’s Haliade-X turbines were ever safety tested. Fishermen are gravely concerned that they cannot withstand the volatile marine conditions of the north Atlantic. Now New England fishermen are paying a steep price for this criminal lack of oversight.”

Read the full article at Shore News Network

MASSACHUSETTS: As more turbine trash washes up on Nantucket, town considers suing

July 24, 2024 — As additional debris from a damaged offshore wind turbine washes ashore on Nantucket, the town is considering other methods of dealing with the aftermath, including litigation.

Last weekend, a damaged Vineyard Wind turbine sent floating debris and sharp fiberglass across the south shore of Nantucket, angering residents.

In response to the ongoing crisis on the island, the Nantucket Select Board will meet in executive session on Tuesday to discuss “potential litigation in connection with Vineyard Wind” regarding recovery costs associated with the blade failure, according to an online meeting notice.

Representatives from GE and Vineyard Wind will give an update at Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Select Board meeting. The engineering firm Aracadis is also expected to complete an environmental assessment soon, which they will present at the Wednesday meeting.

Read the full article at Boston.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Massive Vineyard Wind blade section sinks to ocean floor

July 22, 2024 — The 300-foot blade section that detached from a Vineyard Wind turbine this week sank to the ocean floor, Nantucket officials said Friday. Nautical charts show waters are about 150 feet deep in the area (or roughly half as deep as the blade is long).

Meanwhile, a federal official said they have no time estimate on when the project shutdown might end because the investigation is in its early stages. While officials try to determine the cause of the blade failure, turbine components will continue to arrive at the New Bedford staging terminal, but won’t be heading back out to sea for installation.

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have not shared their plans for retrieving the major blade piece as of Friday afternoon. About half of the fiberglass shell remains attached to the nacelle, and most of the foam core was released during the initial failure on July 13, according to Nantucket officials.

Amid concerns about health and economic impacts, town officials said Vineyard Wind is developing a water quality testing plan for the island and setting up a process in which affected people can file claims.

“Vineyard Wind is fully responsible for the repercussions on Nantucket, and Town Administration and the Select Board will ensure they are held accountable,” said the town in a statement Friday. Per a meeting agenda filed the same day, the Select Board and county commissioners are scheduled to meet next week to discuss possible litigation against the company over the incident.

Also on Friday, BSEE and Vineyard Wind representatives delivered limited updates during a previously scheduled meeting of state officials and fishing industry members. The group meets regularly to discuss offshore wind developments; the turbine incident was added to the top of the agenda and discussed for just under an hour.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light