By
STAFF WRITER
New federal regulations controlling how offshore ocean resources are used by renewable energy projects are unlikely to be enacted by Congress before the Nantucket Sound wind farm project completes its environmental reviews by the middle of next year.

And even if new regulations - requiring payments for use of a public resource, for example - are adopted before the wind farm's final approval or denial by the Army Corps of Engineers, the project developer has repeatedly said he would comply with whatever Congress mandates.

"It's up to Congress. If they do change (the regulations), then we'll comply," said Jim Gordon, president of Cape Wind Associates.

At this point in the process, unless Gordon withdraws his application from consideration, which he has said he has no intention of doing, there is little short of a court injunction that can delay completion of the review process.

Army Corps officials have said they have no authority to suspend or halt an active application. Federal courts, so far at least, have rejected claims the Corps has superseded its authority, and at this point no other federal agencies have any permitting authority over a wind farm on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Cape Wind wants to erect the country's first off-shore wind farm in 24-square-mile area on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, putting in 130 turbines and a transformer station to collect the electricity and transmit it to land via undersea cable.

In a nearly 4,000-page draft environmental impact report released Monday, the Corps gave the proposal a mostly encouraging review.

But the positive news in the reportdid not convince critics of the proposal. These opponents include politicians like U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and organizations like the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

They argued the Corps had violated the public trust by releasing the draft without first having better regulations on the book.

But Corps spokesman Larry Rosenberg pointed out it is Congress, not the Corps, which has responsibility for establishing policy. And the Corps itself recommended two years ago to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy that comprehensive offshore regulations should be adopted by Congress.

But that may take time.

Commission executive director Thomas Kitsos said yesterday that he knew of no legislation specifically addressing the wind farm issue, although he said some House members may take parts of the commission report and draft their own bills.

The commission is waiting for reaction from Congress and President Bush.

Kitsos made it clear, however, that while the commission believes more comprehensive laws are needed, "Cape Wind is fairly way down the road, and we are not suggesting in any way that the project be stopped."

He also noted regulations used by the Minerals Management Service, which oversees oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf, could be a model for dealing with wind power. .

Minerals Management Service has been involved in the wind farm review process from its early stages, and continues to be a contributing agency in the review process.

(Published: November 10, 2004)