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Resident urges town to press federal agencies and Vineyard Wind on blade-failure response and ADLS lighting
Summary
A resident told the Select Board she reviewed communications and believes the town lacked environmental legal representation in its dealings with Vineyard Wind after an offshore blade failure; the town responded that federal and state agencies are the primary regulators and pointed to posted resources.
A member of the public told the Select Board on Oct. 8 that the town has failed to secure adequate protections for Nantucket related to offshore wind operations, citing concerns about a turbine blade failure, aircraft detection lighting systems (ADLS) and the town's legal representation.
Veronica Bonet (public commenter) said she had reviewed communications involving federal officials and town staff and raised several concerns: that the town relied on Cultural Heritage Partners (CHP) for historic-preservation work but had not retained environmental counsel; that a revised construction and operations plan (COP) had been reviewed and approved without an emergency-response plan for blade failures; and that ADLS lighting systems reportedly promised to reduce nighttime blinking were not documented as approved for the specific turbines at the Vineyard Wind site.
Bonet asked what the town's environmental lawyers had to say about federal oversight and whether the town had pursued enforcement of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) or contacted state officials, including the governor's office, the State Historic Preservation Officer or the press. She said communications she reviewed suggested the town did not use its leverage to demand enforcement and said she wanted the town to withhold further negotiations until an enforcement mechanism was in place.
Town staff response: Town staff characterized matters outside local jurisdiction as regulated by federal and state agencies and directed residents to posted information. The town said it will share additional updates as available, pointed to the town's facts page on federal oversight of Vineyard Wind, and referred residents to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) website for federal materials. Staff encouraged interested parties to direct technical questions to the appropriate state or federal agencies.
What was not decided: The board did not take any action in response to the comment during this meeting. The public comment served to record concerns and request that the town pursue further information and enforcement where appropriate.
