A decision in sight on Cape Wind dispute

Interior secretary orders parties to meet next week

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff | January 5, 2010

The Obama administration signaled a sudden urgency yesterday to resolve the nine-year dispute over building a wind farm off Cape Cod, as US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he would summon key parties to a meeting next week in hope of concluding the decision process within two months.

The announcement was made minutes after the Cape Wind project appeared to suffer an unexpected setback, when the National Park Service agreed with two Native American tribes that Nantucket Sound is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its cultural and spiritual significance to the tribes.

The decision caught many by surprise, because listing in the Register, which affords extra protection against development, is normally reserved for structures or smaller, more specific locations.

Native Americans’ pursuit of the historic designation is the last outstanding major issue before Cape Wind Associates can begin construction in the Sound. The Park Service’s decision threatened to further delay a glacial review process for the 130-turbine wind farm.

But in a written statement, Salazar directed that “principal parties’’ meet next week, probably in Washington, to come up with a “common-sense agreement’’ by March 1 on ways to minimize the project’s impact on the sound’s cultural and historic value. Barring an agreement, the interior secretary said, “I will be prepared to take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion.’’

Salazar did not detail what those steps might be. He oversees the Park Service, and although it is unlikely he would overrule its eligibility determination, he could orchestrate a compromise all parties would have to accept.

An Interior Department spokeswoman said the date and exactly who would be attending were still to be determined. However, it is expected that Cape Wind developers and state historic preservation officials would be included.

Salazar’s intervention in the heated battle over the Cape Wind project reflects the Obama administration’s intensified interest in the fate of the nation’s first proposed offshore wind farm after more than a year of silence on it. The administration, smarting from disappointing international climate talks in Copenhagen and the failure of Congress to pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is eager, some observers say, to show the world that it is serious about switching to a lower-carbon economy.

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…JUST WAITING FOR THAT DROP OF A HAT!

The only crisis this country has, is the GOVERNMENT!

HOUSTON! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!