{"id":254926,"date":"2023-04-27T17:46:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T15:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254926"},"modified":"2023-04-27T17:46:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T15:46:29","slug":"feds-admit-offshore-wind-can-kill-whales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254926","title":{"rendered":"Feds admit offshore wind can kill whales!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From\u00a0CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0David Wojick<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite public proclamations of innocence, it turns out BOEM and NOAA clearly acknowledge the deadly threat of offshore wind development to marine mammals. Not surprisingly they do it in documents that are subject to judicial review, lest they be caught fibbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course these admissions are well hidden, buried in the depths of thousand page documents, but they are there to be found. These are the Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS) that precede each offshore wind project. They are jointly prepared by BOEM and NOAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is that the overall project EIS includes the EIS for NOAA\u2019s harassment authorizations for the construction of that project. In fact you can find this language by searching the DEIS for the word \u201charassment\u201d. I am told that this is standard language which varies little from project to project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The standard language says just what we have been saying! Harassment is likely to lead to dangerous behavior, including increased likelihood of deadly ship strikes and entanglements. It also says, as we have, that having multiple projects increases these risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a good example of admitting that harassment is can cause harm. I could not have said it better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is possible that pile driving could displace animals into areas with lower habitat quality or higher risk of vessel collision or fisheries interaction.<\/strong> Multiple construction activities within the same calendar year could potentially affect migration, foraging, calving, and individual fitness. The magnitude of impacts would depend upon the locations, duration, and timing of concurrent construction. Such impacts could be long term, of high intensity, and of high exposure level. Generally, the more frequently an individual\u2019s normal behaviors are disrupted or the longer the duration of the disruption, the greater the potential for biologically significant consequences to individual fitness. The potential for biologically significant effects is expected to increase with the number of pile-driving events to which an individual is exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empire Wind DEIS v.1, Page 3.15-14, PDF page 372<\/p>\n\n\n\n