{"id":317512,"date":"2024-04-13T21:24:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T19:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=317512"},"modified":"2024-04-13T21:24:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T19:24:41","slug":"press-release-whales-die-while-dominion-energy-hides-crucial-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=317512","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE: Whales die while Dominion Energy hides crucial information"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Right Whale Female Died Last Week 50 Miles Off Virginia Coast<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dominion Energy Claims Its Whale Protection Information is \u2018Confidential and Proprietary\u2019<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three Public Interest Groups File Request Under Freedom Of Information Act To Obtain Dominion Energy\u2019s Plan To Protect Endangered Whales<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A coalition of three public interest groups\u2014 CFACT (The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow), The Heartland Institute, and the National Legal and Policy Center filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel Dominion Energy to reveal the methods it intends to use to protect the critically endangered Right Whale from extinction. Dominion has hidden its species protection plan from public view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FOIA request<\/a>, filed April 2, seeks to compel the Bureau of Energy Management (BOEM) to release two documents that Dominion Energy has filed with BOEM, which explain the procedures the energy giant will use to ensure that its construction of a wind facility off the coast of Virginia will not result in harm to whales and other protected marine species. Dominion has marked these documents as \u201cProprietary and Confidential Business Information Exempt from Public Disclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This request is after the reported death March 30<\/a> of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale near Virginia Beach\u2014a female that was accompanied by a newborn calf. This marks the fourth documented North Atlantic Right Whale death in US waters this year. Researchers say there are as few as 350 right whales left in the North Atlantic, with only 70 of those animals being females capable of weaning a calf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest right whale fatality was named \u201cCatalogue No. 1950\u201d by the New England Aquarium. She was at least 35 years old and was last seen alive with her calf off Amelia Island, Florida, on February 16. Experts do not expect the calf to survive without the support of its mother. According to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium\u2019s aerial survey, the mother had successfully raised five prior calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 24, Heartland, CFACT, and NLPC filed a lawsuit<\/a> in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a preliminary injunction to stop Dominion Energy\u2019s massive wind turbine project off the shore of Virginia. Now, this coalition is asking BOEM for expedited treatment of this request for documents on the grounds that it is \u201ca matter of urgent and compelling public interest.\u201d The group has requested a response to their demand for information in 10 business days rather than the usual 20 business days for less urgent requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dominion Energy has stated in documents filed with BOEM that it intends to begin offshore construction activities no later than May 1. The project, if completed, will consist of 176 turbines, each with blades longer than a football field. The turbines will be manufactured by the Siemens Co. Earlier this year, Siemens took a financial write-down of $4.7 billion due to warranty payments caused by faulty turbine components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following statements may be used with attribution. For more information or to speak to any of the principals of this effort, please contact Jim Lakely, Director of Communications at The Heartland Institute, at <\/strong>jlakely@heartland.org<\/strong><\/a> or call\/text 312-731-9364.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Rucker, President of CFACT<\/strong>, has criticized Dominion\u2019s project as a \u201cget rich quick boondoggle\u201d. He adds: \u201cThis is just one more indication of Dominion\u2019s bad faith and attempted cover-up by sidestepping regulations that would not only protect the right whale but also help save many other marine species whose lives will be put in jeopardy by this unwanted and unnecessary project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H. Sterling Burnett, Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center for Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute<\/strong>, said: \u201cThere is nothing commercially proprietary about the impact of Dominion\u2019s offshore activities on the North Atlantic Right Whale or other protected marine mammals and sea life. And there is nothing proprietary about their efforts to mitigate any impact. Such information is critical to the public\u2019s ability to critically assess the impacts and its ability to comment on them with full knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn this issue of fundamental importance, transparency is critical, yet Dominion has made it opaque, and the government, outrageously, has allowed it. Dominion and the government\u2019s position appears to be: \u2018Trust us, we are doing nothing wrong.\u2019 But that is simply not good enough. Unless and until Dominion or the government releases the information in Dominion\u2019s Appendices R and FF, and the public is allowed time to digest and comment on it, this project should be stayed by the courts, and all permitting ceased\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Kamenar, lead counsel for NLPC, said<\/strong>: \u201cFederal regulations prohibit even one human-caused death per year if the right whale is to survive as a species. Robust review of the means by which Dominion intends to achieve that goal is the only way the public will accept the claim by Dominion that their protection of the Right Whale is adequate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Taylor, President of the Heartland Institute, said<\/strong>: \u201cI am totally perplexed why Dominion Energy believes it can obtain public approval of its wind factory by concealing its plan for protection of the right whale. How can protection of the right whale qualify as \u2018confidential business information\u2019 when at the same time Dominion is granted monopoly protection and a guaranteed rate of return on its assets?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-###-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A coalition of three public interest groups\u2014 CFACT (The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow), The Heartland Institute, and the National Legal and Policy Center filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel Dominion Energy to reveal the methods it intends to use to protect the critically endangered Right Whale from extinction. Dominion has hidden its species protection plan from public view.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":317518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819776,691818992,691823331],"class_list":{"0":"post-317512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-dominion-energy","9":"tag-right-whale","10":"tag-save-the-whales","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0north-atlantic-wright-whale-scaled-1.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1700&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1kBa","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":244727,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=244727","url_meta":{"origin":317512,"position":0},"title":"Feds 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