6/27/2008 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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May 10, 2008 Honorable C. Stephen Allred Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management U.S. Department of the Interior Room 6615 1849 C Street,NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Assistant Secretary Allred: We the undersigned hereby formally request that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) initiate a "consensus-based" management process, consistent with Department of the Interior (DOI) policies and proposed regulations (73 Fed. Reg. 126), for the Cape Wind proposal. DOI Environmental Statement Memorandum No. ESM03-7,Procedures for Implementing Consensus-Based Management in Agency Planning and Operation, sets forth "requirements" for agency decision-makers involved in environmental planning and review, such as that conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The policy requires community involvement in the NEPA process in an effort to achieve "agreement from diverse interests." ESM03-7,¶2. Policy No. ESM03-7 calls for the development of a "community alternative" as a part of consensus-based review. Such a process is ideally applied to situations where project proposals are controversial, have caused conflict within the local impacted community, and where the potential impacts will fall upon a large and diverse group of interests. The Cape Wind project proposal is a clear example of such a project. While there is strong community support and agreement that the development of renewable energy is desirable, there is an equally strong debate over the means by which the resources should be developed. Those in opposition to the Cape Wind project, including the agencies, towns and organizations we represent, adamantly believe that the proposal, in the applicant's proposed location, will severely harm the region. Better alternatives exist, and after nearly seveh years of conflict, it is clear that consensus-based management is the best way to achieve such a result. As directed by¶3.e. of ESM03-7, MMS must make use of"dispute resolution processes" under which to conduct the consensus-based process and identify the community alternative, which should in turn serve as the preferred alternative in the FEIS. Id. ¶3.d. At the outset of its review of this proposed project, we believe MMS should have employed consensus-based decision-making to facilitate the involvement of the community an d avoid the current conflict surrounding the proposal. Nonetheless, the current review of the DEIS gives DOI an excellent opportunity to implement the policy. We request that MMS adhere to policy