BOEM pretends it knows the noise impairment levels for Right Whales but hides its own admitted lack of knowledge on the issue and also obscures its ongoing research that will not be completed for several years.
By Collister Johnson September 27th, 2023 33 Comments @ CFACT
The Biden Administration is rushing headlong to start the massive
construction of offshore wind power projects off the East Coast. The
wind industry calls these installations “farms”.
In no way, shape, or form do they resemble bucolic farms?
They are massive, noisy, complicated, metal, concrete, and fiberglass
factories consisting of thousands of steel towers, all taller than the
Washington Monument, topped by fiberglass blades longer than a football
field, and surrounded by tons of rock required to prevent ocean
scouring.
Even if one subscribes to the absurd theory that carbon dioxide
controls the climate, these factories will, when considering the energy
and materials required to construct them, result in zero reduction of
CO2 in the atmosphere and have zero impact on world climate.
Repeat: zero reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere and zero impact on climate.
But vendors believe there could be a lot of money to be made in this
business, and the wind industry has been effective in sprinkling seed
money into the coffers of politicians and so-called environmental groups
to support the legislation necessary to pay for this boondoggle – money
which will ultimately be derived from hapless electricity consumers who
want nothing more than cheap, reliable electricity to power their daily
lives, and who will find out too late in the game that offshore wind
will be neither cheap, reliable, or environmentally friendly.
Fortunately, several citizen groups have been formed that are
vigorously opposing this massive industrialization of the ocean. The two
leading organizations are Save Right Whales Coalition, led by Lisa
Linowes: https://saverightwhales.org/, and Save Long Beach Island, led
by Dr. Robert Stern https://www.savelbi.org. In addition, Michael
Shellenberger has produced a terrific documentary, Thrown to the Wind,
which provides an eye-opening view into the real world of noise produced
by so-called survey ships. Save LBI has also initiated litigation in
New Jersey federal court seeking to revoke the permits issued by BOEM
authorizing this preconstruction activity.
Officially listed as an endangered species by all State and federal
governments, the Right Whale falls under the protection of both the
Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. These
statutes require wind energy companies to obtain an “incidental take”
permit for the Right Whales and other protected marine mammals while
engaged in pre-construction site assessment work, which consists of
sonar blasting the ocean floor to determine the placement of the wind
turbines.
Last year, BOEM issued a dozen “take” permits to different wind
developers who spent the winter months sonar blasting off the East
Coast.
Between December 2022 and May of this year, 60 large whales,
including one Right Whale, washed up dead on the beaches of NY, NJ, and
VA. BOEM put together a “hastily called ” news conference to counter the
outcry from the public over this outbreak of dead whales.
BOEM seemed absolutely sure there was no connection between the dead
whales and sonar blasting: “At this point, there is no scientific
evidence”, BOEM claimed in carefully worded lawyer jargon, ” that noise
resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could
potentially cause mortality of whales”. It concluded, ” There are no
known links between recent large whale mortalities and ongoing offshore
wind surveys”.
But what BOEM did not mention, or even reference, was the fact that
it has funded a program currently underway that is designed precisely to
answer the question of the extent to which sonar noise adversely
impacts Baleen whales. Nor did BOEM mention that it had virtually no
knowledge of the impact of sonar noise on large whales when it
authorized the IHAs that permitted sonar mapping off the East Coast.
The program, termed “Auditory Weighting Function for Low Frequency Whales,” consists of three studies
that examine the underwater noise abilities of the minke and humpback
whales as proxies for Right Whales and other Baleen whales.
The program, begun in 2021, contains some startling admissions.
First, BOEM is very clear in admitting that it does not know how sonar
noise impacts “low frequency” whales. “The hearing abilities of ‘low
frequency’ whales”, it explained, “remain one of the ‘major unknowns’ as
the regulatory community has tried to deal with the effects of noise on
marine mammals.” It added, “This information is imperative for BOEM to
assess the potential effects of noise-producing actions (from both oil
and gas and renewable energy) on these species, many of which are highly
threatened”. It further conceded, ” the data need is national
information on just one species of baleen whale which will significantly
advance the current understanding (which is almost nonexistent) ……”.
Second, it acknowledged that “we are required to know this
information for analyses under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the
Endangered Species Act.” It further explains that ” the lack of
meaningful, validated data for LF whales has made it extremely
challenging for NMFS and others to derive meaningful regulatory ‘not to
exceed thresholds’ for noise sources, as required under the MMPA and
ESA”.
The program envisions a set of three studies funded not just by BOEM but also by the US Navy, NOAA, and the Marine Mammal Commission.
This means that the program, when completed, will provide guidance
for the entire government concerning acceptable noise levels for both
oil and gas and offshore wind development.
So why hasn’t BOEM acknowledged that it does not know noise
impairment levels for large whales, and why hasn’t it revealed the
existence of this program, which will produce the information it is
“required to know” under the MMPA and ESA?
The reason is obvious. The studies are being conducted right now and
have not yet been completed. The final report and conclusions of the
studies are not scheduled for completion until June 2025, almost two
years from now.
BOEM is obviously hiding the existence of these critical studies.
BOEM does not yet know the impact of sonar signals on Baleen whales, it
is very clear that under the Marine Mammal Protection Act BOEM is
required to rely on ” the best scientific information available” in
crafting underwater noise regulations. In its rush to authorize offshore
wind construction before the elections in November 2024, BOEM is
relying on guesswork and outdated guesswork, at that. The Federal Code
of Regulations makes it very clear that BOEM cannot hide behind the
excuse that this critical information is not available when it knows
full well that the data will be derived from ongoing studies that are
organized and funded by BOEM itself.
At a minimum, this set of facts would support a temporary injunction
prohibiting BOEM from issuing further IHAs until the studies have been
completed and the data has been incorporated into definitive
regulations. Any final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the EPA
that fails to incorporate the data to be derived from these latest
studies will be de facto misleading and de jure unlawful.
When BOEM claims that “there is no evidence” linking the recent
outbreak of whale deaths due to sonar testing, it is engaging in obvious
and easily provable deception. This is a classic case of gaslighting.
BOEM cannot sweep its “knowledge gap” concerning Right Whale noise
impairment under the rug and expect the courts to approve any further
offshore wind development.
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Johnson has
spent the last four decades working in the public and private sectors in
Virginia, primarily in the fields of project finance and maritime
transportation. He began his career in public service as Chairman of the
Board of the Virginia Port Authority. He was appointed by President
George W. Bush, and confirmed by the Senate, as a member of the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation, and most recently, as Administrator of
the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. In that capacity, he
became knowledgeable in the field of climate and its impact on the Great
Lakes. He currently serves on CFACT's Board of Advisors.
Johnson holds a B.A. degree from Yale University, and a J.D. from the
University of Virginia.
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