Wrestling With Wind Farm

The East Hampton Town Trustees’ harbor management committee met yesterday with officials of Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island company that seeks to construct the proposed South Fork Wind Farm approximately 30 miles off Montauk. The committee plans to reconvene for another discussion with Deepwater Wind representatives next Thursday.

Rick Drew of the trustees said that the group is doing the necessary research in order to form an opinion and issue a position on the proposed wind farm. Many commercial fishermen and their representatives have vocally opposed the project, fearing a negative impact on habitat, migratory patterns, and other disruptions to their livelihood.

“We’re trying to understand the project better,” Mr. Drew told his colleagues at the trustees’ meeting on Monday. “We’re really doing some homework so the board has information.” After next Thursday’s meetings, he said, “we would like to prepare somewhat of an executive summary document we can share with the board and public of our findings. . . . I’ve got a pretty large dossier on the project, which I can share with the board when we get close.”

Clint Plummer, Deepwater Wind’s vice president of development, attended the trustees’ April 24 meeting and answered questions from them and from many commercial fishermen. He plans to continue a dialogue with the trustees and the public at a meeting next month, Mr. Drew said. The group is scheduled to meet on July 10 and 24.

In other news related to the proposed wind farm, the Long Island Federation of Labor held a meeting on offshore wind last week, at which the Workforce Development Institute presented its study “New York State and the Jobs of Offshore Wind Energy.” Some 30 union representatives attended, and all were supportive of offshore wind development and its potential to create local jobs, according to Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island, an advocacy group based in East Hampton, who attended the meeting.