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The lead government regulator on offshore wind issued a long-awaited federal framework this week to guide wind developers on how they should mitigate impacts and compensate the fishing industry for any loss incurred due to the turbine arrays.
It includes recommendations on claims processes, fisheries communication programs, and cable burial, and an appendix of complex formulas to calculate compensation — much of what developers have already been doing, albeit in varying ways.
The document is not legally binding, and has been in the works for several years, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issuing draft guidelines in 2022. BOEM states its new guidance “ensures consistency and promotes fair treatment of fishermen, regardless of their home or landing port.”
“This guidance focuses on transparency and early engagement with fishing communities, and effective strategies to mitigate potential disruptions,” said Brian Hooker, a BOEM lead biologist who led much of the effort. “Through this initiative, BOEM is working to decrease the impacts of offshore wind projects on commercial and recreational fisheries, and ensure fair treatment for all fishermen.”
Stakeholders have frequently criticized the inconsistency among wind projects in addressing impacts to fisheries. BOEM lacks authority to create or manage a fund to compensate fishermen for offshore wind, and has stated such an ability would require congressional action, which hasn’t happened despite some early steps.
The federal government has largely left the issue of compensation to developers and as such, it has been decided on a project-by-project and state-by-state basis that “has resulted in inconsistencies in estimating impacts to fisheries,” state officials told BOEM years ago.
In response, 11 states have been developing a regional fund to resolve possible inequities. This fall, they hired a third-party administrator, which BOEM recommends in its guidance, to design the funding program with oversight from a board of fishermen and wind industry representatives.
BOEM recommends that this administrator should issue public reports, at least annually, on payments made to the fishing industry.
In its final guidance, BOEM says wind developers should pay claims for the first five years of project operations, at minimum, during what they call an “adjustment period” for the fishing industry. Project operations, however, are expected to last 20 to 30 years, and the agency acknowledges compensation may be needed after those first few years.
The new guidance also suggests that wind developers consider offering to “buy out and retire fishing vessels and the permits assigned to those vessels” if fishing companies face “unrecoverable losses” from project impacts.
Critics have raised a “burden of proof problem” with fisheries compensation, stating the government and developers are unfairly placing the burden on the fishing industry to prove revenue impacts from wind development.
It’s a complicated number to try to calculate, as fish stocks can also be impacted by fishery management decisions and changing ocean conditions, including those brought by climate change.
The new guidance acknowledges this, stating lessees “may reach an agreement whereby compensation is paid based on fishing history in a project area, rather than proof of economic loss.”
“This approach could result in a program that could reduce the administrative burden for all parties and resolve uncertainties about causation of impact and data supporting proof of impact,” it continues.
Vineyard Wind has adopted such an approach, only requiring that fishermen prove eligibility for the program. Once they are accepted, they can receive compensation, without needing to prove specific economic loss. Not all companies have taken such an approach, though, and again, the BOEM framework does not require it.
Gordon Carr, executive director of the New Bedford Port Authority, said he was disappointed with the final guidance.
“While we appreciate the time and effort that went into the ‘guidance’ we remain disappointed that the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way,” Carr said in an email.
“We remain committed to ensuring that the interaction between offshore wind and commercial fishing is based on reliable science, realistic assumptions and that the requirements for wind developers to compensate commercial fishermen for the disruption of their livelihood carry with them the power of an enforceable law or regulation,” Carr continued.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
“Receive compensation, without providing specific proof of an economic loss”! This is nothing more than a shakedown for future silence, in other words, hush money. Silence for money along with absolutely zero loss! The “fishing industry” is just like the “Good fellas”!