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Congressman Bill Keating wants answers and better protocols from the federal government following the Vineyard Wind blade failure that sent countless pieces of foam and fiberglass debris — both tiny and large — to Nantucket shores.
“Numerous state and local officials have contacted my office to express their concerns regarding the lack of communication from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in the aftermath of this incident,” wrote Keating in a letter this week to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
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BSEE has been regulating the oil and gas industry for more than a decade, and offshore wind is a new and developing industry in its portfolio. The agency cooperates with federal partner BOEM in the leasing of the expansive outer continental shelf for energy.
Per a government site, BOEM “studies the environment and leases resources,” while BSEE “provides regulatory oversight and enforcement” for environmental compliance, inspections and investigations.
“When debris is washing up on the beach, the first call a resident makes is to their town government, and [BSEE’s] delay in notifying local stakeholders is unfair to those impacted most by this incident,” Keating said in a press release Friday.
Nantucket officials, along with the press and public, were notified of the incident by Vineyard Wind on Monday, about two days after the blade failure occurred.
Vineyard Wind officials say they notified BSEE immediately, along with other agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard. That day, July 13, BSEE issued a verbal suspension order, halting all operations and construction at the project until a cause could be determined. BSEE then issued a written suspension order on Monday, July 15.
Additionally, the company immediately notified a “Regional Emergency Planning Committee” for Dukes and Barnstable counties that is “designed to trigger notification to first responders on Nantucket,” said Craig Gilvarg, Vineyard Wind spokesperson.
“As Vineyard Wind continued to assess the situation and gather information, additional outreach took place” to several tribes and municipalities, Gilvarg said by email.
Per Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan, approved by BOEM, the project has several plans, including an “Emergency Response Plan,” created for “communication protocol, coordination, containment, removal and mitigation of foreseen incidents that may occur.”
Nantucket residents have been critical of Vineyard Wind, the lessee, stating the company bears responsibility and did not notify residents soon enough of what happened.
Rick Sears, assistant town manager, told The Light Friday that the town was not notified by BSEE of the incident and has not received any updates yet from the agency.
He said that initially, Vineyard Wind was not “timely” in its communication, but that the company has gotten better by sharing regular updates with the town.
“However, the Town and its citizens remain dissatisfied with the speed, content and detail of information received from Vineyard Wind, GE Vernova and Avangrid,” Sears said by email.
Keating’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday on how the congressman views Vineyard Wind’s role and responsibility to notify stakeholders.
His office said he met with Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton this week, and “raised concerns with a potential failure with the epoxy.” GE Vernova officials announced this week that the preliminary investigation found the blade likely failed due to “insufficient bonding” or adhesive during the manufacturing process — which they termed a manufacturing defect.
BSEE officials have been conducting an independent investigation to determine what went wrong. As part of that process, they have been interviewing staff from both companies.
“Despite this bump in the road, I still firmly believe that the offshore wind industry will be a great benefit to our Commonwealth and nation and the lessons learned here will ultimately help continue to safely grow the wind industry,” Keating said Friday.
The Light contacted BSEE Friday for comment and with questions on what protocol BSEE must follow regarding notification, including whether the federal agency is under any requirement to notify local and state agencies.
Keating says in the event of a future incident, BSEE should immediately notify local, state and tribal officials in affected communities so they can be ready for any potential impacts.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) referred comments and questions about incident notification concerns to the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (MassEEA).
A spokesperson with MassEEA said Vineyard Wind notified the agency on July 13, and that MassEEA has since been in “close communication” with the wind company, BSEE, the Coast Guard and BOEM.
MassEEA and Vineyard Wind did not immediately respond to requests for comment and questions Friday afternoon regarding Keating’s letter and notification protocols.
According to the most recent updates from Vineyard Wind and GE officials, the companies have been rotating the damaged turbine in small increments to see if more debris shakes loose. They will continue this before they ultimately send teams and resources in to remove the damaged blade.
GE Vernova is working with Resolve Marine, a company that responded to the recent Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Maryland, for debris handling and demolition. Staff are working out of New Bedford with state and federal officials on a removal plan.
Nantucket town officials met Thursday with representatives from MassEEA, CZM and MassDEP to discuss state monitoring and response efforts.
As of Friday, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova crews continued to collect blade debris from the water and Nantucket beaches.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
A L.L. C. No bond put up for legacy removal of turbine
It’s great to know that the pieces of the blades are inert, they float and are totally recoverable! Not like diesel fuel leaks, exhaust and toxicity to water life and limb!