Our Vision: No Mistake in the Lake— Our Coalition is supportive of the production and transmission of affordable, reliable and cost effective energy, which includes a component of renewable energy. We support using American ingenuity to become energy independent while strengthening local economies. We believe that, as stewards of one of the world’s most precious resources – 20% of the planet’s freshwater – the state of Michigan must be held accountable for making prudent and informed decisions regarding the conservation of our resources for future generations.
Our Mission: We believe Havgul-Scandia, or any entity proposing wind power plants in Lake Michigan, must be held to the best available scientific and technological standards in zoning, construction, operation and decommissioning. Any technology used throughout the lifetime of offshore wind factories must be thoroughly demonstrated to be safe, reliable, cost effective and nonpolluting, prior to permitting.
The development of responsible Michigan offshore wind power standards and regulations are necessary to protect the freshwater and coasts of our Great Lakes, and the citizens of the state, from any adverse impact to our water, economy, and resources in and along Lake Michigan:
· Applications should be entertained only where the developer shows that it has obtained all necessary legal approvals, authorizations, and permits, and that the proposal is in full compliance with all applicable federal and local law, especially relating to the long term safety of our water, air, economy and environment.
· Eligibility must be limited to companies that have already completed another development of the same size and type, and in the same environmental conditions, as the one they propose in Michigan waters.
· Using all relevant mapping criteria, the state must identify categorical exclusion zones, conditional zones, and most favorable zones for offshore wind factories. If nominations of other sites are permitted, they must be subject to the same, or more stringent, strict mapping criteria that determine the state’s initial selection of most favorable areas.
· The state must adopt specific rules against any wind factory activity within
a defined distance from shore.
· The state must specify a protective radius around any state or national park that is significantly larger than the general shoreline setback.
· The state must provide for oversight of DNRE’s actions, and it must include a private right of action to enforce compliance with the law. These decisions are too important to be made by one unelected administrative body. The criteria on these issues need to be specific, and they need to be spelled out.
· The state must specify that any proposed offshore wind factory will not proceed over the opposition of local communities.
· The state must provide a specific process by which communities can enact zoning ordinances either prohibiting or inviting turbine installation in their waters.
· The developer must post performance bonds sufficient to mitigate for any adverse impacts of the project, including decommissioning.
POWER wants to ensure:
· That, PRIOR to any permitting of any industrial project, wind industry and government entities conduct rigorous studies on the potential impacts to:
· our public health and safety long term, especially of our water and air, economy, and environment;
· our local economies, including working farms, boating, shipping, and fishing;
· our historic and cultural resources, including treaty rights and historic shipwrecks;
· our biologic resources, such as state or federal species of concern, fisheries, migratory waterfowl, eagles, and bats;
· our property rights and values;
· our quality of life;
· our tourism industry and recreational rights of citizens and visitors.
We seek an open and transparent public process, essential to the trust of the taxpayers, where all decision-making agencies take into account the impact that the construction and operation of such factories could have on the best practices, current uses, and economies of Lake Michigan.