Archive for the ‘Transmission of Energy’ Category

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new online resource intended to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration among the scientific community on environmental modeling. The Integrated Environmental Modeling Hub (iemHUB) website is designed to “facilitate knowledge sharing, discussion and collaboration on models and tools that support multimedia and multidisciplinary analysis.” The agency uses integrated environmental modeling to simulate environmental processes and interactions between ecological and human-influenced systems and to inform its decision making process.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau of the Department of the Interior, finalized review of a permit application from Cape Wind Associates to construct a controversial wind farm project on a 24- square-mile area on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar had indicated that he wanted remaining issues resolved in a timely manner, and had set a March 1, 2010, deadline to determine if a resolution of adverse effects among consulting parties could be reached. The ACHP is convening a panel of members to develop formal comments for Secretary Salazar.

While much recent public and media attention had focused on the finding that Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) as well as for meeting other criteria, there are also a number of other historic resources that would be affected by the project.

The proposal consists of 130 wind turbine generators in a 24-square-mile area on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). While none of the Section 106 issues are unprecedented in themselves, this complex, high-profile undertaking underscores some challenging policy issues associated with the development of alternative and renewable sources of energy and their potential effects on historic properties and their settings.

The ACHP formally entered the Section 106 review in April 2005, when the Corps of Engineers (Corps) was the lead agency, after receiving expressions of concern questioning Corps’ compliance with the Section 106 regulations. MMS became lead agency after assuming responsibility for alternative energy projects on the OCS as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. MMS formally initiated its Section 106 consultation process in 2008, holding consultation meetings in July and September, and formally issuing a Determination of Effect in December 2008. In the finding, MMS identified 29 historic properties that will be adversely affected by the undertaking, including 28 historic structures or districts and one TCP.

Other consulting parties include the Massachusetts State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, governments and historical commissions from local communities within the viewshed of the proposed project, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), a coalition of local citizens dedicated to preservation of the natural and historic setting of Nantucket Sound, and others.

The ACHP participated in consultations and issued letters in December 2008 and April and June 2009 advising MMS regarding steps to resolve issues of concern involving the Section 106 process. The major concerns focused on the sufficiency of the effort to identify historic properties, the eligibility of Nantucket Sound as a historic property, the effect on two National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), and the status of consultation with tribes regarding the identification of additional historic properties of religious and cultural significance to them. Read the rest of this entry »

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. The agency is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs, and delegates to states and tribes the responsibility for issuing permits and for monitoring and enforcement. Where national standards are not met, EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality.

Other agency priorities include the following:

Financial assistance:  In recent years, between 40 and 50 percent of EPA’s enacted budgets have provided direct support through grants to State environmental programs. EPA grants to States, non-profits and educational institutions support high-quality research that will improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its goals.

Environmental research: At laboratories located throughout the nation, the Agency works to assess environmental conditions and to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems; integrate the work of scientific partners such as nations, private sector organizations, academia and other agencies; and provide leadership in addressing emerging environmental issues and in advancing the science and technology of risk assessment and risk management.

Voluntary partnerships and programs: The Agency works through its headquarters and regional offices with over 10,000 industries, businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments, on over 40 voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. Partners set voluntary pollution-management goals; examples include conserving water and energy, minimizing greenhouse gases, slashing toxic emissions, re-using solid waste, controlling indoor air pollution, and getting a handle on pesticide risks. In return, EPA provides incentives like vital public recognition and access to emerging information.

Environmental education: EPA advances educational efforts to develop an environmentally conscious and responsible public, and to inspire personal responsibility in caring for the environment.

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (“AISI”) the use of steel utility poles, a market historically dominated by wood poles, has seen triple digit growth in recent years.  Replacement poles account for in excess of 4 million new utility poles per year, in the United States alone.  In 2001, the AISI reported that the steel tonnage used to produce utility poles increased by 29% over the previous year.  The AISI has developed a transportation and infrastructure program, the goal of which is to increase the use of steel in the construction market – with one of the areas of focus being utility poles.

According to the North American Wood Pole Coalition (“NAMPC”) the U.S. currently has approximately 110 million utility poles in use.  The U.S. transportation system is the largest in the world – comprising some 3.9 million miles of public roads, sufficient to circle the globe more than 157 times. Utility poles are required at all such roadways, including the 5-thousand public-use airports, the 145 major seaports, and all private sector developments. Read the rest of this entry »