Salazar says he plans to decide on controversial Cape Cod wind farm proposal by end of April

Salazar to decide on planned Cape Cod wind farm

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday he will decide by the end of April whether to approve a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod that has sparked a bitter, nine-year public fight.

Salazar’s comments came after meetings with key players in Cape Wind’s plan to build 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, in Nantucket Sound. The project would be located several miles from the Cape Cod shore, across a 25-square-mile swath of federal waters.

“To have it continuing to face a future of uncertainty is bad for everybody that is involved. … We are moving it forward with clarity,” Salazar said at a news conference after the meetings.

Opponents say it would be a hazard to aviation, harm the environment and mar historic vistas. Supporters say the project will provide cheaper energy, reduce pollution and create green jobs.

“This gives the Obama administration and Secretary Salazar the opportunity to move this project forward and jump start the offshore wind industry in the United States,” said Cape Wind President Jim Gordon.

A major hurdle remaining is finding a way to protect Indian tribes’ spiritual traditions amid the construction of the turbines.

The National Park Service recently decided Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant traditional cultural, historic and archaeological property. The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes say the designation, which would come with new regulations for activity on the sound, is needed to preserve the tribe’s sacred rituals.

Tribal rituals, including dancing and chanting, take place at secret sacred sites around the sound at various times, such as the summer and winter solstices and when an elder passes. The tribes also say their ancestors’ remains are buried on Horseshoe Shoal, where the turbines would be built.

Project opponents are proposing an alternative site outside Nantucket Sound in federal waters southwest of Nantucket.

“We are very supportive of wind energy but urge Secretary Salazar and Interior officials to consider other viable alternatives outside of Nantucket Sound that respect tribal rights and preserve a treasured national resource,” said Audra Parker, president of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the main opposition group.

Salazar said he hoped that the tribes, the project developers and other interested parties can forge a compromise on the issue before he makes a final decision.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said he invited Salazar to visit Mashpee so he can “understand first-hand the importance of this land” to the tribe. A Salazar spokeswoman said no decision about a visit had been made.

Associated Press writer Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.