WASHINGTON, D.C. – Governor Janet Mills and the Maine Congressional Delegation issued the following joint statement today in response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)’s release of its draft Wind Energy Area (WEA) for the Gulf of Maine:
“We look forward to reviewing the proposal in detail, but we are encouraged that the Bureau has initially listened to our concerns and those of the fishing community by excluding Lobster Management Area 1 in its draft. We are opposed to any inclusion of Lobster Management Area 1 in the final WEA and we strongly urge the Bureau to continue to engage with Maine’s fishing community, Tribal governments, and other stakeholders during the comment period. We believe that clean energy can offer economic and environmental benefits for Maine that must be pursued prudently and responsibly with a commitment to minimizing to the greatest extent possible the impact on fishermen, recreation, and other crucial ocean uses that are critical to Maine.”
The announcement comes after a June letter in which Governor Mills and the Maine Congressional Delegation urged BOEM to remove Lobster Management Area 1 and other areas from any further consideration for commercial offshore wind leasing and to fully consider the views and concerns of Maine fishing communities while it continues to weigh leasing areas.
A map of the draft WEA can be found on BOEM’s Gulf of Maine webpage. BOEM has opened a 30-day public review and comment period on the proposal. To comment on the draft WEA please go to regulations.gov and search for docket number BOEM-2023-0054. BOEM will accept comments through November 20.