Why Did Vineyard Wind Wait Two Days To Alert The Town About Its Damaged Turbine?

Why did it take Vineyard Wind two full days to notify the town of Nantucket about its damaged turbine blade 15 miles southwest of the island?

That question has been hotly debated since debris from the turbine began washing up on Nantucket's south shore Tuesday morning, and the town and Vineyard Wind have responded to inquiries from the Current with conflicting stories.

"The town wasn't informed until Monday. That's unacceptable,"  former Select Board member Bob DeCosta said during Wednesday night's Select Board meeting. "We've got a bunch of suits here trying to cover their tracks."

The offshore incident that resulted in damage to Vineyard Wind's turbine blade occurred at some point Saturday evening, July, 13.

Town manager Libby Gibson told the Current Wednesday that she was not notified by Vineyard Wind until Monday at approximately 5 p.m. Just hours later, fiberglass and foam debris would start washing ashore on Nantucket, leaving the town flat-footed in its initial response.

During Wednesday night's Select Board meeting, Gibson began her remarks by reemphasizing that the town was not notified until Monday at 5 p.m.

But Vineyard Wind disputes this account. According to Craig Gilvarg, who serves as Vineyard Wind's communications director, the company followed its emergency response plan which should have triggered a notification to the town.

"Immediately upon learning of the damage to the GE Vernova blade, Vineyard Wind, following its federally approved emergency response plan, promptly contacted the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Regional Emergency Planning Committees for Duke’s and Barnstable counties (which triggers notification to first responders on Nantucket), and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection," Gilvarg wrote in an email to the Current.

"On Monday evening, after running an analysis modeling the course of debris, Vineyard Wind immediately contacted town officials to inform them of the potential for debris on Nantucket’s southern-facing beaches, and of its action plan to initiate debris monitoring and recovery efforts on the island," Gilvarg added.

But Gibson was emphatic that notification from the regional emergency planning committee never occurred.

"I have requested a copy of the notification indicated, from Vineyard Wind, at least twice," Gibson told the Current. "I have not received it. I did not receive anything from Barnstable County. I have requested that the Police and Fire Chiefs search their email systems to determine if anything was received. They have not had a chance yet to definitively confirm with me whether or not the notification was received. I would like to base my response on facts and I do not yet have documentation to confirm whether or not the town was notified in the manner described by Vineyard Wind."

The Current followed up with Nantucket Police Chief Jody Kasper on Thursday to ask if the department had been notified.

"No," Kasper said. "Myself and Lt. Coakley, who is the emergency management coordinator, neither one of us was notified. And I checked with our dispatch center, obviously, I would expect if our dispatch center would have gotten that call they would have notified us. But I said just check anyway. They checked yesterday and we weren't notified. So the first we heard of it was Monday from (Harbormaster) Sheila (Lucey)."

Part of the "mutual obligations" contained within the Good Neighbor Agreement between the town and Vineyard Wind stipulates that:

"The Parties agree to communicate with one another on a regular basis on community relations and potential opportunities to advance the Parties’ mutual interests."