Woods Hole Ferry Terminal "Feasibilty"

  Woods Hole Ferry Terminal "Feasibility"  

Folks, The Steamship Authority has provided several options for a new ferry terminal in Woods Hole.

Massachusetts state government, local towns and agencies often present options like A,B and C. Massachusetts has the dubious distinction of leaving out the choice of none of the above or just not telling the public what real choice has been for quite some time. You have to look for what's missing from feasibility studies and ask why.  

In order to tear down and build a new ferry terminal the project will have to go through a local permitting process that if everything goes well will take over a year. When was the last time a project this size didn't have a citizens group object to something during the permitting process.

One example is the increase in noise 24/7 of trucks operating on Woods Hole Road ( state highway) turning the neighborhoods into an industrial zone.  

Once the local permits are in hand there is the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which require extensive studies. The Massachusetts Oceans Act, enacted in May 2008, requires the state to develop a comprehensive ocean management plan.  

The Steamship Authority is exempt from regulation by Falmouth or by the Cape Cod Commission,  

Many questions remain unanswered today. The slips from the new terminal proposal are shown with slips extending out 100 feet into the harbor. Falmouth is an approved port for the Nantucket Ocean wind project with  252 round trips per year each (or two drips daily on weekdays) by a 750 hp crew boat, a 1,500 hp support vessel, and a 100 hp Zodiac boat for inspections. The reference to the 1,500 horse power support vessel may answer the reason for the 100 foot slips into the harbor. They will tell you the horse power of the boat but leave out the length and weight. I always ask why ?  

When you read these reports look for what is not in the report and why they left out information or only provide miniscule projections.  

The financing of the project at this time is unknown but could fall anywhere from 100 to 200 million dollars.  

In the next few months your all going to hear about the ongoing feasibility study and the various stages of the study about the new ferry terminal concept. Is there actually going to be a new 2014 update of the older 2013 feasibility study ?  

So what is the alternative ? 

Operation "Steamship Authority" New Bedford ?  

What is the real reason for building the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal ? Aka the "ocean wind turbine port." Why the rush to complete the New Bedford terminal by December ?

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is using up to 200 million dollars in renewable energy funds to build an ocean wind turbine port in New Bedford.

Quonset Point, Rhode Island and Falmouth are the federally permitted construction ports for Cape Wind. Not New Bedford.

Governor Patrick announced in 2010 that the New Bedford port would cost 35 million.That cost is nearing 200 million. 

Ocean wind contractors already have a port in Rhode Island and Deep Water Wind will be sharing the Quonset Point docks. Not New Bedford.   

The governor has pulled out all the stops to get the project completed by December of this year at any cost.That cost is nearing 200 million. 

Falmouth residents especially Woods Hole residents have to keep their eye on the ball.

Look at the current feasibility study (2013)  and ask why they wouldn't just move the entire project to New Bedford ?

The Town of Falmouth has major issues of not paying attention to feasibility studies. The most recent was the feasibility of two town owned commercial wind turbines. Wind 1 and Wind 2 are the names of the turbines that have been shut down 12 hours a day and all day on Sunday. One feasibility study done for Falmouth Wind 1 actually stated that 99 homes could be affected by wind turbine noise and designated the homes by streets.

Could the residential home owners of Woods Hole Road (a state highway) demand commercial trucks be banned 12 hours a day and Sunday from the use of the highway ?

Here is the latest feasibility 2013 study for the Woods Hole Ferry :

https://www1.steamshipauthority.com/writable/files/summary_of_woods_hole_terminal_feasibility_study_presentation_-_2013-11-12.pdf