New Commission to Assess Maine Response to Severe Weather
Gov. Janet Mills signed an executive order in May creating the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission. The 24-member group will study the state’s responses to the severe weather that hit Maine over the past 18 months and recommend strategies for storm resilience and recovery. This follows a season that saw more than $90 million dollars in damage to public infrastructure during the storms of December and January alone, according to the governor’s office. The commission is made up of several top state officials and agency heads, as well as local officeholders, experts in fields related to recovery, and two representatives from “impacted industries.”
PenBayPilot photo.
Dead Right Whale Found Off Nova Scotia
The remains of an endangered North Atlantic right whale were found in mid-May off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), a Nova Scotia-based non-profit organization, announced that an aerial surveillance plane from Transport Canada spotted a partial whale carcass 140 kilometers off the shore of southwestern Nova Scotia. MARS said analysis by experts in Canada and the U.S. confirmed the carcass was that of a right whale. Due to the advanced state of decomposition and limited photos, the exact cause of death was indeterminate, MARS said.
Fewer Commercial Fish Stocks Overfished in 2023
The number of fish on the government’s overfishing list sank to a new low last year. NOAA released an updated analysis of American fisheries via its annual “Status of the Stocks” report, which provides an assessment of the populations of the seafood species fishermen catch and customers buy. The report states that 94% of fish stocks are not subject to overfishing, which is slightly better than a year ago. The U.S. was able to remove several important fish stocks from the overfishing list, NOAA said in a statement. They include the Gulf of Maine and Cape Hatteras stock of Atlantic mackerel.
Money to Fishery Councils for Climate Change Impacts
NOAA awarded $20 million to support regional fishery management council projects throughout the country that tackle the impacts of climate change. The funds were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. Each fishery management council will receive approximately $1–$3 million in funding based on their final project proposals to spearhead priority climate work. The funding will help strengthen council efforts to prepare for and respond to climate change, develop management measures or processes to improve climate resiliency, and implement climate scenario planning efforts and outcomes.
Maine DOT Seeks Federal Funding for Wind Port
The Maine Department of Transportation applied for $456 million in grant funding from the federal government to help construct an offshore wind port on a portion of state-owned Sears Island reserved for port development. In 2009, Sears Island was divided into two parcels: approximately 601 acres, or two thirds of the island, were placed in a permanent conservation easement held by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust; the remaining one third, or approximately 330 acres, was reserved by the Department of Transportation for future development.
The department submitted the request for Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant funding to the U.S. Department of Transportation in May for the Dirigo Atlantic Floating Offshore Wind Port project, which also includes construction of a semi-submersible barge. A study from 2021 found that a heavy-lift barge is required for launching floating offshore wind turbine foundations in the Gulf of Maine. As proposed, this barge would be the first U.S.-flagged and compliant vessel purpose-built for the floating offshore wind industry.
State's Offshore Wind Lease Application Approved
On May 29, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) approved the state of Maine's application for an offshore lease to operate a floating wind turbine research array. The site is southeast of Portland, 28 nautical miles off the coast. If developed, it will include up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines generating up to 144 megawatts of renewable energy. Maine requested the research lease in 2021 to study floating offshore wind energy technology and turbine deployment. Diamond Offshore Wind, a Boston energy company that’s partnering on the research array, said federal approval is an important step in advance of commercial scale development in the Gulf of Maine and would be the first project to use an offshore wind port in Searsport.
2024 Hurricane Season Forecast to be Active
NOAA National Weather Service forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center predict above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year. NOAA’s outlook for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which spans from June 1 to November 30, predicts an 85% chance of an above-normal season. NOAA is forecasting a range of 17 to 25 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 4 to 7 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).
The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to have above-normal activity due to near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Nina conditions in the Pacific, and reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation. As one of the strongest El Ninos ever observed nears its end, NOAA scientists predict a quick transition to La Nina conditions, which are conducive to Atlantic hurricane activity because La Nina tends to lessen wind shear in the tropics. At the same time, abundant oceanic heat content in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea creates more energy to fuel storm development.
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