“What we have here is failure to communicate.” This quote, from the Strother Martin “Captain” character in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” applies perfectly to the Maine Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) approach to developing Sears Island instead of Mack Point as an offshore wind manufacturing facility. As a member of the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group (OSWPAG), MDOT told us we’d receive its alternatives analysis as soon as it was available.

On Oct. 11, I learned indirectly that just such an alternatives analysis could be found at https://www.maine.gov/mdot/projects/searsport/windport/. Later that day, I learned that MDOT posted this extensive document, encompassing hundreds of pages with attachments, a week before.

A spokesperson for MDOT claimed that posting this material would “not likely be of interest to the public” and was therefore not made known to OSWPAG members, the media or the public, elevating hypocrisy to a whole new level.

Thousands of people have expressed interest in this matter. Media across Maine and beyond reported on aspects of the Mack Point versus Sears Island siting issue. Shame on MDOT if that public interest isn’t overwhelmingly apparent to them.

Some questions raised by the documents: How did a minimum 800-foot width for the facility become a criterion when that is not listed as a criterion earlier in the analysis? Why is a flat facility site an absolute criterion? Desirable is not the same as necessary. Are the Sears Island wetlands valued properly?

Steve Miller
Islesboro