With respect to your recent editorial dated July 29, 2005, we at FPL Energy agree that public involvement in the regulatory process is very important. That’s why in addition to the over 800 public notice packages mailed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, FPL Energy mailed over 1750 postcards and paid advertisements were placed in Newsday and in local newspapers throughout the project area to put the word out about the open houses.

That’s also why we were pleased that over 300 individuals participated in the six different open house sessions held on three separate dates in three separate locations. Many of those attending open house sessions were individual citizens and many, like Mr. Healy of the Biltmore Shores Civic Association, and his colleague Mr. Wally Damato of the Nassau Shores Civic Association, represented established civic and environmental organizations increasing the effective reach to thousands of their members across south shore of Long Island.

The Open Houses were the first steps in a continuing effort to reach out to and inform the communities and stakeholders that might be affected by the project. The Open Houses were scheduled just as soon as the Army Corps of Engineers had determined that the environmental application submitted in April was "complete" and therefore ready for to proceed to public review and comment. And on the basis of public comments, the US Army Corps of Engineers extended the public comment period by three weeks to August 12, 2005.

In the year since FPL Energy was selected by LIPA to develop, build and operate the wind park, we have scheduled and conducted over a hundred outreach meetings with various stakeholders including elected officials, regulatory agencies, and environmental, business and civic leaders, and we extend that offer to other interested organizations. More recently various media outlets have continued to report on the progress of the project. In fact, in late April of this year, Newsday and TV including NBC Ch. 4, and News 12 Long Island reported that LIPA and FPL Energy had submitted a technical application to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the proposed wind park. The Army Corps of Engineers review initiated by that application is the structured opportunity at the federal level for the community to discuss the project.

We would greatly appreciate and encourage the community to participate fully in these extensive environmental reviews as additional studies are completed and released for public consideration and comment. We agree with your editorial that the degree of potential impact on the environment of the south shore needs to be fully understood – but respectfully suggest that conclusions be drawn from participation in the process and from the record of scientific analysis before drawing conclusions.

Again, our project team welcomes the opportunity to discuss the project with local organizations seeking information. Our Long Island community relations manager can be reached at 631-421-4016 or via email at deborah_colton@fpl.com. Individuals who wish to be added to a list for future mailings and information may also contact Ms Colton.

We look forward to an active exchange of information with the communities and stakeholders interested in this project.

Steve Stengel, FPL Energy

Manager of Communications