ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — July 25, 2014 — Mechanical issues have temporarily sidelined the contentious seismic testing project off Long Beach Island, but more testing may be on the way in August.
A new proposal by the U.S. Geological Survey calls for a 36-gun array, compared with four guns in the LBI effort. The USGS project would send pulses of sound into the sea floor to map the continental shelf and measure potential tsunami hazards.
Seismic testing has been controversial due to potential impacts on marine life and various coastal industries, such as commercial fishing. Even as residents erected lawn signs and state officials vowed to continue fighting the Rutgers project, further seismic testing was approved last week for a large swath of the U.S. Atlantic Coast from Delaware to Florida for oil and gas exploration.
The USGS proposal, currently being reviewed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would be the third high-profile project to lead to an outcry from local environmental advocates and New Jersey’s boating and fishing industries.
“This is very frustrating because there’s very little time between when we’re supposed to evaluate these proposals and when it’s supposed to start,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, which submitted a brief just before the public comment deadline Wednesday. “It’s almost as though these are fait accompli.”
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