April 12, 2023 — New Jersey Republican state legislators have introduced measures calling for a moratorium on offshore wind development – challenging a keystone goal of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, and riding a wave of opposition from local groups on the Jersey Shore.
Republican state Sens. Declan O’Scanlon and Ed Durr on April 11 introduced a resolution “urging the state and federal governments to place an immediate moratorium on all sonar testing and wind turbine mapping in response to the surge of unexplained marine wildlife deaths along the coast of New Jersey,” according to a statement from O’Scanlon.
A series of whale and dolphin strandings on New Jersey beaches since December brought pressure from offshore wind critics to bear on the Murphy administration and the federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
The federal agencies say there is no evidence to support critics’ allegations that survey vessels working offshore wind projects had a role in the mammal deaths. Meanwhile Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and other Republican members in the House of Representatives are pushing measures to delay wind projects and hold hearings on BOEM’s permitting process.