March 15, 2023 — Two New Jersey congressmen, together representing a significant stretch of the New Jersey coastline, sent a letter Tuesday to Biden administration officials asking what has been done to reduce the potential harm to whales and other marine life from offshore wind projects.
“Offshore wind development and deployment stands to be a consequential national undertaking, which is why our approach should be done correctly the first time, with full consideration taken in order to mitigate negative impacts on marine species such as the North Atlantic right whale,” reads the letter, signed by U.S. Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, and Chris Smith, R-4th, along with Reps. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, and Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine.
The new letter cites a May 2022 internal federal letter raising concerns about the potential impact of wind farms on right whales, an extremely endangered whale.