April 6, 2023 — There has to be something that’s contributing to a rash of marine mammal strandings along the New Jersey coastline, officials say. So, what is it?

County, state, and federal officials gathered in Long Branch on Wednesday to call for a pause of offshore wind activity, so that a comprehensive — and unbiased — investigation can be conducted into whether the going-green effort is contributing to the deaths of dozens of dolphins and several whales on New Jersey and New York beaches.

“It’s a simple equation — just stop, investigate, and tell us why,” Monmouth County Commissioner Thomas Arnone told a crowd at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park.

For months, activists and officials have been pushing a not-yet-proven theory that preparation work to get wind turbines along the East Coast is interfering with the normal way of life for marine mammals, resulting in their death.

Environmentalists and New Jersey mayors have sent letters to President Joe Biden and Gov. Phil Murphy, asking for a halt to wind energy progress offshore, at least until it can be proven that acoustic surveys and other activity aren’t directly causing deadly harm to marine life. A moratorium has also been the focus of legislation on the federal level.

Read the full article at New Jersey 101.5

April 2, 2o23 — Offshore wind came under congressional scrutiny March 16 when Rep. Jeff Van Drew hosted a field hearing in front of an overflow crowd at the Wildwood Convention Center.

Four Republican members of the House of Representatives heard from six experts, all of whom were critical of the offshore wind farms being developed in three lease areas off the New Jersey coast by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy.

The hearing was an effort to “develop a legislative solution for the disruptive effect of offshore wind,” Van Drew said.

Marine mammal deaths continue to be the catalyst for offshore wind opposition. Since early December, nine whales have been found dead or dying on New Jersey beaches. Other cetaceans, including porpoises and dolphins, have also been washing ashore at an alarming rate. Counting eight dolphins that stranded on the Sea Isle City beach March 21, that number has reached a combined 23 dead porpoises and dolphins since December according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

Although no official cause of death for the whales has been announced, concerns have been growing that they are connected to sonar mapping of the ocean floor being done in preparation for the construction of the Ocean Wind 1, Ocean Wind 2, and Atlantic Shores offshore wind projects.

Testimony by panelists depicted offshore wind as a threat to more than sea mammals. Tourism, commercial fishing, maritime safety and household budgets are all at risk, according to critics.

“If offshore wind industrialization moves forward, it will be the most profound transformation of the Atlantic coast in the history of the United States of America,” said Van Drew, who has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for a moratorium on offshore wind until answers to the whale death mystery can be found.

Rep. Chris Smith, from New Jersey’s 4th District (Monmouth and Ocean counties), has introduced a bill in the House seeking an investigation into the environmental approval process for offshore wind projects.

“Like the canary in the coal mine, the recent spate of tragic whale deaths has brought new light and increased scrutiny to the fast tracking of thousands of wind turbines off our coast,” Smith said. He called the wind farm approval process “shotty at best.”

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, agreed that something isn’t right.

“This is too much too fast and in a word simply reckless,” Zipf said. “Marine life is being placed at grave risk without scientific due diligence monitoring and protection to ensure the ocean survives this massive industrialization.”

Despite the magnitude of New Jersey’s offshore wind program, the public, especially those from communities most directly affected, feel like they have no say according to Van Drew, who chaired the meeting.

“From communities to stakeholders, it is hard to find a group that feels as though their thoughts and suggestions have been properly examined and/or addressed by ocean wind companies,” the congressman said.

Van Drew said Orsted, the Danish company which is building Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, was given the opportunity to appear at the hearing, but declined, instead submitting a letter that alludes to what they have already put into the public record.

Read the full article at Shore Local News

March 23, 2023 — U.S. Congressman Chris Smith attended a hearing on offshore windarms in New Jersey and slammed President Joe Biden and Governor Phil Murphy over what he called the harmful environmental impact 3,500 wind turbines could have on the coastal ecosystem.

Smith said the President and governor’s rush to install nearly 3,500 wind turbines off the coast of New Jersey without sufficient study on their impact on the environment, marine mammals, the fishing industry, tourism and navigational safety was reckless.

“The wind farm approval process has been shoddy at best, leaving unaddressed and unanswered numerous serious questions concerning the extraordinarily harmful environmental impact on marine life and the ecosystems that allow all sea creatures great and small to thrive,” Smith said. “Without serious, aggressive, and independent analysis on the ocean-altering impact of these projects, they must be paused.”

Smith cited a Carnegie Mellon study that noted “There is a very substantial risk that Category 3 hurricanes can destroy half or more of the turbines at some locations,” as an example of these issues.

Read the full article at Shore News Network

March 19, 2023 — Four congressmen and a panel of expert witnesses denounced plans for a series of offshore wind energy projects as a mass “industrialization” of the ocean that will cause environmental harm and could seriously damage the Jersey Shore’s tourism industry.

The congressional hearing Thursday at the Wildwoods Convention Center was packed with an overflow crowd of about 450 people, while dozens of others were not allowed to enter the auditorium because of crowd restrictions.

“Let us in. Let us in,” chanted the people who were forced to stand outside while the hearing got underway.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who headed the hearing, vowed that President Joe Biden and Gov. Phil Murphy’s Democratic administrations will face stiff opposition if they continue to support the development of wind farms off New Jersey and other East Coast states.

“This is not the last hearing, I tell you. We are not giving up on this,” said Van Drew, the Republican New Jersey congressman whose district includes the shore communities in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Read the full article at OCNJDaily