The pushback against proposed wind turbine projects on New Jersey’s South Atlantic coast has begun to have a significant impact.Three resident groups have sued the state over its proposed offshore wind farm, and Congress has agreed to investigate the environmental impact of the turbines.An attorney for the plaintiffs, Bruce Afran, says the state “has recognized that wind turbines will destroy marine habitat, compress the seafloor, severely damage marine communities … and harm the beach economy.”
Opponents of offshore wind projects in New Jersey are gaining legal and political traction as they seek to shut down the nascent industry.
Over the past week, three resident groups sued New Jersey over a key approval of its first planned wind farm; congressional research group agreed to investigate the impact of offshore wind on the environment and other areas; and lawmakers in the two counties most affected by wind farms stepped up their efforts to block the projects.
Save Long Beach Island, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect Our Coast NJ filed an appeal Friday of the New Jersey state Superior Court’s determination that the Ocean Wind I project is consistent with state coastal management rules.
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The project is New Jersey’s first, and a U.S. subsidiary of Danish wind developer Orsted could begin construction this year if remaining approvals are obtained.
The appeal follows a decision by Congress’s research arm, the Congressional Accountability Office, to study the impact of offshore wind on the environment and other areas, something opponents have wanted since long ago
Bruce Afran, an attorney for the groups, said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection “has recognized that wind turbines will destroy marine habitat, compress the seafloor, severely damage marine communities, compromise migratory corridors of endangered marine mammals, will cause commercial fishing stocks to decline and harm the beach’s economy.”
“Yet the state persists in the strange belief that this massive engineering project will not harm our state’s coastal area, one of the East Coast’s most important marine communities and the core of the $47 billion tourism industry of New Jersey dollars,” he added.
The DEP declined, and the state attorney general’s office declined comment.
The legal and political challenges to the construction of offshore wind turbines in New Jersey have begun to gain significant momentum. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Jeanne Fox, former head of DEP, the state’s Public Utilities Board and former regional head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, called the lawsuit “a delaying tactic.”
“Numerous environmental studies have been done regarding offshore wind, for this specific Ocean Wind project and in general,” he said. “The biggest threat to ocean habitat, marine mammals and fish is the climate crisis. Offshore wind will reduce the need to burn more fossil fuels.”
The project would build 98 wind turbines about 15 miles off the coast of Ocean City and Atlantic City. It is the first of three offshore wind projects to receive approval in New Jersey so far, with many more expected in the coming years.
Afran cited numerous sections of the DEP’s April decision on Ocean Wind I acknowledging potential negative impacts on the surf clam industry; changes to the ocean floor of wind turbine foundations and equipment; and the regular use of the area as a migration channel by five species of whales, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
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He also cited a finding by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that significant impacts to commercial and recreational fisheries could occur, even with Orsted’s proposed mitigation measures.
Liz Thomas, spokeswoman for Ocean Wind I, said the project has been under regulatory scrutiny for 12 years by nine federal agencies, three state agencies and more than 100 consulting parties, including local cities, tribes and community organizations .
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in Atlantic County, which includes Atlantic City, prepare to vote Tuesday on a measure supporting calls for a moratorium on offshore wind preparation work until an investigation into a wave of whale deaths on the east coast. Three federal and one state science agencies say there is no evidence linking the deaths of 50 whales since December to site preparation work for offshore wind projects.
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Also, lawmakers in Cape May County, which includes Ocean City, hired two additional law firms last week to help them fight offshore wind projects.
