OCEAN COUNTY – Responding to concerns of more than a dozen shore area mayors, a local congressman, tourism leaders, local residents, business owners and environmental groups, the Ocean County Board of Commissioners are calling for a moratorium on offshore wind energy projects.
Commissioner Director Joseph H. Vicari said the public needs to know more about the potential impact on the environment and the economy before this goes any farther.
The passed resolution was sent to U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew and Christopher H. Smith, Governor Phil Murphy, 9th and 10th State Legislative Districts and the Ocean County Mayors Association.
The Board of Commissioners are urging the state and federal governments to declare a moratorium on the offshore wind energy projects mirroring actions already taken by Smith, Van Drew and others.
The resolution states that, “while this Board of Commissioners recognizes the importance of pursuing new and clean energy sources, it acknowledges serious objections and concerns have not been addressed as these projects continue to move forward through the planning stages.”
The resolution notes there are concerns expressed by New Jersey’s $2.5 billion annual fishing industry which provides numerous economic benefits including employment opportunities.
The Commissioners added the same could be said for the tourism industry which generates $7 billion in revenue for the local economy in Ocean County alone.
“Residents and business owners have concerns about the irrevocably negative impact on the coastal viewshed that will result from the turbines being visible from Long Beach Island and other oceanfront beach locations and how this visual pollution will affect tourism and local property values,” the resolution notes.
Save Barnegat Bay Executive Director Britta Forsberg is among the environmental leaders raising concerns over the projects, in particular the effects on the bay.
Vicari said, “in consulting with Britta, we have come to learn that further study is necessary concerning the high voltage electrical mainline connecting the windmills to the power grid, which will pass directly under Barnegat Bay and could have a negative impact on the fragile bay and surrounding environments, including Island Beach State Park.”
The resolution also recognizes the ongoing concerns of some environmentalists who claim that the recent increase in whale deaths along the New Jersey Coast and the Eastern Seaboard could be the result of sonar and other surveys conducted prior to the windfarm construction.
Vicari added, “all totaled the concerns that have been voiced raise a number of legitimate red flags and should not be dismissed by the state or federal government. This affects the livelihood of countless people in our state and those that live along the coast.”
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