Three New Jersey organizations that oppose offshore wind farms are suing Denmark-based Ørsted, a wind farm builder, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, an attorney for the groups announced Friday.
Save LBI, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protest Our Coast NJ filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court to stop the construction of Ørsted's Ocean Wind 1 project.
The project would build wind turbines about 15 miles off Atlantic City and generate enough carbon-free electricity to power 500,000 homes, according to Ørsted.
The three opposing groups say the project, and others in progress along New Jersey's coastline, would damage the marine environment and hurt Shore tourism. Their lawsuit challenges the Department of Environmental Protection's consistency certification and consistency report that Ocean Wind 1 complies with the state's Coastal Zone Management Act, which protects coastal natural resources.
"The State (of New Jersey) persists in the bizarre belief that this massive engineering project will not injure our state's coastal zone, one of the most important marine communities on the East Coast and the core of New Jersey's $47 billion tourist industry," Bruce Afran, an attorney for the three groups, said Friday in a news release.
Environmental impact statements filed with federal regulatory authorities on offshore wind projects acknowledge the possible disruption to marine animals during construction. Erecting turbine supports is a noisy process that disturbs the seafloor. Loud underwater noise carries and animals that rely on sound to navigate, mate and find food are particularly sensitive to manmade human noise pollution.
Yet, the wind companies and the federal government say there is no evidence that seafloor mapping and soil testing performed on the wind farm sites are harming New Jersey marine animals. Construction of the turbines has not yet begun.
"The completed surveys did not involve sounds or actions that would harm whales or other marine mammals and Ørsted-contracted vessels have not experienced any whale strikes during offshore survey activity in the U.S.," Madeline Urbish, head of the company's government affairs division, said in a statement earlier this year. "It’s important for all ocean users to continue working with state and federal officials to further advance science-based, smart policies that protect critical marine life while addressing climate change."
The company's operations are heavily regulated by multiple federal agencies so as to protect marine life and the environment, she said. The boats also have marine mammal observers on board to watch out for whales and other surfacing marine animals, she said.
The lawsuit is just the first of several planned legal challenges planned by the offshore wind opponents, said Keith Moore, head of Government Affairs for Defend Brigantine Beach, in a new release.
"We hope the offshore wind industry begins to understand that it will face fierce and growing legal battles if it continues in this destructive mission," Afran said.
Earlier this year, Save LBI sued the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, accusing the agency of failing to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act when the wind farm lease sites were created.
Some environmental groups have thrown their support behind the offshore wind farm companies, saying climate change poses a greater threat to marine mammals and the coastal environment than do offshore wind turbines.
"The greatest threat to marine life, and mammals, and our oceans, is climate change itself," Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said in an April interview with the Asbury Park Press. "We see the oceans are warming because of climate change. And with it, we see coral reefs are bleaching and whole ecosystems are collapsing. And if we want to save wildlife in general, and life as we know it, we need to get serious about acting on climate change. And offshore wind is part of the solution."
Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
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June 19, 2023 at 04:13PM
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NJ groups sue to stop offshore wind construction - Asbury Park Press
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