The city will replace pilings at Gardner’s Basin this month, Mayor Marty Small Sr. said Monday, so boat tours and fishing boats will be able to have a complete summer season there. “We are confident the boats will be able to dock at the site by May,” Small said Monday. On March 24 and 31, the city sent letters to the businesses warning that “2023 seasonal operations under (your) Commercial Dock Agreement … for your Commercial Boat Slip must be suspended until the project is complete.” Video, >click to read< 13:32
Tag Archives: Congressman Jeff Van Drew
IS THE G.A.O. SLOWWALKING ITS INVESTIGATION OF OFFSHORE WIND IMPACTS? By Jim Lovgren
On June 15, 2023, Congressman Chris Smith issued a press release touting the acceptance by the General Accountability Office [GAO], of a request by the House Natural Resources Committee to investigate a wide range of issues related to the development of offshore wind. The Committee letter, signed by Chairman Bruce Westerman, was submitted on May 15 th , 2023, almost a year ago. I bring this up because the average time-length of most GAO investigations is three months. Which begs the question; Is the Biden administration “slow-walking” the GAO investigation? Slow-walking is the act of purposefully delaying action by stalling, stonewalling, making excuses of how hard it is to do, and other whiney efforts at delaying an investigation until it fails because it is too late. It is the bureaucrat’s favorite weapon of choice when forced to disclose vital information, that their politician benefactors don’t want exposed. more, >>click to read<< 06:10
Cape May County Declares Victory Against Wind Farms
Jubilant Cape May County officials Wednesday celebrated the decision by Danish energy giant Orsted to scrap plans for two wind energy farms off the South Jersey coast, but expressed caution about the possibility that the projects could be resurrected later. “You know, there were many people that said to us, ‘Don’t take on this company. Don’t take on Orsted. They have the White House. They have the Statehouse.’ But unfortunately, they didn’t know about the courthouse,” Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Leonard Desiderio said. During a news conference, Desiderio and other Republican Cape May County officials repeatedly said the tiny county was able to overcome the political support of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and Gov. Phil Murphy in favor of Orsted and the wind farm industry. >>click to read<< 10:32
Biden admin under fire for offshore wind impacts on military operations
Earlier this week, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., industry stakeholders and experts met with officials from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a top federal watchdog agency, to discuss their concerns about offshore wind development. According to Smith, who represents a district along the Atlantic coast home to a naval weapons depot and where offshore wind projects have been proposed, more than an hour of the three-hour meeting was devoted to military impacts. The GAO recently agreed to investigate the wide-ranging effects of offshore wind development after Smith, fellow New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and several other lawmakers called for a probe. The investigation will look, in part, into wind turbines’ impact on military operations and radar. >click to read< 07:55
Wind Farm Opponents to Host Fundraiser For Legal Defense Fund
For nearly four years, opponents of a proposed offshore wind farm that they say could negatively affect marine life, tourism, the commercial fishing industry and wildlife have held protests and signed petitions calling for a halt to the project by Danish energy company, Orsted. Protect Our Coast NJ founder Suzanne Hornick, of Ocean City, said the time is now to stop offshore wind farm projects to protect the environment. “Protect Our Coast NJ is fighting to protect our coastal community and our ocean from the extreme industrialization currently planned for our shores,” Hornick said. “We know that the proposed projects which could see thousands of gigantic turbines and substations off our coast will destroy our community, quality of life, economy, ecosystem, food supply, national security, and more.” >click to read< 07:55
Wind Farm Protesters March in Ocean City
Opposition to the wind farm has been mounting following more than 30 whale deaths along the East Coast that critics have blamed on sonar mapping of the seabed that is needed for construction of the project. However, government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection say the recent deaths of whales, dolphins and other marine creatures in New Jersey and other coastal states have nothing to do with the wind farm work. They say evidence shows that most of the whales were struck and killed by shipping traffic. Opponents reject those claims, though. During Saturday’s protest, speakers pointed the finger at the wind farm for the whale deaths and warned of other possible dire impacts that the project could have on the Jersey Shore’s environment, the tourism industry and commercial fishing operations. Photos, Video, >click to read< 07:55
Harsh Reaction to Atlantic City Move to Stop Boat Businesses
We “blew the whistle” this past Saturday, April 1, 2023 that the various boat businesses at Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Gardner’s Basin will not be able to open for business. The City of Atlantic City sent letters to the various business owners just days before the season was set to begin. Some of the business owners didn’t receive the letter until Saturday, April 1, 2023. The reaction from the community to this unwanted news has been understandably hyper negative towards the Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small administration. >click to read< 08:10
Witness Drives Home Marine Vessel Safety Concerns as Offshore Wind Growth Questioned
“Radar interference is a major safety problem for our vessels,” said Megan Lapp, the fisheries liaison for a Rhode Island-based seafood company who has spent close to a decade studying the impact of offshore wind farms on the commercial fishing industry. “Marine navigation without reliable radar is a life-threatening situation.” Lapp’s comments came during the first congressional hearing on the industrialization of the ocean earlier this month. She was one of six witnesses to testify before House of Representatives members Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey, Andy Harris of Maryland and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on March 16 in Wildwood. >click to read< 09:01
Another Dead Whale Washes Up – This Time in Ocean City, N.J.
It’s become like a broken record, where people are starting to become numb to it all … but, for what it’s worth, another whale has washed up. This time in Ocean City, New Jersey. It’s a badly decomposed 9 foot Pygmy Sperm Whale, which our Brigantine source said may have been dead for many months. We caught up with Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera regarding the latest whale washing ashore. Sera provided us with comprehensive and thoughtful comments as follows: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see yet another dead whale wash up on our shore.” “How many more whales and dolphins need to die before Governor Murphy pauses these offshore wind activities?” >click to read< 09:40
Resistance to Offshore Wind Is Growing on US Coasts
A growing chorus of interest groups is calling for a pause in offshore wind activities to allow further assessment of the sector’s impacts on the marine ecosystem. Fishing groups and local residents have filed five lawsuits against proposed or under-construction wind projects along the Atlantic seaboard. A leading body for the U.S. Pacific fishing industry is urging the federal government to call off its proposed auction for offshore wind off the Oregon coast. And the United States’ largest lobbying group for Native Americans recently called for a halt to all offshore wind scoping and permitting. Wind energy is a key component of the Biden Administration’s climate agenda. >click to read< 08:10
Fed Official: Offshore Wind Will Adversely Impact North Atlantic Right Whale
Ahead of his March 16 hearing on offshore wind at the Wildwood Convention Center, Congressman Jeff Van Drew is challenging the federal government and offshore wind companies to prove they have nothing to hide when it comes to negatively impacting the environment. “Hearings are critical,” he said in a statement released last week condemning President Joe Biden’s administration for “its continual lack of transparency with the American people – this time about the correlation of offshore wind development and the death of endangered whales.” Van Drew’s latest comments follow the release of a May 13, 2022 missive from Sean Hayes, chief of protected species for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. In the letter to Brian Hooker, lead biologist for Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Hayes laid out how offshore wind development in New England would negatively affect the North Atlantic right whale. >click to read< 08:04
New Jersey Congressman Wants a Moratorium on Offshore Wind Projects as State Seeks Leading Role
Republican Congressman from New Jersey Jeff Van Drew has announced plans to hold a local hearing on offshore wind projects along with plans to introduce legislation seeking to put a stop to offshore wind development, a key component of the Biden Administration’s efforts to expand renewable energy production to combat climate change. If Congressman Van Drew gets his way, he will put a stop to it. This month, he announced plans to introduce legislation that would place a moratorium on all existing offshore wind projects, as well prohibit all future projects. “The unknown impacts of these offshore wind projects raises serious concerns, especially after 18 whales have washed ashore near where surveying is taking place along the East Coast, six of which have been in New Jersey,” said Congressman Van Drew. >click to read< 12:31
Save The Whales rally planned at Point Pleasant Beach after 9th whale found dead
A rally is planned for this Sunday at Point Pleasant Beach near Jenkinson’s Aquarium after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released preliminary findings of a dead whale found in Manasquan on Monday. Officials from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society say there is evidence of a vessel strike on the ninth whale to wash up dead on New Jersey and New York beaches since December. The Save The Whales rally will be held on the boardwalk at Point Pleasant Beach and is scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. >click to read< 13:40
Van Drew and Desiderio Pursue Answers on Whale Deaths, Wind Farm Issues
Congressman Jeff Van Drew and Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Leonard Desiderio said they will work together on issues surrounding the proposed wind farms off of Cape May County. The Ocean Wind One project off Atlantic and Cape May Counties has petitioned the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to take decision-making authority away from the elected officials of Ocean City and Cape May County and give it to the owner of the project. “It was irresponsible to take home rule away from our towns and counties when it comes to decisions related to the wind farms,” Van Drew said. “Now, an unelected state board is going to push aside the representatives the voters elected. This is a terrible power grab.” >click to read< 17:08
Van Drew Says No To 1000 Feet Tall Wind Turbines off the coast of South Jersey
United States Congressman Jeff Van Drew is not opposed to green energy. In fact, he has solar panels and a windmill at his own personal residence in Cape May County, New Jersey. However, Van Drew is opposed to the massive wind turbine project planned for off of the coast of South Jersey. “This is really being done without proper protocol, without really looking into what it’s going to do to our fishing industry, what it’s going to do to our tourism industry, what it’s going to do to the environment, said Van Drew. “Supposedly Democrats are big environmentalists and love the environment, yet this is a real problem for the environment and what it’s going to do to the floor of the ocean,” >click to read< 19:13
