Tag Archives: Rep. Chris Smith

Murphy, Biden continue to ignore serious offshore wind questions | Chris Smith

Because both the Murphy and Biden Administrations are forcing approximately 3,400 ocean wind turbines on us without our input, advice or consent. We say no—enough is enough. Because Murphy and Biden have not answered any of our profoundly serious questions—even dismissing our well-founded concern that sonar mapping of the ocean floor is contributing to the tragic spike in whale and dolphin deaths as ‘disinformation.’ We say no—enough is enough. And because there is absolutely no transparency in this egregiously flawed process—I authored two pieces of legislation that passed the House of Representatives to demand accountability. My first amendment, which passed in late March 244 to 189, tasked the Government Accountability Office—the Congressional watchdog agency—to investigate the ‘sufficiency of the environmental review processes for offshore wind projects…of the Marine Fisheries Service, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and any other relevant Federal agency.’ >>click to read<< 21:41

NJ Fishing Pros Warn Offshore Wind Killing Ocean Life: ‘Never Seen Anything Remotely Like This’ in Half a Century

New Jersey is in the process of approving two major offshore wind projects: the Ocean Wind I and II initiatives owned by the Danish “green” energy company Ørsted. Radical leftist Governor Phil Murphy ordered a massive restructuring of the state’s power grid in September to become reliant on “100 percent clean energy by 2035” that has enjoyed enthusiastic support from the White House, which approved Ocean Wind I in July. To install the wind turbines necessary for the projects, engineers must survey and map the ground floor to find the ground best able to sustain the massive structures. The survey work being done in anticipation of the installation of these turbines has coincided with a massive increase in the number of dead whales and other marine mammals off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. >click to read< 10:28

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

‘Tell us why’: Monmouth Commissioners call for investigation into surge of whale deaths

Monmouth County officials stood in the mist at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park on Wednesday, where they gathered to call for an immediate stop to offshore wind energy work off New Jersey’s coast. Their announcement marked a new addition to a growing group of elected officials who are demanding answers on recent deaths among whales and dolphins across the region, and who allege offshore wind survey work is the cause. As of Wednesday afternoon, 10 whale deaths had been recorded along the Jersey Shore since Dec. 1. In addition, two separate pods of dolphins had stranded since early February on New Jersey beaches. Another three individual dead dolphins and one porpoise had washed ashore in separate strandings. >click to read< 16:47

In response to the Biden Administration’s shoddy wind farm approval

The House of Representatives today passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) requiring a comprehensive, independent investigation into the sufficiency of the environmental approval process for 3,400 offshore wind turbines along New Jersey’s coastline during its consideration of the Lower Energy Costs Act (HR 1).  Smith said his amendment—which passed by a vote of 244-189 and is now part of HR 1—comes in response to the Biden and Murphy Administrations’ rush to install the massive wind farms around the nation’s busiest port without adequate study on their impact on the environment, marine mammals, the fishing industry, tourism, navigational safety and more.  Video, >click to read< 09:07

“Save Our Whales” Rally on “World Whale Day” in Point Plesant Over Concerns of Recent Whale Deaths

Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) called for immediate answers from the Biden Administration and Governor Murphy to the growing questions raised by him, county and local officials, environmental leaders, and concerned Jersey Shore residents over the massive offshore wind projects along the New Jersey-New York coastline in light of the recent unprecedented surge in whale deaths. The rally comes less than a week after a dead whale washed ashore in Manasquan and just two days after another dead whale washed ashore in New York, marking the ninth and tenth whale deaths in the area since early December. Photos, >click to read< 08:54