#PETITION   #ENSURE   #OFFSHORE   #ENERGY   #PROTEC   

DEMAND REASONABLE TIME TO REVIEW 1400+ PAGE MASSIVE DOCUMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FROM NY/NJ’s FIRST OFFSHORE INDUSTRIAL WIND ENERGY PROJECT: “Ocean Wind I”

In the name of good and fair governance, urge BOEM to extend the comment period! 

Only 45 days were provided to the public to review a massive 1400+ page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on “Ocean Wind 1,” Ørsted & PSE&G’s industrial-scale wind energy project just 13 miles off Atlantic City, NJ.  That is not enough time for responsible review of the first-ever offshore wind energy project off New Jersey’s coast. 

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued the bare minimum requirement for public review of the lengthy & highly technical document. The DEIS includes: 

• 1400+ pages with 14 appendices numbering 934 pages, 79 tables, 42 maps and figures, and more than 900 referenced documents that must be reviewed,
• 98 turbines almost as tall as the Chrysler Building and with blades taller than the Statue of Liberty,  
• 3 offshore substations to convert electricity, each taller than Big Ben or a 27-story building, 
• hundreds of miles of sub-sea and onshore transmission cables cutting through the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay, & Great Egg Harbor Bay, and
• new large port facilities in Atlantic City & on the Delaware River, destroying wetlands and open space. 

It is clear to any reasonable person, the 45-day timeframe is unjust and unrealistic.  The public, who is the rightful owner of these underwater public lands, needs more time to review and comment. The three virtual public hearings are being held too soon to review the DEIS and provide informed testimony. 

The potential risks to the ocean and marine resources are great and grave, and too many questions must be considered and answered. While green energy is an opportunity, the risks and rewards must be understood: 

• How will building Ocean Wind 1 dramatically reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions?
• How many acres of wetlands or open space will be destroyed and impacted by Ocean Wind 1?
• What are the cumulative effects of the 11 other pending projects off NJ, totaling over 900 turbines? 
• These are just the beginning - 500,000 more acres are still being planned-out for more turbines. How are these cumulative impacts being addressed?

We, the undersigned, urge President Biden’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to EXTEND the public comment period for the Ocean Wind 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) by an additional 60 days to ensure time to adequately review and prepare meaningful comments to protect the ocean, coast, and communities.  Let’s be sure offshore wind is not done recklessly but done right. 

Photo: North Atlantic right whale, Merrill Gosho, NOAA