Members of Defend Brigantine Beach display signs and hand out literature opposing the offshore wind farms.
BRIGANTINE – The City Council Oct. 18 approved a shared services agreement joining Long Beach Township in litigation against the development of the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project. The vote was 6-1. The boroughs of Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom and Beach Haven joined the lawsuit with Long Beach Township as the lead agency.
Long Beach Township has retained the award-winning law firm of Pashman Stein Walter Hayden for litigation opposing the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project and government agencies that are endorsing and approving it.
“First and foremost, this is a nonpartisan issue with people on both sides of the aisle from all over the state voicing their concerns about the negative impacts these offshore wind projects will have on the environment and our local economy,” Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera said in a release. “Second, even the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management admits that these offshore wind projects will have no positive impact on climate change or the reduction of global warming.”
Sera said the city tried to negotiate with the governor’s office and offshore wind companies on plan that would minimize the negative impacts of the wind farms.
“And, they have all made it very clear that they don’t care what we have to say,” Sera said.
Brigantine City Councilman Neal Kane said the projects as designed would have a “crushing financial and environment/commercial impact” on beach communities.
“I don’t think that there is anyone on this council that is against clean energy,” Kane said. “There have been great strides in technology over the years enabling this to come to fruition. However, for any government or private entity to consider the possible benefits of clean energy, there has to be an honest, in-depth analysis performed. Not only on the cost to the taxpayer, but also the environmental and commercial impacts that it may have on communities that are affected.”
Defend Brigantine Beach President Katie Finnegan applauded Sera and the council for approving the resolution.
“They recognize the significant damages that these industrial wind turbines less than 9 miles off of our coast will have on the marine environment, commercial and recreational fishing, local shore economies and real estate values, not to mention the significant increases in energy ratepayers’ bills,” Finnegan said.
Keith Moore, director of Government Affairs for Defend Brigantine Beach, said the agreement unites beach towns in the fight against windfarms.
“This shared services agreement sends a very strong message to Trenton and to the federal government that our seashore towns will not tolerate these behaviors by our elected officials, and also Atlantic Shores and Orsted,” he said in the release. “I sincerely hope that the mayors and elected officials of other affected New Jersey shore communities will read this and consider joining in the agreement as well. I also urge the Atlantic County commissioners to step up and lead this charge for Atlantic County as Cape May County just did. All of our elected officials need to engage. The time for moratoriums is over, it is time to act.”
