Ocean City Officials Request Immediate Halt to Wind Farm Development After Whale Deaths
The Ocean City Mayor and Council are urging State and Federal officials to stop wind farm development until further investigation is done into whale deaths on the East Coast. City officials say there was the report of another whale death earlier Tuesday.
Maryland Congressman Andy Harris and New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew have called for a moratorium after whales have washed ashore along the coast of Maryland, New Jersey, New York and the most recent – an endangered Northern Atlantic right whale in Virginia. A dozen New Jersey mayors have also passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on all offshore wind activity.
Ocean City officials want all approvals and construction of wind farms off the Maryland coast to be delayed until environmental issues, economic and other concerns are fully explored – and the projects relocated farther offshore. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan stated in a release from the city – “We only have one chance to get this right and this is our chance.”
