Van Drew To Hold Offshore Wind Hearing In South Jersey

SOUTH JERSEY — Rep. Jeff Van Drew announced Friday that he will be holding a hearing on offshore wind in South Jersey.

The hearing is planned for March 16, with the exact time and location to be announced at a later date.

Van Drew also said that he will be introducing legislation that places a moratorium on all existing projects and legislation that will prohibit all future projects.

The result of the hearing will determine what the best course of action will be and if additional pieces of legislation are needed, Van Drew said.

The announcement comes in light of the ninth dead whale washing up on the Jersey Shore, with many concerned that offshore wind projects are causing the deaths.

"The unknown impacts of these offshore wind projects raises serious concerns, especially after 18 whales have washed ashore near where surveying is taking place, six of which have been in New Jersey," Van Drew said. "These projects will have substantial impacts on the local tourism industry, the fishing industry, and the surrounding environment. As Vice Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am holding these hearings in order to discover what exactly these impacts will be and to determine what additional pieces of legislation will be adequate to address the issue."

Second Legislative District Sen. Vince Polistina also recently sent a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy calling for a 30-day moratorium on all offshore wind activity for an independent investigation to be done.

"The number of whale deaths along the coast of New Jersey and the entire East Coast is completely unprecedented from anything we have ever seen in our lifetimes," Polistina wrote in the letter. "With the primary difference off our shores being the sonar and drilling related to offshore wind studies, it seems completely irresponsible to blindly continue the work without definitive reasons why so many whales are meeting a tragic end."

Since 2016, 25 deceased whales have washed up in New Jersey, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data, which pre-dates offshore wind activity in the area.

"At this point, there is no evidence to support speculation that noise resulting from wind development-related site characterization surveys could potentially cause mortality of whales," NOAA officials said.

Read more:

Calls To Halt Offshore Wind Continue In Atlantic, Cape May Counties

Dead Female Whale Removed From Manasquan Beach, Necropsy Is Next

Is Offshore Wind To Blame For NJ Whale Deaths? Officials Investigating