Shore towns seek halt to wind turbine plan through lawsuit

As part of the ongoing opposition to the construction of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Farms plan, eight shore towns in Ocean and north Atlantic counties are attempting to reverse the state’s project approvals through litigation.

At the end of May, a group of eight towns, referred to in the lawsuit as the Shore Municipalities, including L ong Beach Township, Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Barnegat Light, Surf City, Harvey Cedars, Brigantine Beach and Ventnor City filed two appeals and a stay motion against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in an attempt to prevent 200 wind turbines to be placed less than nine miles offshore, adding that the DEP is “failing to protect the sensitive coastal waters of New Jersey by granting the final stages of approvals to Atlantic Shores.”

At the heart of their objections are cost, potential negative impacts to the tourism industry and, according to Frank Huttle, of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., who represents the Shore Municipalities, the fact that state officials are not falling in line with procedures to obtain the DEP approvals. The lawsuit contends that the turbines require federal consistency certification, which states that the project falls within New Jersey Coastal Management Zone rules, which govern the rules regarding the use, development, and protection of New Jersey’s coastal resources.

In the past two weeks, in both Sea Girt and Manasquan, dozens of people packed into town halls to hear about the turbine proposals in this area, but area officials say that they will most likely not be going the lawsuit route to prevent the turbines here in Monmouth County without intervention from county officials.

Monmouth County officials and residents from Manasquan and Sea Girt have expressed opposition to the state’s plan, calling for further transparency on what the project would exactly look like, how energy would be transmitted and where, as well as the economic and environmental impacts and affects.

Check out our other Sea Girt stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Coast Star —on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition .

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