It’s unfortunate that The Baltimore Sun continues to sound like the same broken record over
and over again when it comes to Ocean City’s position in opposition to 114 gigantic, 938-foot tall
turbines being constructed just 10.7 miles off our coast (“ Offshore wind: Ocean City sends out its sharks” Oct. 30). The paper continues to reference the union jobs that would be created by the US Wind project.
For the past 7.5 years, we have clearly stated that those same jobs would still be created if the
wind turbines were moved further offshore, or to less disruptive areas, but this has been
ignored. Regurgitating the comparison of the 5 turbines off Block Island with what is proposed off the
coast of Ocean City is ridiculous. The turbines from Block Island are off the back side of the
island and out of sight of the residential and commercial areas. Also, before the turbines were
built the only power source for Block Island was supplied by diesel generators. The Block Island
turbines have proven to be unreliable and the cables have been exposed causing beach
closures and power losses. The editorial jokingly mentions just two co-plaintiffs in our lawsuit but fails to mention the more
than twenty co-plaintiffs, which include but are not limited to, the commissioners of Worcester
County, the mayor and Town Council of Fenwick Island, Delaware, the Ocean City Chamber of
Commerce, the Delmarva Condominium Managers Association (representing thousands of
nonresident property owners from throughout the State of Maryland), the Ocean City Hotel
Motel Restaurant Association, the Save the Right Whale Coalition, the Waterman’s Association
of Worcester County Inc., or other businesses, individuals, and a number of residential
community associations. This represents an entire region whose concerns have just flat out been ignored or considered insignificant. Well, Ocean City (and its co-plaintiffs) do not consider these issues to be insignificant and now stand together in opposition to what is being proposed. Yes, we hired the best law firm we could find to defend our position because, unfortunately, we
were left with no choice. It was obvious if we did not stand up for ourselves, no one else was
going to. We have learned over the past 7.5 years that it is not just our view shed that is being destroyed but also our ecosystem, our economy, our commercial and recreational fishing industries, our property values and our future. We have learned this because we have listened; a trait that has been lost by the federal and state governments and obviously The Baltimore Sun. Additionally, the state has passed a Wind Tax on all Maryland ratepayers to subsidize the US
Wind Project which may or may not provide electricity to these same ratepayers! Yes, a wind
tax! And no one will tell you exactly how much money US Wind will receive from Maryland
taxpayers. Maybe that’s where the questions should start? Is climate change an important issue to address? Yes, but is the answer to fast track a process
and a project that has left so many questions unanswered? No. If this project is built as proposed, people are going to ask elected officials, “How did you ever let this happen?” I propose we work together to find the answers and include Ocean City and the Eastern Shore
in this conversation. If this project was proposed to be built in the Chesapeake Bay or on the
Severn River, I submit, the discussion would be totally different. This is a serious issue and for the Baltimore Sun to continue to use their bully pulpit to belittle
Ocean City, our residents, businesses and property owners is unconscionable. We are all
Marylanders and we are being left behind. The writer is the mayor of Ocean City. Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.
CONTINUE READING
and over again when it comes to Ocean City’s position in opposition to 114 gigantic, 938-foot tall
turbines being constructed just 10.7 miles off our coast (“ Offshore wind: Ocean City sends out its sharks” Oct. 30). The paper continues to reference the union jobs that would be created by the US Wind project.
For the past 7.5 years, we have clearly stated that those same jobs would still be created if the
wind turbines were moved further offshore, or to less disruptive areas, but this has been
ignored. Regurgitating the comparison of the 5 turbines off Block Island with what is proposed off the
coast of Ocean City is ridiculous. The turbines from Block Island are off the back side of the
island and out of sight of the residential and commercial areas. Also, before the turbines were
built the only power source for Block Island was supplied by diesel generators. The Block Island
turbines have proven to be unreliable and the cables have been exposed causing beach
closures and power losses. The editorial jokingly mentions just two co-plaintiffs in our lawsuit but fails to mention the more
than twenty co-plaintiffs, which include but are not limited to, the commissioners of Worcester
County, the mayor and Town Council of Fenwick Island, Delaware, the Ocean City Chamber of
Commerce, the Delmarva Condominium Managers Association (representing thousands of
nonresident property owners from throughout the State of Maryland), the Ocean City Hotel
Motel Restaurant Association, the Save the Right Whale Coalition, the Waterman’s Association
of Worcester County Inc., or other businesses, individuals, and a number of residential
community associations. This represents an entire region whose concerns have just flat out been ignored or considered insignificant. Well, Ocean City (and its co-plaintiffs) do not consider these issues to be insignificant and now stand together in opposition to what is being proposed. Yes, we hired the best law firm we could find to defend our position because, unfortunately, we
were left with no choice. It was obvious if we did not stand up for ourselves, no one else was
going to. We have learned over the past 7.5 years that it is not just our view shed that is being destroyed but also our ecosystem, our economy, our commercial and recreational fishing industries, our property values and our future. We have learned this because we have listened; a trait that has been lost by the federal and state governments and obviously The Baltimore Sun. Additionally, the state has passed a Wind Tax on all Maryland ratepayers to subsidize the US
Wind Project which may or may not provide electricity to these same ratepayers! Yes, a wind
tax! And no one will tell you exactly how much money US Wind will receive from Maryland
taxpayers. Maybe that’s where the questions should start? Is climate change an important issue to address? Yes, but is the answer to fast track a process
and a project that has left so many questions unanswered? No. If this project is built as proposed, people are going to ask elected officials, “How did you ever let this happen?” I propose we work together to find the answers and include Ocean City and the Eastern Shore
in this conversation. If this project was proposed to be built in the Chesapeake Bay or on the
Severn River, I submit, the discussion would be totally different. This is a serious issue and for the Baltimore Sun to continue to use their bully pulpit to belittle
Ocean City, our residents, businesses and property owners is unconscionable. We are all
Marylanders and we are being left behind. The writer is the mayor of Ocean City. Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.
