Matt Wilicki, Substack's “Irrational Fear” columnist, discusses the costs and effects of President Biden's climate change policies on “The Bottom Line.”
On the largely undeveloped Delmarva Peninsula, which is bounded by the Chesapeake Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and includes parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, local lawmakers are preparing to take on major international wind companies. It's progressing. Efforts to save vital commercial fisheries.
The Worcester County Commission on Tuesday approved a resolution to acquire two West Ocean City Harbor properties through Eminent Domain. US Wind plans to develop the land as an operations and maintenance facility as it builds a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. This action was taken to protect the county's historic commercial and sport fisheries.
US Wind, a subsidiary of Italy-based Renexia SpA, is building a 353-foot-long, 30-foot-wide concrete pier at the port to service vessels used to build the proposed wind farm. Commissioners passed the resolution because the plan is to build. It consists of up to 118 turbines located at least 25 miles off the coast of Ocean City. In addition to the pier, the company plans to install 383 feet of bulkhead.
The two properties the county plans to acquire are currently occupied by Southern Connection Seafoods and Martin Fish Company, the only commercial seafood wholesalers in the area where sailors can unload and sell their catch. I am a businessman.
Developers pivot to two offshore wind projects that would be a blow to Biden's green energy goals
wind turbine. (Mark Harrington/Newsday RM via Getty Images/Getty Images)
According to the resolution passed, the county's plans for the two properties include entering into long-term lease agreements with the existing owners so they can continue to serve commercial fishing needs.
“Commercial fishing is an integral and essential part of the Worcester County economy,” the resolution states, adding that the county relies on commercial marine support in and around West Ocean City Harbor, as well as the sport fishing industry. He added that there is.
The resolution also notes that the presence of commercial fishing in the harbor is directly related to federal support for the maintenance of Ocean City Inlet, which is often filled with sand to maintain navigability. dredging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required.
Commissioners said in their resolution that without the inlet's access to the Atlantic Ocean, commercial and sport fishing “meaningfully ceases to exist.”
US offshore wind farms raise concerns across fishing industry
Located in West Ocean City Harbor, Southern Connection Seafood is one of two wholesalers in West Ocean City, Maryland where sailors can unload and sell their catch. (Google Maps/Google Maps)
Therefore, they emphasized the importance of having commercial fishing in West Ocean City Harbor.
“None of our actions today were taken lightly,” Worcester County Commission Chairman Ted Elder said. “Over the past year or so, we have taken every opportunity to speak out to Governor Moore, state legislators, the Maryland Public Service Commission, Sussex County, where the wind turbine cables will be landed, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. BOEM) warned that Worcester County's commercial and sport fisheries would be destroyed if US Wind were allowed to close fish houses.
The commercial fishing fleet is based in West Ocean City, and its catch has an annual market value of more than $3.7 million.
Biden's new energy efficiency standards for washers and dryers are 'harmful', experts warn
Martin Fish Company, located in the West Ocean City Harbor, is one of only two wholesalers in the West Ocean City, Maryland area where sailors can land and sell their catch. (Google Maps)
The Martin Fish Company also extracts blood from horseshoe crabs, which is used in vaccine trials and in the biotechnology industry in Maryland and around the world. A quart of horseshoe crab blue blood is worth about $15,000, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But the White Marlin Open, the world's largest billfish tournament, is also important to the region. Last year's White Marlin Open created 130 jobs, attracted 3,500 anglers and distributed $10.5 million in prize money.
Although the tournament is not based at West Ocean City Harbor, all boats participating in the tournament must pass through the cove. The inlet will be dredged again with federal funding for commercial fishing.
Fishing industry reeling from Biden's destructive wind power plan: 'It's coming at us from all directions'
US Wind plans to build a pier in West Ocean City, Maryland, for its operations and maintenance facilities. (Google Maps)
“If ever there was a valuable use for prominent land, this is it,” said Worcester County Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young. “Today, the Worcester County Commissioners, the Ocean City Mayor and City Council, community stakeholders, and the overwhelming majority of residents, businesses, and property owners support the actions taken by U.S. Wind to oppose commercial destruction of the Port. and the resort's observation deck.
In a brochure about the project, U.S. Wind said it had been approached by two West Ocean City Commercial Port property owners about the possibility of selling the property, suggesting the wind giant has not yet purchased the property. .
The Commissioner's decision to acquire the two properties comes amid a new battle erupting between local governments, wind energy providers and BOEM.
The Green Building Law Update was released in November by the Town of Ocean City and Worcester County, along with several other organizations including the Maryland Coastal Association of Realtors, the Wright Whale Preservation Association, the Worcester County Watermen's Association, and the White Marlin Open Company. The company also reported that it has applied for legal regulations. Litigation against the U.S. Department of the Interior and BOEM.
The complaint was filed after BOEM released its final environmental impact statement for US Wind's plans to build more than 100 wind turbines about 10 miles from the coast.
Ocean City has repeatedly expressed opposition to wind farms due to their likely negative impact on the offshore landscape, a fact acknowledged in the report.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan told Fox News Digital last year that he and other city officials are not opposed to wind energy, but would rather move the turbines further offshore. But he said at a recent meeting that this “fell on deaf ears.”
Green Building Law Update reports that the plaintiffs allege in their lawsuit that BOEM failed to consider the impact on tourism and the local economy in its report.
