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Associated Press
08-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Save LBI Petitions Federal Agencies to Create a Safe Migration Corridor from Georgia to Maine to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale from Extinction
LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., April 8, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save LBI, the non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting our oceans from the destructive impacts of offshore wind projects, has filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI)/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a safe migration corridor from Maine to Georgia that will allow the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) to survive as a species. With a population that has dwindled to 340, the magnificent right whale is perilously close to extinction and faces a new, greater and ominous threat from numerous proposed offshore wind-turbine complexes up and down the East Coast. Save LBI's 234-page petition seeks to establish a migratory corridor as a critical habitat that would provide a vital 'missing link' between critical habitats the NMFS designated in 1994, and later expanded, to protect the right whale's feeding grounds off the coast of Maine (and New England) and its calving grounds off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. No habitat protections currently exist between these areas in the far north and south, putting the whale's survival at great risk. Central to the petition is the call to prohibit offshore wind development within the proposed protected zone and to establish a buffer that would allow noise from any nearby wind turbines to dissipate and drop below levels known to disturb the whales. 'Restricting the development of offshore wind projects in the migration path of the North Atlantic right whale is crucial to preventing its extinction,' explained Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI. 'Our petition defines the whale's primary historic migration corridor and presents calculations showing how operational noise from the numerous proposed offshore wind turbine complexes will at a minimum seriously impair and potentially block its annual migration. Without a protected migration corridor and a prohibition on wind complexes in its path, the North Atlantic right whale will not survive.' Save LBI data reveals that nearly 80 percent of NARW deaths between 2000 and 2020 occurred within the proposed critical habitat migration corridor — even though vessel speed-restriction zones have been in place since 2008. 'Sadly, all efforts to date have not reversed the decline of the right whale,' emphasized Stern, an experienced Ph.D. engineer who managed the U.S. Department of Energy office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs. 'The threat is real. The Atlantic Shores South and North projects less than 9 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey, and others like it, are sited directly in the whale's migratory path, which will accelerate and ultimately seal its extinction unless we act.' (For more on the Atlantic Shores projects and Save LBI's actions related to those projects, click here: The Save LBI petition also seeks new federal rules that would: Cancel wind-energy lease areas within the corridor consistent with the designation of a critical migration habitat. Reinitiate Endangered Species Act [Section 7(a)(2)] consultations where, based on regulation criteria, the designated habitat 'may be affected' by a wind project. Establish a dedicated general taxpayer fund to defray potential costs associated with any new restrictions from the critical habitat designation that would otherwise be borne by specific industries, including shipping and fishing enterprises. Pending the outcome of a rulemaking decision, the Save LBI petition further aims to preserve the proposed migration corridor in the interim by: Pausing all activities associated with placing wind turbines in the designated area. Suspending high-resolution geophysical surveying during the NARW migration season. Reinitiating Endangered Species Act [Section 7(a)] consultations based on 'new information revealing effects not previously considered'— in this case, as shown in the petition, major systemic underestimates in the NARW 'take number' estimates used to approve Atlantic Shores South and other projects that use the same methods to calculate the number of incidental NARW deaths or injuries likely to occur during construction and operation of an offshore wind-turbine complex. NARW: A National Treasure The North Atlantic right whale, also known as the 'urban whale,' is one of the largest and longest living animals on earth. This storied creature spends most of its life within 50 miles of the Atlantic coast as it moves gracefully between feeding grounds to the north and calving areas in the south, returning to the same locations annually thanks to its uncanny sense of navigation. Marine mammal migration is one of the great wonders of the world — especially when it involves a rare species such as the NARW — and public fascination is high, which explains the popularity of 'whale watching' tours and town festivals up and down the East Coast as well as a preponderance of academic studies devoted to whales. Given a tiny population, every right whale saved is a step toward recovery, and every one lost, a step toward extinction — which is why Save LBI's well-tailored legal protections are so important. The Struggle for Survival 'For centuries, humans have failed the North Atlantic right whale — first through near-eradication from whaling and, more recently, through narratives that downplay the risk of offshore wind projects,' said lead researcher and Save LBI board member Denise Boccia. 'The National Marine Fisheries Service and BOEM have approved projects based on flawed and unsupported assumptions that significantly underestimate impacts, while major environmental organizations that protest similar impacts from oil and gas development remain silent or supportive, apparently mistakenly believing offshore wind offers discernible climate benefits. It does not,' Boccia continued. 'University researchers who once voiced concern now appear content to pursue grant-funded projects. As a result, the responsibility to act falls to us, and to other groups and people who care about the many resources and natural treasures the ocean has to offer — including the endangered North Atlantic right whale.' 'Save LBI believes its petition provides a sensible approach to protecting the right whale from extinction, while restricting wind turbines from places where they obviously do not belong. Because the proposed migration corridor is relatively close to shore, the turbine prohibitions would also protect shore tourism industries, and avoid interference with our land-based air-defense radar systems. If we as a society want to save the North Atlantic right whale species from extinction, the migratory critical habitat designation is crucial,' Stern concluded. 'Readers are encouraged to express their support for the NARW migratory corridor petition to The White House, the Department of Commerce, and Department of the Interior.' Contact information is listed below: :: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500 :: Douglas Burgum, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW, MS-4106 Washington D.C. 20240 (202) 208-3100 Email: [email protected] :: Howard Lutnick, Secretary U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington D.C. 20230 About Save LBI Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off the Island working together to protect the ocean and Long Beach Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impact of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind projects and potentially other offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and New Jersey communities. The organization is led by Beach Haven resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy's office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects. Visit for more information. MULTIMEDIA: Image caption: The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Credit: Save LBI (generated with AI tools). NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) Keywords: Environment and Ecology, North Atlantic right whale, Save LBI, Save Long Beach Island, offshore wind, offshore wind projects, LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J. Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P125378 APNF0325A
Associated Press
21-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
EPA Decision to Reevaluate Clean Air Permit for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project Is a Big Win for Save LBI and New Jersey
LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., March 21, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The beleaguered Atlantic Shores South offshore wind project was dealt another major blow on Friday (March 14) when the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) appeals board [*link 1] sent the project's Clean Air Act permit back to the regional EPA office that issued it for reevaluation. The action was in response to a Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) petition challenging the merits of the permit approval and requesting further review [*link 2], and follows a string of setbacks for the controversial plan to erect two hundred 1,000-foot wind turbines as close as 8.7 miles off the coast of southern Long Beach Island, Brigantine, and Atlantic City. 'This is a significant event because to my knowledge it is the first time that a federal approval for any offshore wind project has been overturned, and it highlights the lack of full disclosure and questionable science and mathematics that has characterized other applications and approvals,' said Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI, the non-partisan watchdog group formed in 2021 to protect the ocean and New Jersey Shore communities from the destructive impacts of offshore wind. The move also means the Atlantic Shores South project does not currently have all of the federal approvals it needs to install wind turbines off the coast of New Jersey. 'The Atlantic Shores' permit contained substantial analytic deficiencies, rendering it non-compliant with the Clean Air Act, so I am pleased to see the EPA recognize the necessity for re-examination,' said Thomas Stavola Jr., the attorney for Save LBI. Stern, an experienced Ph.D. engineer who managed the U.S. Department of Energy office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs, called the ruling that granted the clean-air permit 'deeply flawed.' For starters, air-quality modeling for the project was not done properly and the State's Regional Haze Implementation Plan failed to consider emissions from construction and operation of the wind complex, which would be only 9 miles from the protected Brigantine National Wilderness Area and Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Stern has long maintained that air pollutants from the construction and ongoing operation and maintenance and repair of those turbines would degrade air quality in a unique and pristine natural environment that is subject to stringent air-quality requirements under the Clean Air Act. In 1977, Congress acknowledged the uniqueness of the Brigantine Wilderness Area by designating it a Class I area and granting it special air-quality and visibility protections under the Clean Air Act. A Mountain of Bad News for a Faltering Project In the weeks leading up to Friday's EPA air-permit ruling, the prospects of the Atlantic Shores South project grew increasingly dim. On January 13, Save LBI filed a major, first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of Interior, and Atlantic Shores for violating a number of federal environmental statutes, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Within a few weeks, Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables, 50/50 partners in the venture, both paused investment in the project, writing off $2 billion in losses, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) declined to award the significant additional rate subsidies Atlantic Shores had requested to fund the project. Despite what appears to be a cataclysmic breakdown in the fortunes of Atlantic Shores, Stern reiterated Save LBI's resolve to seek a 'permanent end' to the Atlantic Shores South and North projects, the latter of which has yet to receive any federal approvals. This includes the passage of federal legislation to remove investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act and the cancellation of these wind lease areas. 'We are hopeful that other federal agencies, particularly the Interior Department and NOAA, will take note of the EPA's action and reconsider their prior approvals, especially those dealing with marine mammal impact,' Stern concluded, adding, 'We have written to both asking for that.' About Save LBI Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off the Island working together to protect the ocean and Long Beach Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impact of the Atlantic Shores projects and potentially other offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and New Jersey communities. The organization is led by Beach Haven resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy's office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects. Save LBI is fighting to stop the ill-conceived Atlantic Shores projects. Visit for more information. 1. EPA Order Granting Motion for Voluntary Remand 2. Save LBI Calls Out EPA for Approving Clean Air Permit for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project: MULTIMEDIA: Image 1 Caption: The Atlantic Shores South lease area (green) off the coast of NJ spans 286 square miles. Source: Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. Image 2 Caption: Visual simulation of Atlantic Shores South project from Holgate, New Jersey. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) Keywords: Environment and Ecology, Save LBI, Save Long Beach Island, offshore wind, offshore wind projects, LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J. Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P124882 APNF0325A
Associated Press
11-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Save LBI Encouraged by Collapse of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Projects, Presses on with Litigation to Ensure Permanent Victory
LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Feb. 11, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI), the non-partisan watchdog group formed in 2021 to protect the ocean and New Jersey Shore communities from the destructive impacts of offshore wind, announced today that, while it is gratified by the collapse of the controversial Atlantic Shores South projects, the organization will remain vigilant and continue the fight to ensure that these projects and the Atlantic Shores North project are canceled and never return. The controversial Atlantic Shores South plan to erect 200 wind turbines as close as 8.7 miles off the coast of southern Long Beach Island (LBI), Brigantine, and Atlantic City, began unraveling on January 30 when Shell New Energies, which owns 50 percent of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, announced that it would write off a billion-dollar loss and step away from the projects. The announcement came just 17 days after Save LBI filed a comprehensive federal lawsuit against the projects alleging noncompliance with five laws. Four days later, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) refused to award significant additional rate subsidies that Atlantic Shores had requested to fund the projects. 'This is a major victory for shore values, communities, and common sense,' said Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI in a letter thanking supporters. 'But there is also unfinished business here to ensure that these projects, or similar ones, never reappear, and that the flawed Federal and State processes and impact-assessment methods that carried such a costly and damaging project this far are fundamentally changed.' Stern identified several areas in which Save LBI will continue its fight to permanently end Atlantic Shores South and Atlantic Shores North, including the passage of federal legislation to remove investment tax credits and other incentives for offshore wind under the Inflation Reduction Act and the cancellation of the two wind lease areas. 'We have written to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary [Douglas] Burgum suggesting that, and will be filing a formal petition asking for cancellation,' Stern said. 'Our recent federal lawsuit provides ample justification for such cancellation.' Save LBI will also seek to overturn prior project approvals through its ongoing litigation — which if granted, would set a precedent for other cases — and continue its longstanding campaign to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale by filing a petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a safe migration corridor along the East Coast. That petition, which asks NOAA to designate the corridor as critical habitat, will demonstrate that the Atlantic Shores projects and other offshore wind projects in these sensitive areas would seriously impede or block whale migration.' We will ask that all wind projects be excluded from that critical habitat corridor,' Stern said. Finally, Stern welcomed the new Administration's review of the leasing and permitting practices for all offshore wind projects and urged everyone involved with Atlantic Shores South to 'reflect on how a project with virtually no benefit, high cost, and significant environmental damage proceeded so far. Our work on this over the last few years showed that the entire process of site selection and project review was fundamentally flawed. 'We will continue our efforts to inform the public, the media, and our elected representatives as to the true costs and impacts of these projects, suggest improvements for the leasing, environmental review, and financing practices used, and offer constructive energy supply options to keep the lights on,' Stern concluded. About Save LBI: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off the Island working together to protect the ocean and Long Beach Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impact of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind projects and potentially other offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and New Jersey communities. The organization is led by Beach Haven resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy's office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects. Visit for more information. Save LBI Letter to Supporters MULTIMEDIA: PHOTO CAPTION: Visual simulation of Atlantic Shores South project from Holgate, New Jersey. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) Keywords: Legal and Law, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Save LBI, Save Long Beach Island, offshore wind, offshore wind projects, LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P123962 AP-R15TBLLI
