A Mercer County Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by eight New Jersey shore communities to halt the Atlantic Shores wind farm project, ruling that the plaintiffs had no standing to bring the action.
In December, Brigantine and Ventnor in Atlantic County and the Ocean County communities of Long Beach Township, Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Surf City, Harvey Cedars and Barnegat Light joined in the lawsuit against the wind farm project.
The suit, which was dismissed in an April 18 ruling, asked for an independent review of whether the project violates the state Department of Environmental Protection’s coastal regulations. It claimed that the DEP did not follow its own regulations when it allowed the wind farm to proceed. The wind farm is planned for waters off the coast of New York and New Jersey.
In a Facebook post, Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera expressed strong disappointment with the ruling, saying, “Personally, I have a very hard time understanding how homeowners and municipalities have no standing in this case when these ocean wind projects will have major negative impacts to the ocean environment, our local economies, the value of people’s homes, and will dramatically increase the cost of electricity paid by everyone in New Jersey.”
The issue of standing is becoming central to attempts to use litigation to slow or halt wind farm development. Earlier this month U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kirsch dismissed for lack of standing a suit brought by an offshore wind opposition group, Save Long Beach Island. Kirsch said the plaintiff failed to show it would be harmed by any of the alleged violations of environmental law involved in seabed survey activity.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
