OCEAN CITY, Md. - Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza is urging the Maryland Board of Public Works to delay the consideration of a proposed offshore wind project in Worcester County. In a letter to the board, Carozza requested that the state postpone the issuance of a license that U.S. Wind requires to move forward with the project.
The proposal includes plans for a more than 10,000-square-foot concrete industrial pier and a portable crane, which would be part of a U.S. Wind facility in the West Ocean City harbor. Carozza has expressed concerns about the potential impact on the local community and the commercial fishing industry. She is advocating for the board to withhold approval until the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a federal agency, issues its final decision on offshore wind energy in Maryland.
Local fishermen in the harbor have voiced concerns that the project could negatively affect their livelihoods, a sentiment Carozza shares. "When you think about it, if you start to picture this over a 10,000-square-foot concrete industrial pier in West Ocean City, there's nothing similar to it anywhere around. That would not only change our whole lifestyle with commercial fishing, but it would change the character of the whole West Ocean City harbor," Carozza said.
Governor Wes Moore has previously stated that he believes wind projects and the commercial fishing industry can coexist. However, Carozza remains skeptical. "I believe that Governor Moore will see that there will be a great deal of input from constituents not only from the Eastern Shore but from across the state of Maryland. We just had this deadline this week to have our comments submitted; the overwhelming majority are negative," she said.
Carozza also highlighted that the proposed project conflicts with existing protections for the fishing industry. "Years ago, a marina district was established in the West Ocean City harbor specifically to protect the commercial fishing industry. And now we have a proposal, this operation maintenance facility proposed by U.S. Wind, that in essence would significantly, negatively impact the commercial fishing industry where we could lose our entire industry," she added.
In a statement, US Wind said:
"There is no basis for delaying a decision on our Tidal Wetlands License application,” said Nancy Sopko, US Wind’s senior director of external affairs. “The Tidal Wetlands License is one of the many permits necessary before construction on our operations and maintenance facility may begin and the state is following the process laid out in state law for such permits. US Wind is adopting a compensation program to benefit commercial and for-hire recreational fishermen, a measure BOEM recognized as effective in our FEIS. US Wind and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources signed a Letter of Intent in July 2024 to develop a fisheries compensatory mitigation program by early 2025. Such a mitigation program could include financial assistance, assistance with equipment upgrades or training, and other services. US Wind plans to build a typical small office building at the West Ocean City Harbor that will have two to three boats alongside it to service the wind farm. Our O&M facility will not house heavy industrial equipment and will not berth large deep draft vessels that cannot enter the West Ocean City harbor. We look forward to working with the state on outreach to the fishing community to further develop details of this mitigation program.”
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated Senator Carozza is seeking the Board of Public Works postpones 'approval' of the project. Carozza has clarified she would like them to postpone consideration altogether.
