A public hearing is set for March 25 on a US Wind application to build a concrete pier off Harbor Road in West Ocean City.

The lot where Martin Fish Company currently sits in West Ocean City is the proposed site of a US Wind operations and maintenance facility.
Bethany Hooper/Bayside Gazette.

By Bethany Hooper, Associate Editor

The Maryland Department of the Environment will hold a public hearing this month on an application from US Wind to build a concrete pier off Harbor Road.

As part of its plans to construct an operations and maintenance facility in West Ocean City, US Wind has applied to the Maryland Department of the Environment for permission to construct a 625-foot long by 32-foot-wide concrete pier at its project location, listed as 12929 and 12933 Harbor Road. A public hearing on the company’s application will be held from 5:30-8 p.m., March 25, at Wor-Wic Community College’s Fulton-Owen Hall.

“US Wind is advancing permits for various aspects of the project, consistent with what has been included in our Construction and Operations Plan and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued by BOEM last October,” Ben Cooper, US Wind’s director of marine affairs, said. “This permit hearing concerns the pier and bulkhead of a planned operations and maintenance facility required by the state to be located in the Ocean City region. The pier, as many locals know, was built 45 years ago and is in desperate need of improvement. This permit seeks to make those improvements. US Wind has been engaging with the state and local fishermen on our project plans and will continue to do so throughout the process.”

A rendering shows how US Wind’s proposed operations and maintenance facility off of Harbor Road in West Ocean City is expected to look when completed.
Photo courtesy US Wind

As proposed, an operations and maintenance facility would serve as the primary location for planning and coordinating wind turbine and offshore substation maintenance operations for US Wind’s projects off the coast of Ocean City. According to the company, the facility will feature an onshore office, marine coordination center and warehouse space, as well as quayside and berthing areas for four or more crew transfer vessels.

“In order to support US Wind’s offshore wind projects, an Operations and Maintenance facility will need to be established relatively close to where the turbines are located offshore,” a fact sheet from US Wind reads. “The Ocean City, Maryland region is perfectly situated for this facility given its proximity to US Wind’s planned offshore wind projects and the availability of commercial waterfront space. The Maryland Public Service Commission recognized these important factors when it mandated that US Wind establish its O&M facility in the Ocean City region.”

Two property owners in the West Ocean City commercial harbor — Martin Holdings LLC and James and April Reese — have approached US Wind about the potential sale of their properties, the company said. Combining the two properties would satisfy the Maryland PSC’s requirement to locate an operations and maintenance facility in the Ocean City region, US Wind said.

To moor its crew transfer vessels at the proposed site, US Wind has planned upgrades to the existing pier structure. The company’s application calls for a concrete pier with associated wave break and timber fenders and 435 feet of replacement bulkhead.

“The purpose of the project is to improve navigable access,” the application reads.

The March 25 public hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., will be preceded by a poster session from 5:30-6 p.m.

In the meantime, several community members and groups, including Protect Our Coast – Delmarva, have objected to the developer’s plans. In a change.org petition, the organization called for an immediate halt of the development of offshore wind projects until their impacts on marine life, property values and the economy could be further investigated. As of Monday, the petition had more than 13,000 signatures.

“We call on both the Federal Government and the States of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia to ensure a thorough independent, transparent investigation of the effects on sea mammals, migratory fish and shellfish,” the petition reads. “We ask these investigations be carried out by federal agencies with independent, third party scientific oversight. These massive, unprecedented experimental projects have been fast-tracked without meaningful public input, and with all the impacted cities and towns understanding all of the possible hazard and negative effects of an industrialized offshore.”

The Maryland Department of the Environment reports that written comments on US Wind’s application will be accepted until April 9. Those seeking more information are asked to contact R. Miles Simmons at robertm.simmons@maryland.gov or at 410-627-4826.