Governors must protect our states, treasured assets

Editor,

Having finally returned from out of town, I was glad to get to read the Oct. 25 edition of the paper  until I got to the article with the information about The Maryland Coastal Bays Program’s (MCBP) failure to take a stance on the offshore wind farm when questioned by the OC Council.

I believe that Coastal Bay health is important and that MCBP has an important role to play in protecting it. I am not familiar with their charter, but I must assume that much of their initiative is to protect and enhance the fishery and provide important habitat. That fishery extends well beyond the Bays and into the surrounding ocean waters. I am not a scientist, but I am a local boy who has enjoyed the bayside for a lifetime and believes our Bays needs to have some protections in place and I rely on MCBP to be one of those important “checks”.

The Bishopville-Selbyville-Showell Jaycees  “Bishopville Mill Pond” project began the return to health of our bay in 1980 when they stopped the Bishop Processing Company waste ponds from leaching their pollution into the head waters of the St. Martin’s River. Those who value and use our bays owe a forever debt of gratitude to that Jaycee Chapter and their leader Al Wesche. That project won the Maryland Jaycee award for best environmental project and I think an award from the US Jaycees as well. The bays are so much more alive than in the 1970’s thanks to that small group of young men and women. In fact, Kevin Smith built upon the Jaycee’s work with the dam project some 30+ years later. Now the threat is from the opposite direction….offshore wind companies threaten our very way of life and our economy. They threaten the resource we all rely upon to bring tourists and visitors in our direction.

“Thank you” to Mayor Meehan and the Ocean City council as well as Fenwick Island Mayor Magdeburger and her council for taking the brave stance to refuse what appears to be the offshore wind “hush money.” Money is freely flowing thinly disguised as donations to our 501C3’s and to other political jurisdictions to gain their support. This in the face of a technology that lags far behind the political will that is pushing for it. The Democrats believe Wind Turbines will deliver us from Global Warming. I am not a climate denier, but I am also not convinced that humanity can do much to alter the course of these events, especially when the most populous countries in the world ignore all climate initiatives. The USA is not the problem. Unproven wind technology which is already experiencing catastrophic failure in Vineyard Wind is not the answer.

I am going to tell you a short story about MCBP which has some relevance in their failure to take a stance AGAINST off-shore wind.

Two years ago, an environmentally sensitive property in my neighborhood with significant creek frontage came up for rezoning by Jack Burbage. Now, I count Jack as a friend, but this was a philosophical argument and not at all something personal between us, as my neighbors and I had always been told that this property would be a forever residential buffer for our creek from its neighboring commercial center on Route 50. In fact, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that the former owners, Cripp and Irma Hastings, attempted to severely restrict the transferability of EDU’s to this property when the Sanitary Sewer was installed in West Ocean City to prevent any intensive use. Fourteen of my neighbors showed up to protest and Attorney Hugh Cropper was afforded ample opportunity by the County Commissioners to rebut each of our arguments on behalf of his client, but I was shut down and told, that as a citizen, I could not rebut Mr. Cropper’s arguments.  It passed and only Commissioner Bertino voted against it. What I found even more astounding is that there were several other zoning matters on the docket that day, mostly of lesser impact on Coastal Bays than ours. In each of the other cases, a representative from MCBP made verbal comments on the record during those public hearings.

However, to my knowledge, MCBP failed to make any verbal comments on the record for the Herring Creek rezoning hearing, the one, in my biased opinion, with the most environmental impact for the health of our bays. That to me is a glaring omission, just as is the argument that they believe in alternative energy sources and so that should influence their charge of protecting the inland bays and the surrounding fisheries. I have to think that the donation they admitted taking from the foreign wind companies has had some impact on that decision or non-decision.

But forgive me, there is no conscience anymore. Have we truly returned to the Watergate era? We are back to “Follow the money!” As someone who spent much of my professional career fighting for ethical practice, I am appalled at the lack of ethics on behalf of the party pushing the Green New Deal and shoving these turbines down the throats of her citizens.

Where is the money coming from to fund these foreign wind power companies in their systematic attempt to buy silence and support? Apparently, “Anything goes” so that the Democrats can claim victory in the battle for offshore wind. I sure hope it is not our tax dollars being repurposed against us. At best it is hush money and it should be illegal, but these companies continue to bull ahead. Where is Greenpeace to protect the Right Whales and the other marine mammals? Where is the National Park Service to protect Assateague National Seashore. Where is DNR to protect the fish and shellfish and Maryland/Delaware State beaches? Where are National Marine Fisheries organizations to protect the fisheries. “Ocean Conservancy”, I suggest you change your name to something else! My understanding from Mayor Magdeburger is that one Environmental Impact Statement predicts the wind farm will result in complete collapse of the offshore and local commercial fishery not to mention lower property values. That’s it? That’s the trade off? No fish for saving a fraction of a degree?

Governor Moore, you are the CEO of Maryland first and not a Democrat owing blind loyalty to the Democratic Party’s national agenda. You need to protect Maryland’s only Seashore resort and National Seashore so that her citizens can continue to enjoy that major recreation area without living in fear that fiberglass debris will close our beaches and infect our fish and enter our food chain. We are an important part of Maryland’s economic engine. Governor Carney, same directive, you should protect your citizenry from the over reach of your own party. Isn’t that the oath that you both took – to protect the citizens of your respective states?

I suggest a crazy approach. Towns should annex the commercial and recreational fishery out to the Canyons, as important to the economic health of the area. Zone it “recreation conservation area” Only allow town or county permits for fishing reefs, navigational beacons, etc.

This is craziness and I am flabbergasted.

Chuck Shorley
Ocean City