US Wind’s application to construct a pier and bulkhead for an operations and maintenance facility in West Ocean City will advance to the Maryland Board of Public Works following issuance of a favorable recommendation.
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
By Bethany Hooper, Associate Editor
US Wind’s application to construct a pier and bulkhead for an operations and maintenance facility in West Ocean City will advance to the Maryland Board of Public Works with a favorable recommendation.
Last Monday, hours after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the release of its final environmental impact study for US Wind’s proposed offshore wind project, the Maryland Department of the Environment reported it would forward a favorable recommendation to issue the company a wetlands permit for the construction of a pier and bulkhead on Harbor Road in West Ocean City. US Wind’s wetlands permit application will now be considered by the Maryland Board of Public Works.
“The Department has decided to send a favorable report recommending the authorization of the proposed activities to the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW),” Maryland Department of the Environment’s R. Miles Simmons said in a statement. “Please be aware that this report is only a recommendation to BPW for the issuance of a Wetland License. The BPW will make the final State decision to issue or deny the Applicant’s Wetlands License.”
As part of its plans to construct an operations and maintenance facility in West Ocean City, US Wind last year submitted an application with the Maryland Department of the Environment to construct a concrete pier and replacement bulkhead from its project location at 12929 and 12933 Harbor Road. The proposed facility will serve as the primary location for planning and coordinating wind turbine and offshore substation operations for US Wind’s offshore wind projects, to be located off the coast of Ocean City.
According to company officials, the facility will feature an onshore office, marine coordination center and warehouse space, as well as quayside and berthing areas for its crew transfer vessels. To moor its vessels at the proposed site, US Wind has planned upgrades to the existing pier structure.
In a March 25 public hearing on US Wind’s application, attendees learned the company had reduced the length of the pier from the original 625 feet to 174 feet, as well as the replacement bulkhead from the original 435 feet to 381 feet. Since that time, however, the company has submitted four revisions to its application. The recommendation being sent to the Board of Public Works increases the scope of work.
“After reviewing the proposed activities, the Department determined that the applicant, US Wind Inc., is within its riparian rights to construct a 353 foot long by 30 foot wide concrete pier with associated timber fenders, all with a maximum of 30 feet channelward of the mean high water line; and construct 383 linear feet of replacement steel bulkhead within a maximum of 18 inches channelward of the mean high water line,” Simmons wrote. “The Department has determined that the proposed pier and bulkhead are consistent with State law and regulations and are a reasonable exercise of riparian rights to allow for reasonable access to State waters and protect the shoreline from erosion.”
In its report to the Board of Public Works, the Maryland Department of the Environment states the agency had received oral testimony from 43 individuals at the March public hearing, with 40 in opposition to the project and three in favor. The agency also received 202 emails and seven letters, with 119 in opposition, 81 in support and three neutral. The department reports 37 of the 119 correspondences in opposition were specific to the wetlands application.
Simmons said those interested in submitting comments to the Board of Public Works can contact Wetlands Administrator Bill Morgante at 410-260-7791 or email bill.morgante@maryland.gov. A copy of the signed report and recommendation can be found online.