Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) applauded the decision today by the Trump Administration Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, who ordered the cessation of construction on the Empire Wind project off the coast of New Jersey and New York.

“This is a great victory for all of us who have been fighting to protect the Jersey Shore from offshore wind industrialization. We are grateful to President Trump and Secretary Burgum for their analysis and confirmation of the serious issues we have raised throughout the offshore wind approval process.”

According to the letter from Secretary Burgum to the Acting Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Department of the Interior obtained information which, “raises serious issues with respect to project approvals for the Empire Wind Project.” Burgum said: “matters identified thus far suggest that approval for the project was rushed through by the prior Administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the Project.”

The halting of construction follows a letter Smith penned three weeks ago to Secretary Burgum, asking him to “do everything in your power to halt Equinor’s underhanded rush to begin piledriving” until the critical assessment ordered by President Trump’s January 20th executive order and can be completed."

Smith stated that the Trump assessment is needed to review the many shortcomings of the Federal wind leasing process including, “potential inadequacies in various environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).”

“The NEPA review process under the Biden Administration, when Empire Wind was approved, was completely inadequate and failed to answer critical questions related to national security, environmental health, and the economic wellbeing of nearby communities. The results could be catastrophic, disrupting some of the nation’s busiest waters and negatively affecting important radar systems,” Smith said.

This news also comes only two days after the release of a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—the independent congressional watchdog agency—that confirmed concerns first raised in Congress by Rep. Smith that offshore wind turbines pose significant threats to national security and aviation and maritime safety by interfering with radar systems. Smith helped secure this report with a letter to the GAO with Bruce Westerman, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Congressmen Jeff Van Drew and Andy Harris.

Smith said the GAO report provided additional scientific justification for President Trump’s pause on offshore wind and the immediate stoppage of offshore wind projects, including Empire Wind.

Regarding today’s action Smith said, “This is a huge relief for the many New Jersey residents, fishermen, and communities whose concerns were for years habitually dismissed and trivialized by the Biden and Murphy administrations. The Trump Administration has recognized—definitively—that the offshore wind industrialization approval process left unaddressed and unanswered numerous serious questions concerning the potentially harmful impacts of offshore wind.

“Ocean wind energy development is an egregiously flawed and dangerous initiative but with this cancellation we in New Jersey who have long been pointing out the obvious whitewash of these projects have finally been vindicated and heard at the highest levels of government.”

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