Ocean City mayor seeks governor’s intervention in project
While local officials continue to share concerns about the impact a proposed operations and maintenance facility could have on the local fishing industry, US Wind reports this week it is developing a compensation program to benefit commercial and recreational fishermen.
This week, US Wind’s senior director of external affairs, Nancy Sopko, confirmed that the company is developing a mitigation program for commercial and for-hire recreational fishermen. The announcement comes a week after the Worcester County Commissioners shared concerns about a potential agreement.
“US Wind is adopting a compensation program to benefit commercial and for-hire recreational fishermen, a measure BOEM recognized as effective in our FEIS,” Sopko said. “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. We look forward to working with the state on outreach to the fishing community to further develop details of this mitigation program.”
Earlier this month, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced it would forward a favorable recommendation to issue US Wind a wetlands permit for the construction of a pier and bulkhead on Harbor Road in West Ocean City. Last week, however, the commissioners voted to make its opposition known to the Maryland Board of Public Works, which makes the final determination.
As part of their discussions, the commissioners and county staff also shared concerns about a “fisheries compensation agreement,” which was referenced in MDE’s review of US Wind’s wetlands permit application. Bob Mitchell, director of environmental programs for Worcester County, said it was the first officials had heard of the agreement.
“There’s no compensation, there’s been no outreach, and there’s been no communications for anything related to the harbor,”
hey we are going to put in a wind farm no matter what cause that is what we do and you cant stop us
Wes Moore in bed with US Wind.