The Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is concerned about the proposed partnership between Skipjack Offshore Energy LLC (and its parent company Ørsted North America Inc.) and Division of Parks and Recreation, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, concerning proposed improvements to Fenwick Island State Park and the construction of offshore wind power cable landing infrastructure within the park.
We are only discussing our concerns with the proposed project in this letter. We are not commenting on the larger Ørsted-owned Skipjack offshore wind project. Surfrider will review Skipjack’s Construction and Operation Plan when analysis of that document is released as part of the National Environmental Policy Act process. Because of the negative effects of climate change, Surfrider strives to support ocean renewable energy projects.
Surfrider is a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the ocean, waves, and beaches through a powerful activist network. Surfrider’s efforts include ocean protection, coastal preservation, and promoting the right of low-impact, open access to the coastal environment.
DNREC and Ørsted signed a confidential Memorandum of Understanding July 18, 2019. The MOU lays out a possible legal structure between DNREC and Ørsted, as well as some project details about the proposed $18 million in improvements to the park and energy infrastructure. In essence, the MOU describes how Ørsted will spend private money to improve the park, in exchange for the necessary permits for landing and constructing their offshore wind power cord. The public was not informed about the MOU until a public hearing Oct. 2.
Surfrider is concerned about the long-term sustainability of placing large, expensive, and important energy infrastructure a few feet above sea level, on a barrier island. The latest calculations of sea level rise for Delaware are 15-19 inches by 2050. Scientists also expect more frequent and more powerful coastal storms in the Atlantic, which generally create storm surges. For these reasons, Surfrider advocates for a retreat from our coastlines as the most effective way to remove infrastructure and people out of harm’s way.
The project would appear to violate Delaware State Code and DNREC’s legal authority, which allows for transmission lines and pipelines to cross public lands, but does not mention large transmission infrastructure such as proposed by Ørsted: “Grant, with the written approval of the Cabinet Committee on State Planning Issues, easements, for either private or public purpose over or under any public lands which it administers, for the purpose of transmission lines, such as: Telephone and telegraph lines, electric power lines, gas pipelines, and water and sewage pipelines and appurtenances.
“No state park, or any part thereof, or other area acquired primarily for recreational use, shall be rezoned, neither shall there be a change in the use of any such lands requiring a variance or subdivision approval, except upon 45 days prior notice to all elected members of the General Assembly in whose district such lands, or any part thereof, lie.”
Moreover, the proposed construction appears to be out of alignment with the mission of the Division of Parks and Recreation, which states, “Our mission is to provide Delaware’s residents and visitors with safe and enjoyable recreational opportunities and open spaces, responsible stewardship of the lands and the cultural and natural resources that we have been entrusted to protect and manage, and resource-based interpretive and educational services.”
Under their Principles of Operation, the division states, “A Commitment to Future Generations: State parks and preserves are irreplaceable public assets and must be secured for future generations. We shall provide for their protection and preservation as well as their use, enjoyment and understanding through planning, strategic land acquisition, appropriate development, interpretive and educational programming, and the management of grounds and facilities.”
Surfrider is also concerned about direct negative impacts to the park from the expansion of the built environment under the proposed project. Destruction of habitat, increased visitors, and increased runoff from additional parking could have negative effects on the park’s ecosystem.
The project also creates a precedent for constructing industrial infrastructure in Delaware State Parks, as well as a perverse incentive to not use taxpayer money to upgrade and maintain parks, instead to wait for private industries to use that opportunity to build new industrial infrastructure.
The project will additionally set in place a legal structure where DNREC, the government agency with authority to approve the project (as well as other permits needed by Ørsted), will also be receiving the much-needed funding for Fenwick Island State Park. This situation would appear to be a conflict of interest for DNREC. DNREC will be responsible for issuing permits, overseeing compliance, and monitoring water quality during all phases of the project.
How can the public have confidence in the permit approval process when DNREC is poised to receive over $18 million in investment to Fenwick Island State Park? Surfrider cannot support a project that places large energy infrastructure in a Delaware State Park on a barrier island. We ask that Ørsted analyze some alternative cable landing locations. We request our comments be submitted to the record and would appreciate a response to our issues of concern.
Kevin Chandler
chair, Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation
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