Controversial Seismic Testing Along NJ Shore Delayed a Year

• comments
• 
• 

A seismic research project planned along the coast of New Jersey's Long Beach Island that environmentalists and local fishermen criticized has been postponed until next summer due to mechanical failures.

Researchers from Rutgers University and the University of Texas have decided to delay the sonic experiments after trouble arose with a generator and also a winch on the research vessel, said Gregory Mountain, the university professor leading the study, which is intended to examine sea level rise in the region, according to the Associated Press.

"It is a victory for marine life this summer and for the state of New Jersey and thousands of citizens that have rallied to their defense. The coastal economy won't be a victim of Rutgers' seismic blasting off our coast...this year," Cindy Zipf, executive director of environmental advocacy group Clean Ocean Action, said in a news release. "We are stunned that the National Science Foundation, Rutgers and others are going to try again next year given the many members of Congress, the State of NJ, NJ State legislators, fishing, diving, tourism, ocean advocacy organizations, and nearly 20,000 petition signers have opposed the project."

The testing, aimed at studying sea level rise in the region, as well as the area's composition and formation, has drawn heavy fire from both environmental protection outfits like Clean Ocean Action and also industry groups throughout the state that assert marine wildlife as well as the commercial fishing economy will be hurt by the experiments.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection said it had determined the project would "adversely impact New Jersey's vital tourism and fishing industries, and harm fish and marine mammals."

Nevertheless, the 3rd Circuit United States Court of Appeals last month rejected the state's request to block the testing and allowed the research plans to move forward.

Mountain dismisses the suggestion the testing is dangerous to marine wildlife by countering his team's findings will generate valuable information that with which scientists will better understand and respond to the anticipated effects of climate change along the new Jersey seaboard.

State officials say it's too early to tell what legal action New Jersey could take in the future to block the research.

The state was already developing an approach for monitoring the work being done, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, said Zipf, "they blind-sided us last time, but now time is on our side and we will demand that the

permitting process have robust congressional and state oversight and ample time for public review. We, the people, will be prepared and organized to advocate on behalf of New Jersey marine life to stop this dangerous experiment."