State sues to block coastal seismic testing

The state of New Jersey is seeking an injunction to block the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from proceeding with planned seismic testing off the coast of Barnegat.

The motion for an injunction, dated July 3, was filed on behalf of the state, the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and DEP Commissioner Bob Martin on the grounds that the state did not have ample opportunity to review the project. “We must carefully safeguard those resources, which play such a key role in our state’s $40-billion tourism industry, for the benefit of our residents, businesses and the environment,’’ Martin said in a press release.

The suit, which was filed by Acting Attorney General John Hoffman in U.S. District Court in Trenton, argues that the federal agencies did not provide the state with an opportunity to review the project for consistency with its coastal zone management program as required by the Coastal Zone Management Act. Along with the NSF and NOAA, the suit also names France Cordova, director of the NSF; the office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) and its director Paul Scholz; and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory as defendants.

The study is being conducted by Rutgers University, Columbia University and the University of Texas, and is being funded by the National Science Foundation.

According to the lawsuit, the project area is 25 to 85 kilometers off the coast of Barnegat and would consist of 246- to 254-decibel sound blasts every 5.4 seconds over 30 days in an effort to study climate change impacts.

Stakeholders opposing the testing claim it would be a prelude to oil drilling off the New Jersey coast and would have a detrimental impact on several species of marine life, including whales, dolphins, sea turtles, scallops and squid.

The two-count injunction is asking the court to halt the defendants from proceeding with the project unless the state is given the opportunity to review the testing for consistency with New Jersey laws.

The DEP’s Bureau of Marine Fisheries and Office of Environmental Review have both concluded this seismic activity would likely have a negative impact on New Jersey’s fish and marine mammal populations, including several endangered species.

Martin said in a press release announcing the legal action that one of the options the DEP is seeking is to move the schedule of testing from the summer to lessen the impact on the fishing industry.

“We have made our concerns clear to the NOAA and remain hopeful that, at the very least, this initiative will be rescheduled for a less impactful time of year,” he added.

“The timing of this program will be detrimental to various marine species that migrate and breed off the New Jersey coast and will negatively impact the commercial and recreational fishing industries, and related tourism, that relies heavily on these resources.”

Stakeholders, including Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6), Clean Ocean Action (COA), Recreational Fishing Alliance and Jersey Coast Anglers Association, began a campaign on May 23 to halt the project.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of COA, said in an interview last week COA and other groups continue to campaign against the project, and she is pleased the state is taking legal action.

Zipf took part in a July 2 rally in Barnegat Light borough where she estimated 300 people showed up to oppose the seismic testing project.

She said the rally, as well as Hurricane Arthur, were signs that the project should be scrapped.

“The ocean is letting her voice be heard by screaming up a pretty unusual hurricane in July,” Zipf said. “That is voice number one being heard, and voice number two is the hundreds of people at the rally.”

According to the suit, NOAA’s own regulations allow for states to assist in monitoring proposed federal activities outside the coastal zone.

“If a state determines that a proposed federal assistance activity will have reasonably foreseeable coastal effects, the state can request to review the activity for consistency with its management program by ‘immediately’ providing notice to OCRM and other stakeholders,” the complaint states.

The project first was listed in the Federal Register in March, and on June 18 the OCRM denied the DEP request to review the project without addressing the agency’s determination that it would have foreseeable effects on the state’s coastal zone.

The DEP contends that the proposed seismic research could either directly harm fish or disrupt migration patterns that would have a detrimental impact on the commercial and recreational fishing industry. The study’s one-month time window coincides with the height of fish migrations through the study area. This time window also accounts for nearly 20 percent of the annual catch for many species of fish.

The DEP also contends that the study would have an impact on marine mammals that migrate through the area and into New Jersey’s coastal waters.

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