News Source: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)

LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Aug. 21, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI), a grass-roots organization with more than 10,000 supporters dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, today praised the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Douglas Burgum for announcing a long overdue overhaul of the federal rules governing offshore renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Photo caption: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The group, which has long raised concerns about a flawed decision-making process that has resulted in unbalanced and environmentally damaging offshore projects, welcomed the Department’s August 7 announcement as a critical step toward restoring transparency, accountability, and alignment with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

“This reform effort is a clear response to concerns we raised in our July 2025 petition calling for cancellation of the Atlantic Shores South and North lease areas off the coast of Long Beach Island, Brigantine, and Atlantic City,” said Dr. Bob Stern, president of Save LBI. (The petition is available at https://www.savelbi.org/communications.) “We thank Secretary Burgum for his leadership in reexamining a regulatory framework that has failed both communities and the environment.”

In a letter of August 11, 2025, Stern urged the DOI to create an early opportunity for stakeholder engagement — before the draft rules are written — through mechanisms such as an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). This would allow community advocates, scientists, industry, and local governments to offer innovative solutions while the new regulations are still being shaped, instead of after draft regulatory language is published.

Image caption: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) logo.

The organization highlighted several key reforms it believes must be included in the new rules:

• Flip the Wind Energy Area Designation Process: Define off-limits zones for wind development upfront based on clear criteria, such as distance from shorelines, military radar, and whale migration corridors.
• End Segmented Decision-Making: Require integrated project proposals linking location and project design, evaluated through a single regional environmental impact statement treating all proposals in a region as alternatives, to enable fair, transparent, legally required comparisons.
• Strengthen Marine Mammal Protections: Establish rigorous, standardized methods for calculating potential harm, developed jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Mandate Turbine Removal: Require enforceable removal plans and financial assurances to prevent abandoned offshore structures.

“Flawed siting decisions and a dismissive approval process have fueled public outcry,” Stern concluded. “If this rulemaking is to succeed, the process must be transparent, science-based, and responsive to the communities most affected.”

Save LBI pledged to contribute policy expertise and constructive solutions throughout the reform effort.

About Save LBI:

Save LBI is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental protection related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, click here: https://www.savelbi.org.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

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PHOTO CAPTION: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

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