"We don’t want to risk becoming the next Gulf Coast" - Jersey Shore Partnership on Port Ambrose

The following is a letter sent by Margot Walsh, Executive Director of the Jersey Shore Partnership, voicing her opposition to the Liberty Natural Gas project Port Ambrose.  With three days left until the end of the public comment period on Thursday, August 22, make sure your voice is heard too and your comment is submitted to the docket here.

"I am writing on behalf of the Jersey Shore Partnership, a bipartisan, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect and preserve our beaches for the health and safety of all our citizens. We request that you to reject Liberty Natural Gas’s application to create a port off the coast of New York and New Jersey.  Twenty-five million (one out of every 11) people in New Jersey and adjoining states live within 50 miles of the Jersey Shore.

The Jersey Shore contributes $19 billion a year to New Jersey’s tourism economy – one-half the total tourism revenue.  Shore related businesses from restaurants, boutiques, real estate, boating, commercial fishing, boardwalk entertainment are still struggling to get back on their feet after Superstorm Sandy.  The coastal economy from Cape May, New Jersey to Montauk, New York is dependent up a clean pollution-free ocean and safe recreational beaches.  By building a fossil fuel facility, Liberty Natural Gas will threaten the stability and resiliency of our fragile coastline, endanger residents that live in our coastal areas, and put our tourism industry at risk.

I also ask you to consider the impact of changing weather patterns that are creating increasingly intense and frequent storms along the northeast coast.  Global warming and sea level rise are imminent realities. If LNG tankers were offshore when Superstorm Sandy barreled up the Atlantic, devastation from the storm could have been much worse, considering wave heights offshore of 30 feet near the proposed location of the port.  We are not naive enough to believe that we have seen the end of Sandy-like storms.

We don’t want to risk becoming the next Gulf Coast.  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recognized this threat when he vetoed the previous proposal from Liberty Natural Gas.    The Jersey Shore Partnership respectfully requests that you also reject LNG’s proposal."

The Jersey Shore Partnership was founded after the Halloween storm of 1991 as an advocate of initiatives and issues that are unique and important to the New Jersey coastal communities with an emphasis on shore protection and beach replenishment. The Partnership takes an active role in New Jersey’s economy including tourism, coastal resources, vital infrastructure, education and emergency preparedness, and works to promote sustainable coastal communities. Additional information about the Partnership and shore issues can be found at the Partnership's website, www.thejerseyshorepartnership.com.