It’s unfortunate that The Baltimore Sun continues to sound like the same broken record over and over again when it comes to Ocean City’s position in opposition to 114 gigantic, 938-foot tall turbines being constructed just 10.7 miles off our coast (“Offshore wind: Ocean City sends out its sharks” Oct. 30).

The paper continues to reference the union jobs that would be created by the US Wind project. For the past 7.5 years, we have clearly stated that those same jobs would still be created if the wind turbines were moved further offshore, or to less disruptive areas, but this has been ignored.

Regurgitating the comparison of the 5 turbines off Block Island with what is proposed off the coast of Ocean City is ridiculous. The turbines from Block Island are off the back side of the island and out of sight of the residential and commercial areas. Also, before the turbines were built the only power source for Block Island was supplied by diesel generators. The Block Island turbines have proven to be unreliable and the cables have been exposed causing beach closures and power losses.

The editorial jokingly mentions just two co-plaintiffs in our lawsuit but fails to mention the more than twenty co-plaintiffs, which include but are not limited to: the commissioners of Worcester County; the mayor and Town Council of Fenwick Island, Delaware; the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce; the Delmarva Condominium Managers Association (representing thousands of nonresident property owners from throughout the State of Maryland); the Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association; the Save the Right Whale Coalition; the Waterman’s Association of Worcester County Inc.; or other businesses, individuals, and a number of residential community associations.

This represents an entire region whose concerns have just flat out been ignored or considered insignificant. Well, Ocean City (and its co-plaintiffs) do not consider these issues to be insignificant and now stand together in opposition to what is being proposed.

Yes, we hired the best law firm we could find to defend our position because, unfortunately, we were left with no choice. It was obvious if we did not stand up for ourselves, no one else was going to. We have learned over the past 7.5 years that it is not just our view shed that is being destroyed but also our ecosystem, our economy, our commercial and recreational fishing industries, our property values and our future.

We have learned this because we have listened; a trait that has been lost by the federal and state governments and obviously The Baltimore Sun.

Additionally, the state has passed a Wind Tax on all Maryland ratepayers to subsidize the US Wind project which may or may not provide electricity to these same ratepayers! Yes, a wind tax! And no one will tell you exactly how much money US Wind will receive from Maryland taxpayers. Maybe that’s where the questions should start?

Is climate change an important issue to address? Yes, but is the answer to fast-track a process and a project that has left so many questions unanswered? No.

If this project is built as proposed, people are going to ask elected officials, “How did you ever let this happen?”

I propose we work together to find the answers and include Ocean City and the Eastern Shore in this conversation. If this project was proposed to be built in the Chesapeake Bay or on the Severn River, I submit, the discussion would be totally different.

This is a serious issue and for The Baltimore Sun to continue to use their bully pulpit to belittle Ocean City, our residents, businesses and property owners is unconscionable. We are all Marylanders and we are being left behind.

— Rick Meehan, Ocean City

The writer is the mayor of Ocean City.