Congressman Steny Hoyer made an appearance in Annapolis lobbying for a measure that would impose a 15 month delay on the Somerset County wind turbine project.
Speaking before a legislative panel the House minority Whip from Southern Maryland said the delay and study was needed to ensure that the wind turbines do not interference with the radar from the U.S. Naval Air Station on the Patuxent River.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that Hoyer also provided a letter co-signed by Maryland’s two senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin supporting the legislation.
Southern Maryland benefits from the naval with its 22-thousand employees and affects 70 to 80 percent of the local economy.
Opponents of the delay note that an agreement has been reached between the Department of Defense and Pioneer Green which is building the wind farm.
And, Governor Martin O’Malley has said that he does not support the measure in its current form.