LITTLE COMPTON – A local nonprofit organization has filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against multiple U.S. agencies over the approvals of two offshore wind projects off Rhode Island’s coastline, joining a chorus of other local groups that have filed similar lawsuits over the energy developments.
Green Oceans, an organization that says it is dedicated to protection the ocean and its ecosystems, announced Jan. 19 that along with 35 other plaintiffs it is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and their respective administrative leaders. The suit alleges the four federal agencies shortcut statutory and regulatory procedures, and violated environmental protection laws by approving both the Revolution Wind and South Fork projects.
Green Oceans co-Founder and President Lisa Quattrocki Knight told Providence Business News in an email on Monday the organization and other plaintiffs are seeking a court judgment that will force the government to follow its own rules and regulations.
“The relief we seek ... is a declaration that the project approvals are not valid, sending the matter back to the agencies with instructions to comply with legal requirements,” Quattrocki Knight said.
She also said that based on current law, project plans can only be challenged by outside entities after a “final agency decision” has been made - and Green Oceans had to wait before raising its voice.
Work for Revolution Wind is already underway, with offshore construction expected to ramp up this year. Turbines for South Fork Wind, which would provide 132 megawatts of power to New York, are currently being installed. The projects will be made up of hundreds of 800-foot-tall turbines located about 15 miles off the Rhode Island coast.
The lawsuit, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, seeks to prove that the four federal agencies in question allegedly violated eight statutes, Green Oceans said, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and Clean Water Act. Green Oceans and the other plaintiffs allege the federal agencies issued permits for the two projects on a marine habitat known as “Coxes Ledge,” despite the acknowledgement of “serious irreversible harm and without adequate environmental impact studies.”
The two projects, Green Oceans allege in the suit, threaten to permanently alter Coxes Ledge, which the nonprofit says is one of the last remaining spawning grounds for cod as well as a habitat for the North Atlantic right whale and other endanger whale species.
“Even people who support the concept of wind power understand the threat to sea life,” Green Oceans board trustee Barbara Chapman said in a statement. “On the official NOAA site, they have granted the developer of Revolution Wind, just one project of many, permission to harm and harass [more than] 13,000 marine animals, including 568 whales, during the course of a single year. We do not consider 13,000 a small number.”
Additional plaintiffs in Green Oceans’ suit include the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, Save Right Whales Coalition, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association and Bat World Sanctuary.
Green Oceans’ lawsuit is another claim in a long line of federal claims filed over the wind projects. In November, separate appeals against the approvals
were filed by both the New Shoreham-based Southeast Lighthouse Foundation and the Preservation Society of Newport County. Those entities are requesting the court to issue a construction injunction and find the developers violated federal laws and regulations governing energy development, including the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act.
The entities allege the federal agencies did not follow regulations requiring consideration of whether the wind farms will ruin waterfront views – or “viewsheds” – from the lighthouse on Block Island and the historic mansions in Newport.
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Dec. 22, 2023 PBN poll asking readers if legal complaints of altered waterfront views are a valid reason to halt already approved offshore wind farms showed 47.9% answered “No, the public need for alternative energy outweighs such frivolous concerns,” while 27.7% said “Yes, federal agencies did not properly consider that concern.”
Earlier this month,
the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear two combined cases, one of them involving a Narragansett-based fishing company, over an offshore wind project and federal fishery law interpretation. F/V Rentless, a vessel owned by Seafreeze Fleet LLC based in Narragansett’s Point Judith section, filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project.
(CLARIFICATION: Barbara Chapman states 13,000 marine animals could be harmed annually from the approved wind farm projects. As many as 19,000 over a five-year period could be harmed, according to Green Oceans.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
Silly lawsuits that are more reflective of being modernity adverse as opposed to valid evidence to support their claim of environmental harm. It also ignores the fact that European coastal areas are doing just fine given their installment of over 9,000 wind turbines spread over 14 countries as opposed to the paltry 5 located on the US east coast