Connecticut and Rhode Island attorneys general and energy developer Orsted sued the Trump administration last week to overturn the pause on the offshore Revolution Wind project, according to a press release.
“The order abstractly cites [the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management’s] authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), ordering the stop so that the agency may address unidentified “concerns.” No explanation was provided,” said the press release announcing the lawsuit.
In a statement from the White House provided by WPRI news, a more thorough explanation was provided for the national security concerns cited in the original stop-work order.
“The President has ended Joe Biden’s war on American energy and has established American dominance as a way to protect our economy and our national security,” the White House said to WPRI.
The press release, coordinated by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, indicates which legal defenses might be used against BOEM in court.
According to the press release, the complaint alleges that the government’s conduct violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the government’s authority under OCSLA. The complaint will argue those laws “demand reasoned decision-making, fidelity to statutory limits, and respect for the settled expectations of sovereign States and regulated parties.”
The lawsuit to overturn the Revolution Wind stop-order on behalf of the two states was filed at the federal court in Rhode Island last Thursday, according to Reuters. A separate lawsuit also challenging BOEM’s order was filed on the same day by developer Orsted in the U.S. District Court of Columbia, according to the company’s website
The stop-work order is resulting in a significant cost to the developer Orsted with around 2 million dollars being lost every day, according The Providence Journal.
Before the stop-work order, Orsted was funding $4 million worth of grants in environmental research to the University of Connecticut at Avery Point and Southern Connecticut State University, according to Orsted’s website. The environmental research has been paused in compliance with the work order, according to Paola Batta Lona, project manager of the CT Initiative on Environmental Research of Offshore Wind.
Speculation remains on whether wind turbines have negative impacts on marine life, with one Rhode Island attorney representing commercial fisheries saying on WPRI that Revolution Wind is depleting the fishing stock.
“Let’s actually look at the data, lets actually look at the fisherman’s experience and the real impacts to Rhode Island’s economy,” Attorney Marisa A. Desautel said. Desautel represents Desautel Browning Law, “the only regional firm challenging offshore wind”, according to the firm’s website.
Research scientists working on measuring the impact of wind turbines have yet to respond to a request for comment from The Daily Campus. Research being conducted on the marine impacts of wind turbines was used to dismiss state lawmakers’ concern over the impact of offshore wind construction on animals, according to Connecticut Insider.
The media contact for the attorneys general press release, Elizabeth Benton, was not in a position to comment on the litigation currently.