Feds Respond To Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Lawsuit

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ — The local fight against a controversial offshore wind project is continuing with an anti-offshore wind victory in federal court.

The federal government has filed a motion in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to remand the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and Record of Decision (ROD) approvals for the controversial Atlantic Shores South offshore wind project. The lawsuit was filed by Save LBI, a local group of offshore wind opponents.

Save LBI filed the lawsuit this past July in an attempt to stop the project from continuing, challenging the legality of federal approvals granted by a number of agencies.

“This filing means federal agencies are going back to the drawing board,” Save LBI President Bob Stern said in a statement. “It’s a rare and important moment. It confirms the seriousness of the technical and scientific concerns we’ve raised, for many years now — especially regarding the impacts to endangered North Atlantic right whales and cumulative construction and operation harms to the North Atlantic right whale migration corridor.”

The Court will now review the government’s motion and determine whether to grant the remand.

The Atlantic Shores projects have already been dealt several blows over the past months. Shortly after his swearing in, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to temporarily halt offshore wind projects. At the time, Trump said he hoped that Atlantic Shores was "dead and gone." Shortly after, Shell withdrew a nearly $1 billion investment into the project, as Patch previously reported. Read more: Shell Withdraws From Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project: Report

Following a prior lawsuit by Save LBI, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yanked a previously approved air permit, which left Atlantic Shores unable to continue construction.

Despite already having federal permits, Atlantic Shores sought cancellation of the projects in June, citing political and economic factors. Read more: Offshore Wind Farm Files To Cancel Project Off South Jersey Shore

The project's lease areas remain, which Save LBI seeks to cancel. The group has opposed Atlantic Shores from the beginning.

“This is a significant admission by the federal agencies that the Atlantic Shores approvals cannot withstand legal scrutiny in their current form,” said Thomas Stavola Jr. Esq., attorney for Save LBI. “The agencies have now recognized that their environmental review process was flawed and must be revisited. This constitutes a vindication of Plaintiffs’ rights and an acknowledgement of the validity of Plaintiffs’ lawsuit claims.”

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