Environmental and fishing groups from Nantucket have filed a lawsuit in US federal court in an attempt to challenge the permits for Avangrid’s New England Wind 1 and 2 projects off Massachusetts.
Environmental group ACK For Whales, the Wampanoag Tribe, Green Oceans, a coalition of charter fishing groups, and seven individuals are asking the court in their claim to find that the Departments of Interior and Commerce violated the law when they approved the record of decision for the two offshore wind projects.
The lawsuit was filed with the federal court in Washington after the organisation asked the Environmental Protection Agency in March to revoke its permit for the project.
The plaintiffs argue that by approving the record of decision for the two projects, the Departments of Interior and Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Bureau of Ocean Management violated the Marine Mammal Protection, Endangered Species, Outer Continental Shelf Lands, National Historic Preservation, and Administrative Procedures acts.
The lawsuit seeks declarative relief, finding that the government violated these laws, and an injunction to stop these projects from moving forward.
“Offshore wind project after offshore wind project, from Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind and New England Wind to the others, the government was so desperate to rush these projects that it cut corners and violated the law,” said Vallorie Oliver, ACK for Whales’ president.
The record of decision for New England 1 and 2 was granted in April 2024, and the construction and operations plan was given several months later. The first 791MW phase is supposed to enter construction this year and start producing electricity by 2029.
“This project was permitted illegally and unfairly. We, the fishermen and lobstermen, are losing our grounds to foreign-owned, wind-power plant developers who are decimating sustainable fisheries that employ tens of thousands of US citizens and feed millions of Americans,” added Nantucket lobsterman Danny Pronk.
