Coastal county and groups sue to overturn federal approval of New Jersey's 1st offshore wind farm
New Jersey’s southernmost county has joined with environmental and fishing industry groups in suing the federal government in a bid to overturn its approval of the state's first offshore wind energy farm
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — The government of New Jersey's southernmost county has joined with environmental and fishing industry groups in suing the federal government in a bid to overturn its approval of the state's first offshore wind energy farm.
Cape May County and the groups filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court against two federal agencies — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management — seeking to reverse their approval of the Ocean Wind I project.
Current plans call for construction of the project in waters off southern New Jersey by the Danish wind power company Orsted.
The plaintiffs allege that the two agencies did not follow the requirements of nearly a dozen federal laws in approving the project, which would be built off the coast of Atlantic City and Ocean City — two of the state's top tourism destinations. They also claim the agencies did not adequately consider potential harm to the environment and marine life from offshore wind projects.
“To implement a massive new program to generate electrical energy by constructing thousands of turbine towers offshore… and laying hundreds of miles of high-tension electrical cables undersea, the United States has shortcut the statutory and regulatory requirements that were enacted to protect our nation’s environmental and natural resources, its industries, and its people,” the suit read.
Both agencies declined comment Wednesday.
Orsted declined comment on the lawsuit, but said it «remains committed to collaboration
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