A federal lawsuit pits green energy against protecting endangered whales. Three conservative groups are suing the Biden administration to halt what they say is the world’s largest wind energy project.
A 61-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), the Heartland Institute, and national research agencies says the Virginia offshore wind project could pose a significant threat to North Atlantic right whales. It is said that there is a possibility of causing damage. Legal and Policy Center for Federal Agencies and Dominion Energy.
The lawsuit names the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Marine Fisheries Service, executives from those agencies, and Dominion, a Virginia-based energy company scheduled to begin construction on the project on May 1. There is.
“On the one hand, the Biden administration says we have to bring in renewable energy, but in the process the windmills will have an environmental impact not only on the whales, but also on the birds that are chopped up by the windmills.” said Paul Kamener, general counsel. The National Law and Policy Center told Fox News Digital. “Our position is that this is a bigger issue than the environment, but reliance on wind turbines is also an economic issue, harming consumers and reducing energy reliability.”
A humpback whale is seen encroaching outside Sydney Heads on June 23, 2011 at the start of Sydney’s whale watching season. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
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The lawsuit seeks to force Dominion to halt construction of the project until the Marine Management Agency develops a new “biological opinion” covering verifiable protections against potential harm to North Atlantic right whales. It is said that The complaint alleges that the agency illegally approved Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project, ignoring procedural errors that could have seriously harmed endangered whales.
Dominion spokesman Jeremy Slayton said the lawsuit has no merit.
“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted a very thorough environmental review of this project and carefully considered the potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment,” Slayton told FOX News Digital. “The overwhelming consensus among federal agencies and the scientific community is that offshore wind energy does not have a negative impact on marine life. We have strong environmental safeguards in place for this project, and we have I am confident that they will be protected.”
Dominion insists it deploys protected species wardens to spot and avoid marine mammals and that its vessels adhere to strict speed limits to avoid collisions with marine mammals.
Spokespeople for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Marine Fisheries Service told Fox News Digital that the agencies do not comment on pending litigation.
President Biden has issued executive orders to address climate change in 2021, and his administration has approved dozens of wind energy projects along the East Coast. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Plaintiffs point out that 55 whale carcasses have washed ashore in other parts of the Atlantic coast since 2017, and experts say there are only about 350 North Atlantic right whales left, with newborns still dead. It added that only 70 females are believed to be capable of giving birth.
Heartland Institute President James Taylor said in a public statement: “Using an iconic species like the right whale to play politics is a truly pathetic example of the Biden administration’s allegiance to climate change.”
The lawsuit alleges that a “biological opinion” issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in September 2023 did not assess the harm the turbines would cause to whales. CFACT President Craig Rucker said in a public statement that CFACT’s analysis is “a textbook violation of the Endangered Species Act.”
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According to the plaintiffs, the Virginia Offshore Wind Project spans 40 kilometers off the coast of Virginia Beach and consists of 176 wind turbines with towers taller than the Washington Monument and turbine blades longer than a football field.
On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to address climate change, and his administration approved dozens of wind energy projects along the East Coast.
The first operational Southfork Wind Farm turbines will be seen on December 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
Plaintiffs argue that these whales could be forced to navigate 32 separate federally leased waters, from Georgia waters to Maine.
The complaint charges that the National Marine Fisheries Service had a “biological opinion” in September 2023 that only considered how wind projects would affect North Atlantic right whales individually. The plaintiffs argue that the agency should have conducted a comprehensive analysis that considered the project’s overall impact.
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“Government agencies are not taking into account the cumulative impacts up and down the coast,” said Kamenar of the National Law and Policy Center.
