Protect Our Coast New Jersey (POCNJ), Clean Ocean Action, and ACK for Whales have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the construction of the Empire Wind offshore wind project. The lawsuit calls on the federal government to reinstate the stop-work order issued on April 16 by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
The Empire Wind project, a large-scale offshore wind facility proposed just outside New York Harbor and sited 16 miles south of Long Beach, NY – which effectively puts it roughly 17 miles east of Long Branch – was halted in April by Interior Secretary Burgum who had explained how the project was “rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies.” However, on May 19, Burgum abruptly reversed the stop work order without explanation.
The Thialf, a 661-foot vessel, traveled from the Netherlands to the US and arrived off the coast of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and New York. The vessel will drive 180-foot piles into the seafloor for the construction of the Empire Wind offshore wind project. In an official press release, the three nonprofit environmental organizations argue that the Empire Wind project violates key federal environmental regulations.
The plaintiffs are also seeking to void Equinor’s Empire Wind lease, arguing it violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by awarding U.S. offshore territory to a company controlled by a foreign government. Equinor is 67% owned by the Kingdom of Norway. The lawsuit contends that because Equinor operates under the direction of the Norwegian government, the lease is unlawful and should be vacated.
Joining the lawsuit are a wide range of generational fishing families, historic seafood operations, whale watch operators, and civic leaders from the East Coast, including New Jersey based Belford Seafood Co-op, Miss Belmar Inc., Fisherman’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, Lund’s Fisheries of Cape May, and Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson, Jr.
“President Trump halted the Empire Wind project due to the Biden Administration’s failure to adequately assess the environmental harm posed by these offshore wind turbines and the impact on our coastal fishing industry,” said lead counsel Bruce Afran. “None of those critical issues have been resolved,” said Afran, adding “We are asking the federal court to reinstate the stop work order because the project’s federal approvals were incomplete and failed to safeguard the ecology of our seacoast and the livelihoods it supports.”
“The organizations and individuals named as plaintiffs in this legal action literally feed America,” said POCNJ President Robin Shaffer. “These are long-standing American small businesses employing thousands of U.S. workers whose livelihoods are at risk if Empire Wind proceeds.”
“There is nothing American about the Empire Wind project: the developer is a Norwegian state-owned company, the vessels and construction materials are imported, the workforce is foreign – even the rocks to be dumped on the seabed are sourced from overseas,” said Shaffer, adding “We are asking the U.S. District Court of New Jersey to recognize that the rationale for the stop work order highlights deep flaws in the federal permitting process.”
“For over 40 years, Clean Ocean Action has defended the ocean,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. “A Government Accountability Office investigation released in April confirmed what we’ve long said: the offshore wind permitting process has been fast-tracked with rubber-stamp approvals, and it underscores and add to a scandalous lack of sound science, due diligence, and due process – putting our marine environment at serious risk.”
Zipf said Secretary Burgum made the right decision to pause the project in April. “Inexplicably, the decision was reversed,” said Zipf, adding “Now, massive pile driving ships that can cause harm and even death to marine life are on their way, thus this legal action is essential.”
“This project is a precedent-setting assault on the ocean environment, our commercial and recreational fishing industries, tourism, and the very quality of life on the Jersey Shore,” said Mayor John Peterson, Jr. of Seaside Park, adding “There may be millions of dollars against us, but there are millions of us standing in defense of our coast.”
Learn more at protectourcoastnj.com.
