DOVER, Del. - Delaware’s Environmental Appeals Board voted Tuesday to send the state’s coastal consistency review of US Wind’s proposed offshore wind project in Sussex County back to DNREC, requiring a second look at whether US Wind’s application meets state requirements.
The decision, issued on Oct. 13, comes in an appeal filed by Edward Bintz challenging two federal consistency decisions involving the project. US Wind proposes bringing electricity generated offshore to Delaware through underwater cables landing at 3Rs Beach.
Tuesday’s remand now calls for DNREC to issue a new public notice summarizing the proposed activity and making the accompanying public information available. It also requires DNREC to ensure US Wind’s application complies with the Delaware Coastal Management Program and to follow the program’s other provisions.
DNREC will now revisit its review process and amend those decisions if necessary.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Bintz’s attorney, Jane Brady, argued the application was incomplete and that DNREC’s review did not adequately consider the entire project.
Brady said the review focused primarily on bringing transmission cables ashore and beneath the bay without sufficiently considering associated facilities. She also argued that references to applicable regulations in the application did not meet the required evaluation of the project’s impacts.
DNREC’s counsel disputed whether the board could provide a remedy, arguing that Delaware’s conditional concurrence was part of a federal permitting process and that the state had no legal power to withdraw or redo it once issued.
Brady countered that Bintz was challenging Delaware’s action and that the board had the authority to review the state’s decision, regardless of how federal agencies might respond.
The board entered executive session after the arguments before voting to remand the matter. The board’s decision follows an Aug. 25 hearing at which it unanimously denied DNREC’s renewed request to dismiss the appeal.
On the federal level, a lawsuit filed by Bintz challenging the offshore wind project is ongoing, and another federal suit remains in the U.S. District of Maryland.
