DELMARVA - The Trump Administration has announced its intent to withdraw approval of US Wind’s planned wind farm off the shores of Worcester and Sussex Counties, according to court documents acquired by WBOC.
In a filing submitted by Attorney General Pam Bondi in United States District Court in Delaware on Friday, Aug. 22, the federal government argues that the court should stay a lawsuit against them and US Wind due to their intent to withdraw US Wind’s approval in Maryland.
According to AG Bondi, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “intends to move to voluntarily remand and vacate its approval of the Construction and Operations Plan for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project - the same agency action challenged in this case,” Friday’s filing reads.
The lawsuit, filed in February by a Sussex County resident, challenged the Department of the Interior’s approval of a permit to US Wind under the Clean Water Act and Rivers Harbor Act. US Wind’s proposed offshore wind project would bring power cable landings to 3Rs Beach in Sussex from the wind turbines about 12 miles off the coast of Worcester County, Md.
In her filing, Bondi references Ocean City’s lawsuit against the project and the federal government’s approval, issued during the Biden Administration. The Trump Administration has repeatedly signaled its disapproval of offshore wind projects, with the Department of Commerce launching a national security investigation into turbine imports just last week.
With the federal intent to vacate the approval in the Maryland case, Bondi argues that the Delaware suit against them and US Wind could become moot.
“Accordingly, this case should be stayed until the District of Maryland rules on the forthcoming motion to remand and vacate Interior’s approval of the COP,” the filing reads. “After that ruling, Defendants suggest that the parties be ordered to submit a status report within fourteen days to advise the Court that the case is moot, seek a further stay, or propose a scheduling order for this case.”
Should the US District Court for Delaware judge not put a pause on the case, Bondi argues that the government would be pointlessly forced to waste resources on a court case they plan to reconsider.
The federal government says US Wind does not intend to begin offshore construction until 2028 and is currently facing a permit appeal by the EPA, which Bondi's office says could delay the project even further if it is allowed to continue.
According to the Attorney General's office, the Department of the Interior plans to file to remand and vacate its approval of US Wind's Construction and Operations Plan no later than Sept. 12 in the Maryland lawsuit.
The US District Court in Delaware has yet to make an order on the government’s motion to stay the case.
“Our construction operations plan approval is the subject of ongoing litigation, but we remain confident that the federal permits we secured after a multi-year and rigorous public review process are legally sound,” a US Wind spokesperson said in a statement to WBOC on Monday.
US Congressman Andy Harris, Maryland's sole Republican congressional delegate and Delmarva representative, lauded the Trump Administration's latest legal move.
“For years, I’ve stood with my local constituents, watermen, and elected officials in sounding the alarm about the serious environmental, economic, and national security risks posed by these massive, expensive and wasteful offshore wind projects that will drive up energy costs and make our electric grid even more unreliable," Harris said in a statement to WBOC. "US Wind’s approval in Maryland was rushed, lacked transparency, and completely ignored the voices of the people who actually live and work on the Eastern Shore. I commend Attorney General Bondi and the Trump Administration for stepping in, listening to our concerns, and taking the necessary steps to reevaluate this deeply flawed offshore wind project.”