Biden administration
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A conservative group is suing the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to stop construction of the proposed Virginia Offshore Wind project, arguing it will harm endangered North Atlantic right whales. The lawsuit claims the project’s environmental review failed to properly assess cumulative impacts from this and other East Coast wind farms on the estimated 350 remaining right whales.
Violated
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It alleges the agencies violated the Endangered Species Act by approving the project without verifiable protections for whales. Dominion and federal agencies say extensive review found no adverse impacts to marine life from offshore wind and that environmental protections will be in place.
Whale deaths
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With 55 whale deaths in recent years and few breeding females left, plaintiffs argue rushed wind development poses too great a risk to the iconic species’ survival.
Renewable energy
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“On one hand, the Biden administration says you have to have renewable energy, but in the process, the windmills have an environmental impact, not only on whales but on birds that get chopped up by the windmills,” Paul Kamenar, counsel for the National Legal and Policy Center, stated. “Our position is that it’s a larger issue than the environment, but relying on windmills is also an economic issue that will cost consumers and make energy less reliable.”
Environmental review
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“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has done an extraordinarily thorough environmental review of the project and carefully considered potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment,” Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said. “The overwhelming consensus of federal agencies and scientific organizations is that offshore wind does not adversely impact marine life. We’ve put in place strong environmental protections for this project, and are confident the North Atlantic right whale will be protected.”
Playing politics
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“Playing politics with such an iconic species as the right whale is a truly pathetic example of the Biden administration’s allegiance to climate alarmism,” Heartland Institute President James Taylor stated.
Wind project
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“The agencies haven’t taken into account the cumulative effect up and down the coast,” Kamenar said. A ruling in their favor could halt the largest offshore wind project planned for US waters.
Atlantic coast
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Fox News reported, “The plaintiffs note that 55 dead whales have washed ashore in other regions of the Atlantic coast since 2017, adding that experts say only about 350 North Atlantic right whales remain with only 70 females capable of producing newborns.”
Biological opinion
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“The litigation asserts that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s ‘biological opinion’ in September 2023 did not evaluate the harm the turbines would cause to the whales. CFACT President Craig Rucker said in a public statement the agency’s analysis ‘is a textbook violation of the Endangered Species Act,'” the report added.
25 miles
MSNBC
The Virginia Offshore Wind initiative will cover a distance of 25 miles from the shores of Virginia Beach. It includes 176 wind turbines that are taller than the Washington Monument, with turbine blades longer than a football field, as stated by the individuals filing the lawsuit.
Biden
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President Biden issued an executive order on January 27, 2021, to address climate change, leading to the approval of numerous wind projects along the East Coast by the administration.
Concerns
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The plaintiffs express concerns that whales might have to navigate through 32 distinct federally leased areas spanning from Georgia to Maine.
Complaint
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The accusation in the complaint is directed towards the National Marine Fisheries Service for basing their “biological opinion” from September 2023 solely on the individual impact of the wind projects on the North Atlantic right whale.
Thorough assessment
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The plaintiffs argue that the agency should have conducted a thorough assessment that considered the collective impact of all the projects.
