The Confederated Tribes of: Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw, are Suing the Federal Government in an attempt to Stop Oregon’s first-ever Offshore Wind Energy Auction, scheduled to take place next month.
The Lawsuit, filed late on Friday, Challenges the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Environmental Analysis and Decision to proceed with the Sale of Leases for Two Offshore Wind Energy areas totaling nearly 195,000 acres, One near Coos Bay and the other near Brookings.
It’s One of many Legal Challenges filed in recent years by Local Governments, Fishing, Environmental, and other Groups seeking to Stop Offshore Wind Surveying and Construction on both the West and East Coasts.
The Agency Finalized the Lease Sale and its Provisions Three weeks ago, announcing the Auction will take place on Oct. 15th. Four Out-of-State companies and One Oregon-based Developer are set to Bid on the Leases.
Oregon’s Wind Energy areas are within the Confederated Tribes’ Ancestral Territory. The Tribes say they contain Critical Fish and Marine Wildlife Habitat, Viewsheds of significant Cultural and Historic Significance and Key Tribal and Commercial Fishing Grounds, all of which could be Damaged by Offshore Wind, creating Irreparable Economic and Cultural Losses for the Tribes.
The Tribes say they want to Stop the Lease Sale and Force the Federal Bureau to conduct a Full Environmental Analysis of how Massive floating Offshore Wind Turbines would impact the Marine Environment and Local Fisheries off the Oregon Coast.
The Federal Bureau’s Environmental Analysis, released this summer, focused only on the Impacts of Surveys and Site Assessment Activities of the Lease areas, such as the Temporary Placement of Meteorological Buoys in the areas.
The Analysis did Not look at the Impact of Constructing or Operating the Wind Turbines, of Placing Cables or Anchors on the Seafloor or of Constructing additional Port and Land-based Infrastructure needed to Support the Offshore Wind Farms.
Much of the Floating Wind Technology is still in Development and its Impacts are Unknown, said the Tribes. The World’s First Commercial Floating Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland uses Turbines that are much Smaller than those that would be in use on the Oregon Coast.
“[B]efore the lease auction occurs, BOEM needs to do the proper environmental analysis,” Rick Eichstaedt, Attorney for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said: “We’re turning a blind eye to what everybody knows is going to occur, which is construction and operation.”
The Federal Agency said that Issuance does Not equal Permission to Construct. After the initial Surveying period, which could take up to Five years, companies will have to Submit Design and Construction Plans, which will undergo their own Environmental Analysis.
Oregon’s Auction is part of the Biden Administration’s Aggressive development of Offshore Wind on both Coasts, which the Federal Government deems Critical to the Country’s Clean Energy Transition. The White House aims to produce 30 gigawatts of Offshore Wind Power by 2030.
Thus far, the Interior Department has Approved Nine Commercial-scale Offshore Wind Projects, several of which are under Construction on the East Coast. In December 2022, it also held the First West Coast Lease Auction for Five Offshore Wind areas in California.
In February, Two groups of Fishermen in California’s San Luis Obispo County filed Suit seeking to Stop the Initial Surveys related to Offshore Wind Development off of Morro Bay, which they said will Harm Marine Life and Disrupt the Local Fishing Industry. The Lawsuit asks the Court to Block State Agencies from issuing Site Survey Permits until a Statewide Plan is developed to Protect Fisheries from Offshore Wind development.
In April, an Environmental group Sued several Federal Agencies over the Permits they Granted to an Offshore Wind Project off the coast of Rhode Island. The Group said the Wind Farms were slated to be built in an incredibly Biodiverse Marine Ecosystem that’s the Last remaining Spawning grounds for Southern New England Cod and serves as a Winter Foraging Region for Five Endangered Whale Species. But a Federal Court Refused to Halt Construction of the Project.
And last Fall, a Coastal County in New Jersey joined Environmental and Fishing groups to try Overturning the Federal Approval of that State’s First Offshore Wind Energy Farm. Also last year, New Jersey Residents Sued a Renewable Energy Developer and the State of New Jersey over a Tax Break the Company received to Build an Offshore Wind Farm in the Atlantic.
The lawsuits have seen Limited Success thus far. In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals Ruled that Vineyard Wind, a Wind Energy Project off the Coast of Martha’s Vineyard, the First Operational Project in the U.S., can proceed after it found Government Agencies properly considered its impact on Whales.
But in at least One related Case, a Federal Court this Summer, Overturned the Result of a 2022 Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, Ruling that an Environmental Analysis carried out by the BOEM was Deficient and needed to be done again. The Case could set a Precedent since Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales and Offshore Wind Sales are governed by similar Rules, said Eichstaedt, the Attorney for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua. and Siuslaw Indians.
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