Court backs Cape Wind permit, orders review of bird, whale impacts

Friday, March 14, 2014

By:

Marie Szaniszlo

A U.S. District Court judge today ruled that two federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act in their review of Cape Wind but rejected the request of the project’s opponents to vacate the Interior Department’s granting of the nation’s first offshore wind lease to Cape Wind.

Judge Reggie B. Walton ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service need to revisit Cape Wind’s impacts on migrating birds and endangered right whales in Nantucket Sound due to violations of environmental protection law.

“This is good news for environmentalists and for all of us who want to see the fragile and unique environment of Cape Cod protected,” said Audra Parker, president and CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. “The court has validated that federal agencies have taken unacceptable shortcuts in their review of Cape Wind.”

Walton ruled against the coalition of environmental advocates and other groups, however, in their four lawsuits challenging Cape Wind’s permitting approval by the Department of Interior, although those rulings may be appealed.

“These are incredibly important legal victories for Cape Wind,” said Cape Wind President Jim Gordon. “It clears the way for completing the financing of a project that will diversify New England’s electricity portfolio by harnessing our abundant and inexhaustible supply of offshore wind. It will help pave the way for other coastal regions to utilize this clean energy resource for energy independence, a healthier environment, and new jobs.”

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/03/court_backs_cape_wind_permit_orders_review_of_bird_whale_impacts