Trump administration aims to revoke permit for Maryland offshore wind project, court filing shows
The Trump administration plans to revoke a key permit for a Maryland offshore wind project, court documents show.
In the motion, the Department of Justice asked the court to pause a lawsuit — filed by the town of Ocean City — that alleges the U.S. Department of the Interior violated federal laws, including the Coastal Zone Management Act, when it issued a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the project.
According to the court documents, the Department of the Interior plans to voluntarily withdraw its approval of the COP, and "will be moving no later than September 12 to remand the approval."
Maryland offshore wind project
The offshore wind project — led by Maryland wind energy company U.S. Wind — was to be built 10 miles off the coast of Ocean City.
"Our construction and 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," said Nancy Sopko, U.S. Wind Vice President of External Affairs.
According to U.S. Wind, the project would include 114 wind turbines that can generate up to two gigawatts of offshore wind energy. The project would be able to power up to 718,000 homes in the region. It was the 10th commercial-scale wind project to be approved in the U.S.
The project drew criticism from Ocean City leaders and businesses who raised concerns about impacts to the view, the local environment, and the tourism and fishing industries, according to their lawsuit.
Trump on offshore wind
This is not the first time that the Trump administration's actions have threatened offshore wind projects.
In late January, President Trump signed an executive order that called for a temporary halt to the issuing of new federal leases, permits and loans for offshore wind developments.
The order also dictates that an environmental and economic review be completed on new and previously approved projects before the pause can be lifted.
Maryland Republicans react
House Republicans in Maryland applauded the Trump administration's plan to revoke U.S. Wind's offshore wind farm permit, calling the project a "bad idea that was never going to come to fruition."
"Offshore wind energy is incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging to fragile ecosystems, and would have considerable negative impacts on the Ocean City community," House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said in a statement. "This project and the whole green energy pipe dream of offshore wind in Maryland is, with any luck, finally dead."
