A simulation of what the US Wind windfarm might look like from 84th Street in Ocean City. Photo courtesy US Wind.
By Neal Augenstein
Ocean City, backed by local governments and businesses, made good on its threat to sue the federal government over its approval of a massive wind farm about 10 miles off the coast of the tourist town.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, includes 22 other plaintiffs, who argue that the government’s final approval of the proposed 114-turbine wind farm would not only disturb beachfront views, but would also cause “direct, substantial, and cognizable injuries.”
“Ocean City’s local economy and culture are centered around the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and are heavily dependent on tourism, recreation, and the health and preservation of the ocean and its coast,” according to the suit.
The list of plaintiffs includes the mayor and city council of Ocean City, the Worcester County Commission, and the mayor and town council of neighboring Fenwick Island, Delaware. It also includes developers, hotels, commercial fishermen and seafood markets, the Save Right Whales Coalition and the parent companies for boardwalk staples Thrasher’s French Fries and the Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park.
The suit targets the approval last month of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the Department of the Interior. The Biden administration said it the 10th commercial-scale offshore wind energy project it has approved.
That approval followed the bureau’s issuance of a final environmental impact statement in July for the project, which the government said could support an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years. It was the latest step in a 10-year process to win approval for the project. Ultimately, the project will be able to be able to generate 2 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 718,000 homes.
But Ocean City has opposed the project for several years. It says the turbines, which will be more than 900 feet tall and visible from the beach, despite the distance from the shore, will turn away tourists that are the city’s main industry.
Ocean City’s Chamber of Commerce, which is part of the suit, said the project “will drive tourists away from Ocean City by degrading the ocean and marine environment, endangering marine mammals, birds, and fish, excluding fishermen from the Project area, and destroying the open ocean view.” According to the chamber, surveys have shown “a significant number of tourists will likely not return if turbines are visible from the beach.”
Another plaintiff, the Waterman’s Association of Worcester County, said the turbines “will become a safety hazard for their members to navigate through,” which will “reduce the amount of time they have to fish and will decrease their income.”
The project also threatens the White Marlin Open fishing tournament, which is the largest billfish tournament in the world, according to the suit.
“By placing the Project structures right where the game fish are located, the Project threatens to destroy both the fish population and the sport of large game fishing in Ocean City, Maryland,” according to the plaintiffs.
The suit claims the government has failed to analyze impacts on the environment, endangered species, as well as the impact on local businesses, industries and the economy. It asks the court to set aside the Sept. 4 decision approving the construction and operations plan for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project.
An initial hearing before Judge Stephanie Gallagher is yet to be scheduled, according to online court records. WTOP reached out to U.S. Wind for comment.