This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
The Trump administration has officially asked a judge to vacate a crucial federal permit issued for the wind farm proposed off the coast of Ocean City.
The move was expected, originally signaled by Justice Department attorneys in late August, but Friday’s filing provided more details on the government’s justification for reconsidering the project’s “construction and operations plan” that was approved late in President Joe Biden’s (D) presidency.
In the filing, Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam R.F. Gustafson cited a Jan. 20 directive from President Donald Trump (R) that ordered a review of all federally permitted wind projects, in addition to halting the issuance of new permits.
The government argued it did not adequately consider the impacts of the Ocean City project — to be developed by US Wind — on commercial fisheries and potential search-and-rescue efforts in the area.
The Ocean City filing comes amid a broader assault on wind energy by the Trump administration. Just last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at an energy conference in Italy that, “Under this administration, there is not a future for offshore wind because it is too expensive and not reliable enough.”
US Wind is likely to push back hard to defend its project, which proposes building up to 121 wind turbines about 10 nautical miles from the Ocean City beach, enough to power more than 718,000 homes, according to government documents.
In a statement Friday, Liz Burdock, CEO of the Oceantic Network, an offshore wind industry group, argued that the federal government is unfairly targeting previously approved projects.
“The unlawful actions by the Trump administration against fully permitted offshore wind projects up and down the East Coast represent one of the largest, economically devastating assaults on U.S. workers, businesses, and energy in decades,” Burdock said. “Revoking a permit on an approved project after years of thorough agency review will raise electricity prices for families, jeopardize private investment, delay economic growth, and weaken our power grid.”
She argued that the US Wind project was already drawing investment to the region even though construction has yet to begin, including by attracting a new steel manufacturing facility to Baltimore County’s Tradepoint Atlantic. The federal government withdrew a $47.4 million grant in August that would have bolstered that facility. US Wind officials said the project would move ahead regardless.
The wind project has drawn support from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Democrats in Annapolis. But it has a passionate opponent in the Town of Ocean City. Town leaders support the Justice Department’s request, according to legal filings.
After Biden’s Interior Department approved US Wind’s construction and operations plan, the town filed suit in the U.S. District Court of Baltimore. Now, the federal government wants to reconsider the approval — and that could render Ocean City’s complaints moot.
“Following remand, BOEM [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management] will issue a new decision with new analysis that may significantly impact, or outright moot, Plaintiffs’ claims,” read Friday’s filing from Justice.
The federal government argued that it has broad authority to reconsider permits it believes were issued in error. Its filing cited Trump’s memorandum, issued on his first day in office, ordering the Interior secretary to “conduct a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal, and submit a report with recommendations to the President.”
In a prior filing, US Wind had argued that a remand — before the court has had a chance to consider the merits of the permit and Ocean City’s complaints — would be unwarranted.
“Federal Defendants have abruptly reversed their past defense of their own final decisions approving the Project, abandoning their prior litigation position” on a “vague premise,” read the early September filing from US Wind attorneys.
In addition to remanding the permit back to the agency for reconsideration, the Justice Department asked the judge to vacate the Biden-era permit, rather than leaving it in effect.
Justice Department attorneys argued that a reevaluation of the permit wouldn’t impact US Wind, citing the company’s previous comments that it didn’t intend to begin onshore construction until at least 2026, followed by offshore construction.
They added that the project is still missing a “key local approval” from Delaware’s Sussex County, and that Ocean City has also challenged an air pollution permit issued to the wind farm by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
“Because there would be no construction delay, remand and re-evaluation, standing alone, does not prejudice US Wind,” the Justice Department argued in its filing.
If the old permit is vacated, the department argued that Ocean City’s litigation should be dismissed. But if it remains in effect during the reevaluation, the case should be stayed, DOJ argued.
“Absent a stay, Federal Defendants would be forced to expend limited agency resources on litigating the merits of agency decisions that address the anticipated impacts of construction and operations that are being reconsidered and thus may not ever occur as now envisioned,” read the Friday filing.
