BALTIMORE — Recent court filings indicate the federal government is preparing to revoke its approval of Maryland's Offshore Wind Project.
The project calls for constructing up to 114 wind turbine generators, four offshore substations, a meteorological tower, and export cables, all about 10 nautical miles off Ocean City beaches.
President Joe Biden's Administration originally approved the project, but that decision was met by a federal lawsuit brought by leadership in Ocean City, as well as dozens of business owners and residents.
They claim several federal laws were violated during the permitting process, including the Coastal Zone Management Act and Administrative Procedure Act, as it relates to the Rivers and Harbors and Clean Water Acts.
RELATED: The fight over wind turbines off Ocean City's shore continues
Court documents say the feds are expected to yank the permits no later than September 12.
Members of the Maryland House Republican Caucus issued multiple statements celebrating this latest development.
“It is time for Maryland to stop wasting taxpayer and ratepayer money on this bad idea that was never going to come to fruition,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “This project has been doomed from the start. Offshore wind energy is incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging to fragile ecosystems, and would have considerable negative impacts on the Ocean City community. This project and the whole green energy pipe dream of offshore wind in Maryland is, with any luck, finally dead.”
“Hopefully, this is the last page in a very challenging chapter of our community’s history,” said Delegate Wayne Hartman, the Chief Deputy Minority Whip who represents Ocean City and has been actively involved in this issue since he served on the Ocean City Council. “This project has gone full steam ahead with no regard for the impact it will have on our community. This project threatened our tourism economy, our real estate values, and our commercial fishing industry. It threatened our marine life as a whole and specifically our horseshoe crab population, which is vital to the medical field. This project was even a threat to our national security. We have been fortunate to have the support of Congressman Harris along the way, and it is a relief to finally have a federal administration that is listening.”
We've reached out to U.S. Wind for Comment and are awaiting to hear back.
