Environmental organizations on June 3 sued the U.S. government, alleging that its reversal of a stop-work order on a $5 billion wind farm project off the coast of New York City violates federal law.
The May 19 update from the Department of Interior, which permitted work to resume on Empire Wind, violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it does not offer facts supporting the reversal, the lawsuit states.
The groups are asking the federal court in New Jersey to vacate the reversal, which would reinstate the earlier stop-work order.
“We will not stand by while our ocean is sacrificed for foreign interests and political vanity,” Amy Disibio, a board member for ACK for Whales, one of the groups, said in a statement. “We will fight in court and in the court of public opinion until every piece of this reckless project is removed.”…