An Oregon American Indian tribe is suing the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over its approval of coastal leases for offshore wind projects.
The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene against the ocean energy bureau, accusing it of violating two federal laws meant to protect the environment and culturally significant areas.
“The decision to file this legal action was not taken lightly,” Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a release. “We would much rather work collaboratively with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to determine where the best places are to develop wind energy.”
U.S. Department of the Interior
The two proposed offshore areas fall in the tribe’s ancestral territory and would impact fish and marine species of significant cultural, historic and economic significance, according to the lawsuit.
In the
The tribe wants the judge to grant an injunction delaying the October lease sales, and for the bureau to commit to assessing the impact of wind energy development on the coast and across all the development areas being auctioned along the West Coast, Kneaper said. If those two things happen, the tribe will drop the lawsuit, he said.
The suit comes two weeks after
The auction involved two lease areas: Lease Area P-OCS 0566 (Coos Bay) consists of 61,203 acres and is approximately 32 miles from shore. Lease Area P-OCS 0567 (Brookings) consists of 133,792 acres and is around 18 miles from shore.
“Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Interior Department has worked diligently to support the undeniable enthusiasm for a clean energy transition that will help address the climate crisis and create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs in every corner of America,” U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release on Aug. 29 announcing the auction.
“The advancement of the first offshore wind sale in Oregon marks years of engagement with state partners, Tribes, ocean users and industry, and the administration’s commitment to building a thriving and sustainable clean energy industry,” Haaland said.
If the project is fully developed it would generate more than 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power one million homes, according to the federal government.
The project is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which has dedicated half a trillion dollars in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments, according to the release.
BOEM has approved nine commercial offshore wind projects and held five offshore lease sales across the U.S.
Earlier this year, Haaland
The issuance of any lease resulting from this sale would not constitute an approval of project-specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, if submitted, would be subject to subsequent environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to development approval.
BOEM will continue to work through its Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, which includes representatives from federal, state and local agencies and Tribal governments, to coordinate on potential leasing and support ongoing stakeholder engagement processes on broader offshore wind considerations — for example, state-led development of a strategic roadmap on offshore wind, which can help inform the multi-year process for proposed projects.
Details on the final sale notice, along with a map of the lease areas can be found on the