Green Oceans, Four Tribes, and 11 Other Groups Ask Nine Federal Agencies to Suspend Offshore Wind Projects and Potentially Cancel the Leases

The projects on the Outer Continental Shelf threaten National Security, Civil Aviation, and Maritime safety, but the Government dismissed these threats in awarding leases.

The Government also failed to consult Tribes on national security issues, nor did it meaningfully consider the full scope of Tribal concerns related to sovereignty, safety, and self-determination.

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Green Oceans, joined by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah, Shinnecock Nation, Narragansett Tribe, Unkechaug Nation, and a coalition of 11 other groups, filed two petitions with nine federal agencies calling for the immediate suspension of all projects off the Northeast Atlantic coast in addition to Revolution Wind, including South Fork, SouthCoast, Sunrise, Vineyard, Empire, and New England Wind projects, pending a full review that could lead to cancelling the leases.

The petitions, filed with the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Parks Service, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force detail unprecedented national security risks, violations of federal trust responsibilities to Tribal Nations, and irreparable harm to historic and cultural resources.

Additional petitioners include ACK4Whales, Responsible Offshore Alliance Development Alliance, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Fishermen Against Offshore Wind, Rhode Island Commercial Fishing Association, Save the East Coast, Protect Our Coast Long Island NY, Save our Brayton Point, Save Greater Dowses Beach, Protect our Westport Waters, and The Energy Council of Rhode Island.

The National Security Petition documents how massive offshore wind arrays jeopardize U.S. defense readiness, including interference with the PAVE PAWS Early Warning Radar at Cape Cod Space Force Station—the only land-based radar protecting the entire East Coast from ballistic missile threats. Additional risks cited include:

• Radar interference undermining FAA, NORAD, and Coast Guard operations.
• Aviation safety hazards impacting airports from JFK to Providence.
• Maritime safety risks that compromise Coast Guard search and rescue.
• Undersea surveillance and cybersecurity vulnerabilities threatening cable security and anti-submarine warfare.
• Grid instability from low-capacity, intermittent energy production.

In addition, the four Native American tribes argue that despite their sovereign status and legal rights, the Government did not consult the Tribes on national security issues, nor did it meaningfully consider the full scope of Tribal concerns related to national defense, sovereignty, safety, and self-determination. These failures constitute a breach of the federal trust responsibility and violate the United States’ obligations under the Constitution, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other applicable statutes and treaties. Declarations from Tribal leaders submitted with the petitions emphasize the existential cultural, economic, and security harms.

As a result of these deficiencies, the petitioners asked the agencies to immediately suspend all activities for specified Atlantic projects pending a comprehensive, interagency defense and safety reassessment.

“We greatly appreciate the federal government’s actions to date, but we cannot stop here. These projects continue to threaten our ocean, our economy, and even America’s national defense. Green Oceans will keep challenging their legality until justice is served, and we urge the immediate suspension of all projects on the Outer Continental Shelf before irreversible damage occurs,” said Dr. Lisa Quattrocki Knight, President and co-Founder of Green Oceans.

About Green Oceans

Green Oceans is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, community organization dedicated to combating climate change without jeopardizing the health of the ocean or the life it sustains.