Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, et al. v. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, et al.

In March 2021, the administration announced its plan of “bold actions” to catalyze the development of offshore wind energy by taking “coordinated steps to support rapid offshore wind development.”1 But the federal government has lost sight of its statutory obligations to conserve endangered species that will be directly affected by the construction of thousands of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. The Endangered Species Act imposes an affirmative duty on all federal agencies to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a species, using the best scientific data available. 2 Excluding the effects of other planned governmental actions violates the best available science requirement. The question presented is whether federal agencies can, consistent with the plain language of the Endangered Species Act, exclude from their Section 7 analysis known and available science regarding impacts on an endangered species resulting from federal actions.

1. The White House, Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Jumpstarts Offshore Wind Energy Projects to Create Jobs (Mar. 29, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2021/03/29/fact-sheet-biden-administration-jumpstartsoffshore-wind-energy-projects-to-create-jobs/.

2. See 16 U.S.C. § 1536; see also 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(g)(8).