REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - M. Jane Brady of Brady Legal Group announced Sept. 30 that she filed a complaint with the Superior Court on behalf of the Caesar Rodney Institute, a nonprofit think tank based in Delaware, challenging DNREC's authority in the authorization of US Wind's project.
"DNREC has a duty to comply with the law and the regulations they adopted relating to these matters," said Brady.
Brady claims that DNREC should not be able to grant permits to US Wind for beach construction and the use of wetlands and subaqueous lands. This project would require bringing transmission lines ashore and put underneath the Indian River Bay, to a substation.
"The DNREC attitude is no surprise as Governor Carney created a conflict of interest by accepting payments from the wind developer to the state to approve the project. Those pitiful payments would be wiped out by just two percent loss of tourism in the first year of ruined ocean views, and ignores the US Environmental Protection Agency strongly recommending cables not be buried in our inland bay," said David Stevenson, director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute.
As of now, U.S. Wind has not responded to the allegations, and DNREC has declined to comment. In previous statements, DNREC argued that the project would provide over $100 million in benefits to the state, including workforce development, dredging projects, and efforts to mitigate climate change.
Local fisherman Wes Townsend fears that the turbines will deter visitors from the coast, adding, “I have friends of mine that live in Baltimore. They come here with their boats to fish in the Indian River Bay. Well, if it destroys the fishing here, then they're going to move. Plain and simple.”
The Attorney General and the defendants have 20 days to file a response.
This is the second lawsuit to be filed against the project. The first lawsuit was filed by the Town of Ocean City, later joined by Fenwick Island, against Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
