October 10, 2012
Massachusetts

Suit claims Cape Wind violates endangered species law

State House News Service | October 10, 2012 | www.milforddailynews.com

The Cape Wind project targeted for Nantucket Sound violated federal protections for threatened and endangered species, including the North Atlantic right whale, project opponents and conservation groups argue in a brief filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which has vowed to prevent the project from being built, said the new suit is one of five federal suits facing Cape Wind, a project that proponents hope will set a new standard for offshore wind production in the United States.

The suit also alleges serious risks to four species of federally protected sea turtles and several species of migratory birds.

In addition to the alliance, plaintiffs include Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the Cetacean Society International, Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, Californians for Renewable Energy, and Three Bays Preservation. “Nantucket Sound provides critical wildlife habitat to numerous rare species,” Kyla Bennett of PEER said in a statement. “Cape Wind would destroy this vital habitat and harm the species that rely on it for feeding, breeding and migration. That’s what makes this project so devastating.”

Cape Wind supporters last week launched a campaign to push the project over the finish line, outlining numerous permits that project sponsors have obtained and alleging that “dirty energy” interests are behind the opposition effort.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/10/suit-claims-cape-wind-violates-endangered-species-law/