EPA rules US Wind offshore permit issued in error
Credit: Sean Curtis | Jul 11, 2025 | wboc.com ~~
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ruled a key decision greenlighting US Wind’s proposed project off Delmarva was done so in error.
In a letter sent to Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Serena McIlwain, the EPA notes various legal errors in its issuance of its Notice of Final Determination, granting US Wind a final permit to begin construction.
MDE issued the final permit to construct in June.
The EPA says MDE must reissue the permit in accordance with proper federal law according to the letter.
Specifically, the EPA has instructed MDE to do the following:
- Clarify that Maryland issued the permit under federal authority pursuant to 40 CFR Part 55;
- Remove erroneous text regarding the Maryland appeal process (including reference to the state process on the website);
- Include the following text as part of the final permit decision: “The final determination may be appealed through the process set forth at 40 CFR § 124.19 for appeals of PSD permits, by filing a petition for review with the Clerk of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board within the time prescribed in paragraph 124.19(a)(3).”; and
- Identify, in accordance with 40 CFR § 124.15 requirements, the deadline to file a petition for review as within 30 days after MDE serves notice of the reissuance as required under 40 CFR § 124.19(a)(3) for parties eligible to file an appeal under 40 CFR Part 124.
“Failure to rectify this error could result in invalidation of the permit on appeal and confusion among relevant stakeholders with respect to where to bring such an appeal,” the letter from the EPA reads.
The full letter can be read here [link].
“The EPA has confirmed what many of us knew for years – this project was approved with glaring procedural and legal flaws,” Maryland Congressman Andy Harris said in a statement Friday. “The Maryland Department of the Environment had no business directing the public to appeal a federal permit to a state court, and such a decision showed both incompetence and a disregard for public input from my affected constituents in Worcester County. For many years, my constituents across the First Congressional District have been overwhelmingly clear: they do not want offshore wind off their coast. This ruling is a major victory for the Eastern Shore, the environment, and our local economies that are existentially threatened by this project.”
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