Whale Advocates Fail in Challenge to Wind Farm Authorizations

The National Marine Fisheries Service defeated for now a case that challenged its authorizations for wind farms and called into question the effects they would have on endangered whales.

Save Long Beach Island and its president in April challenged NMFS’ incidental take authorizations which allowed wind energy development offshore of New York and New Jersey to disrupt humpback and North Atlantic right whale populations. The nonprofit group disagreed with the agency’s finding that the wind farms would have a small impact on the whales, saying the cumulative impacts of noise pollution weren’t properly considered.

“Plaintiffs’ allegations with respect to their ...