Southern Oregon Tribes have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, in an effort to delay an upcoming floating offshore wind lease auction off the Oregon Coast.
On Friday, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians filed a lawsuit claiming the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, failed to consider the environmental, cultural and economic impacts of the potential of floating offshore wind. The tribes’ intent is to delay an Oct. 15 lease sale and force the federal agency to conduct a thorough environmental impact statement that “honestly” looks at the impact wind energy would have on the Oregon Coast.
FILE - Coos Bay Harbor Entrance Viewpoint, near the Charleston Marina on Dec. 7, 2023. Proposed turbines would be 18 or more miles offshore from this location.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
“The decision to file this legal action was not taken lightly,” Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a statement. “We would much rather work collaboratively with BOEM to determine where the best places are to develop wind energy, minimizing the impacts to the Coast and our people. Unfortunately, BOEM left us no other options.”
BOEM recently announced it will auction two areas off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings. Those sites, which the agency finalized in February, total nearly 195,000 acres. In August, the federal agency found that issuing leases in mid-October will have “no significant impacts to people or the environment.”
But in their lawsuit, the tribes say BOEM violated the National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, by failing to consider the impacts of future wind energy development, the cumulative impacts of the proposed projects along with other West Coast wind development, and failing to consider alternatives that exclude important habitat areas.
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.
The suit also claims BOEM “issued its decision before complying with its legal obligations to protect cultural resources as required by the National Historic Preservation Act.”
“The Tribe has consistently urged that BOEM delay moving forward with wind energy development until a better understanding is made of the impacts to fish, wildlife, the marine environment, and cultural resources important to the Tribe,” Kneaper said in the statement. “No one, including BOEM has an understanding on how wind development will impact the fragile marine environment. BOEM developed an environmental assessment document that narrowly focused on the impacts of the lease sale and completely turned a blind eye to the inevitable impacts that construction and operation of these private energy facilities will have on Coastal resources, the Tribe, and other residents.”
The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians Chair Brad Kneaper.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
The push to generate more renewable energy by building out floating offshore wind has left many in Southern Oregon questioning how the technology would affect the region. For more than a year, residents and tribes in the area, as well as Gov. Tina Kotek, have called on the federal agency to provide more information regarding the environmental, cultural and economic impacts of floating offshore wind. Some, including the tribes, have also called for a delay until that information is available. Coos and Curry counties residents will vote on whether to formally oppose offshore wind outright, a symbolic move against the federal government.
The tribes’ position on floating offshore wind development has shifted over time. In 2020, the tribes had no firm position but wanted to learn more about what environmental and cultural impacts would be. According to Kneaper, the tribes have submitted a substantial number of comments to the agency, including a request to delay the sale until further information is shared.
Lacking answers, the tribes then passed a resolution limiting their support for offshore floating wind development.
In 2023, the tribes withdrew that limited support and passed a resolution expressing their opposition to wind energy development as “BOEM continually failed” to ensure what the environmental and cultural impacts would be.
But according to the tribes’ attorney Rick Eichstaedt, the tribes do not completely oppose the development of floating offshore wind. Their goal focuses on BOEM taking a full look at its environmental impacts, rather than turning “a blind eye to what all of us know is going to happen, construction and operation of offshore wind development.”
“It’s got to be the right project in the right place, understanding the impacts and with the right mitigation,” he said. “And that needs to occur early. We can’t do it once there are leases.”
Prior to filing the lawsuit, the tribes notified both BOEM and the governor’s office that the tribes are willing to withdraw the lawsuit if the October lease sale is delayed and BOEM commits to assessing the impacts of wind energy development on the Coast.
“Fundamentally, this comes down to BOEM not engaging in meaningful consultation with the tribe,” Eichstaedt said. “The tribe has pointed out throughout this process, it’s provided pages and pages of comments expressing its concern about this. Requested that BOEM meaningfully engage with the tribe to understand what its concerns are to on an upfront basis, try to mitigate those concerns. BOEM has not done this.”
In August, BOEM said issuing a lease to a developer does not allow construction of offshore wind energy. Once a developer is chosen, they will have up to five years to submit a project proposal, which will undergo an environmental review before final approval. That review, according to BOEM, could take at least four years to reach completion.
An official with BOEM said staff at the agency “do not discuss pending litigation through media” and did not answer whether the lawsuit will impact the upcoming Oct. 15 auction.
The governor’s office has not responded to a request for comment.