The town and county of Nantucket have filed a legal challenge over the approval process for SouthCoast Wind, a 141-turbine offshore wind energy project planned for the waters south of the island.

Nantucket officials contend that the federal government violated two federal laws when it signed off on the project in December and failed to fully consider the project’s potential harm on the environment and the character of the island tourism-driven economy.

“This is not about protecting rich people’s views,” said Matt Fee, the vice chair of the town’s select board. “Our entire economy depends on heritage tourism. If people no longer want to come to Nantucket, that has a real impact on our small businesses and the people who operate them.”

The town filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Thursday., challenging the Bureau of Ocean Energy’s procedures. The 16-page suit asks a federal judge to require SouthCoast Wind undergo a new environmental and historic review.

If allowed, the reopening of the permitting process could dramatically slow SouthCoast Wind’s progress by subjecting it to review under the Trump administration, which has been vocal opponents of offshore wind energy.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that halted all ongoing permitting and set in motion a review process for all federal offshore wind leases.

The lawsuit claims BOEM bypassed numerous steps in the approvals process under the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

“Despite acknowledging the adverse impacts that SouthCoast Wind and neighboring farms will have on Nantucket, BOEM violated the law by conducting a sham consulting process to achieve a predetermined conclusion, namely approval of SouthCoast Wind, effectively putting into practice a false narrative pushed by offshore wind developers that climate change solutions should come at the expense of a community’s history, culture, and economy,” the lawsuit reads.

The town specifically alleges that the 1,000-foot tall turbines would harm the integrity of the island’s historic district by creating an industrialized vista along the Atlantic. It also pointed to the debris that washed up on the town’s beaches in July after the Vineyard Wind turbine blade snapped in half as a serious concern that was not accounted for in the SouthCoast Wind environmental evaluation.

A spokesperson for SouthCoast Wind did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The town of Nantucket has been one of the largest vocal opponents of offshore wind, and played an active role in getting information from Vineyard Wind after the blade failure.

The town hired a special attorney to help it with offshore wind energy issues. William Cook, the attorney with Cultural Heritage Partners, worried about the precedent SouthCoast Wind’s approval could set if left standing.

“BOEM’s conduct sets a dangerous precedent by weakening the federal government’s review of all energy-related projects, including fossil fuel projects that contribute most to global warming,” he said. “We need to defend federal laws that protect our cultural and environmental resources now more than ever.”