The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) joined a lawsuit last week that is attempting to nullify the approvals of a large offshore wind energy project off the Vineyard’s shores. 

The tribe, along with several Nantucket residents, fishermen groups and the ACK for Whales nonprofit, filed the suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C., claiming that several federal government agencies did not take enough into consideration when they greenlit the New England 1 and 2 projects. 

The tribe and other plaintiffs argue that the approvals violate the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other laws around historic preservation. 

“Like all the other plaintiffs, we as individual tribal members and our tribe as a whole are being harmed by these giant wind farms, making an industrial park out of our waters,” said Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the tribal council chairwoman. “However unlike the other plaintiffs, the negative impacts to us go back as far as time immemorial and as deep as to who we are as Aquinnah Wampanoag people; harming our culture, traditions and spirituality, which connects us to the lands, waters, sky and all living things. Since individually we weren’t being listened to, we hope that maybe now with this lawsuit our collective voices will be heard.” 

The Biden administration approved New England Wind 1 and 2 in April 2024, allowing the projects to move forward about 20 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Altogether, Avangrid, the parent company of New England 1 and 2, was approved to build up to 129 wind turbines across the two lease areas. The projects were previously known as Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind. 

In the 46-page suit, the tribe and the other groups contend that the best science was not used when considering the permit applications, and the approvals allow the projects too much leeway when it comes to disturbing marine animals. 

To mitigate any harm to whales, dolphins and other species, New England 1 and 2 have to have observers watch for protected species, use acoustic monitors to help better track marine mammals during construction and stop pile driving if the endangered North Atlantic right whales are spotted. 

The projects are also charged with dampening the sound of the pile driving and need to take numerous precautions to avoid vessel strikes with whales and other species.

But the plaintiffs felt the measures were not enough to ensure the safety of the right whale, which only has about 370 individuals left. 

“Taken together, they will not prevent the project from jeopardizing the [North Atlantic right whale,]” they wrote in the suit. 

The groups also noted that there seemed to be no plan for if a turbine blade broke, like when the Vineyard Wind broke last summer, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management did not adequately protect the historic sites of Aquinnah and Nantucket, which would be harmed by the sight of the turbines over the horizon. 

“The analytic and legal deficiencies of New England Wind are a microcosm of what we have seen in other offshore wind projects – the agencies simply fail to account for critical data which has ramifications for marine mammals on numerous fronts,” said Thomas Stavola, the attorney for ACK for Whales. 

The Department of the Interior, which is being sued along with U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, did not talk about the merits of the case when reached for comment.

“The Department of the Interior remains committed to stewarding our natural and cultural resources, honoring tribal trust responsibilities, and managing public lands for all Americans — while upholding fiscal responsibility,” spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace wrote in an email. “As a matter of policy, the Department does not comment on litigation.”

Avangrid also declined to comment. 

A summons had been sent to the defendants, but an initial hearing date has not been set by the court.

This is one of many lawsuits aimed at offshore wind as the industry attempts to get off the ground in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. ACK for Whales, a Nantucket-based group, previously sued over approvals for Vineyard Wind. A U.S. District Court in Boston rejected the claims in May 2023, and the ruling was held up in an appelate court. ACK for Whales then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.