Massachusetts Court Refuses To Halt Construction Of Offshore Wind Project

On May 25, 2023, the federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a motion by plaintiffs seeking to halt construction of the Vineyard Wind project offshore of Massachusetts, in the case of Seafreeze Shoreside, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Interior, 22-cv-11091 (Talwani, J.). The summary judgment motions in the case are still pending, and the plaintiffs have appealed the decision denying their request for a preliminary injunction or stay under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

The plaintiffs in Seafreeze Shoreside have asserted that the review and approval of the Vineyard Wind project violated the APA, the Marine Mammal Protection Act ("MMPA"), the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), the Clean Water Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"), the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), and regulations associated with those statutes. On May 10, 2023, plaintiffs filed