Conservative Groups Sue to Stop Dominion's CVOW Project

A nonprofit conservative watchdog group based in Falls Church filed a lawsuit Monday against Dominion Energy, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Department of the Interior and other government bodies, aiming to stop construction of Dominion's offshore wind farm expected to begin this spring 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

The National Legal and Policy Center and its co-plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction against the federal government's approval of Dominion's $9.8 billion, 176-turbine Commercial Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, claiming the massive wind turbines pose a risk to North American Right Whales under the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit also claims that the BOEM and other agencies illegally overlooked risks to the endangered whales in approving the wind farm.

Dominion Energy's Commercial Virginia Offshore Wind project.
(Source: Dominion Energy)

"During the construction, operation, and decommission phases of the CVOW project, it will adversely affect the federally listed endangered species 'North American Right Whale', which uses the waters within and near the CVOW project area for migration, feeding, and other key life history events," the complaint says, claiming that there are only 340 North American right whales in existence. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reported in 2022 that since 2017, there have been more than 120 whales injured or killed by unusual mortality events.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is also named as a defendant; the lawsuit asks for a court order setting aside an opinion issued by the NMFS regarding the wind farm's risk to the endangered whale species, part of the BOEM's approval process.

Dominion, which received final federal approvals to start construction in January, responded to the lawsuit with a statement: "The issues raised in this lawsuit have no merit. The BOEM has done an extraordinarily thorough environmental review of the CVOW project and carefully considered potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment. The overwhelming consensus of federal agencies and scientific organizations is that offshore wind does not adversely impact marine life. We've put in place strong environmental protections for this project, and are confident the North Atlantic right whale will be protected.”

Reference: Virginia Business