The states of Connecticut and Rhode Island have asked a federal court judge for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, allowing work to resume work on Orsted’s 704MW Revolution Wind.
The Trump administration’s August stop-work order “threatens to imminently and irreparably harm Rhode Island and Connecticut”, lawyers representing the two states wrote.
US administrative law and laws governing the administration of the outer continental shelf “do not permit such arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful government conduct”, the states argued.
“They demand reasoned decision-making, fidelity to statutory limits, and respect for the settled expectations of sovereign States and regulated parties.”
The Trump administration did not identify any violation of laws or imminent threat to safety, Connecticut and Rhode Island wrote.
The request adds that stopping the project undermines the states’ sovereign interests in procuring renewable energy, frustrates their mandatory compliance with state emission standards, and forces the states to endure avoidable and irreparable pollution.