Fisheries Survival Fund v. Jewell

Fisheries Survival Fund v. Jewell

Opinion

 [*2] MEMORANDUM OPINION

This case concerns a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ("BOEM") plan to lease a nautical area off the coast of New York to Defendant-Intervenor Statoil Wind US, LLC ("Statoil"), for development of a wind energy facility. Plaintiffs¹ , including the Fisheries Survival Fund, claim that in issuing the lease, BOEM violated the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"), and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction, which this court denied. Memorandum Opinion, ECF No. 26. Now before the court are Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 39, Defendant-Intervenor's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 40, and Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 42. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiffs' motion will be DENIED, Defendants' motion will be GRANTED, and Defendant-Intervenor's motion will be DENIED as moot.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Statutory & Regulatory Framework

1. OCSLA

As amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 (2005), OCSLA authorizes BOEM to issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way for offshore renewable energy projects. 43 U.S.C. § 1337(p)(1)(C). In exercising this authority, BOEM [*3]  is required to consult with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant federal agencies, and must consider several factors that include, inter alia, safety, protection of the environment, prevention of waste, conservation of natural resources, national security interests, and—critically—"the location of . . . a lease. . . for an area of the outer Continental Shelf" and "any other use of the sea or seabed, including use for a fishery, a sealane, a potential site of a deepwater port, or navigation." Id. § 1337(p)(4)(A)-(L) & (J)(i)-(ii).

2. NEPA

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