WINNING: Burgum Orders Halt to Big Offshore Wind Project

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered Equinor to halt all work late Wednesday at its Empire Wind project offshore New York. Equinor complied with the order early Thursday morning, per a report at Reuters.

Taking a page from tactics employed by Democrat and Republican administrations alike to offshore oil and gas projects over the last 30 years, Burgum cited concerns raised by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is housed at the Commerce Department, failed to conduct required thorough studies related to the environmental impacts and impacts on marine mammals before issuing permits enabling Equinor to proceed.

This is a valid claim that has been made by the North Atlantic region’s marine fisheries industry for the past two years.