EPA Seeks to Assert Authority Over Maryland’s Offshore Wind Project Appeals
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to assert its authority "at the eleventh hour" over the final approvals for Maryland’s first offshore wind project. The deadline was on July 14 for appeals on the final approval for the project, and according to media reports, the EPA sent a letter last week asserting the appeal was under its jurisdiction and not the state’s authority.
In a letter from the region EPA administrator to Maryland’s Department of the Environment posted online by Maryland Matters, the EPA asserts that it has “identified an error” in the state’s final permit decision, which it asserts could “result in invalidation of the permit on appeal and confusion among relevant stakeholders.” The letter contends that the authority to issue to permit was under federal authority delegated to the state, and as such, the appeal is under the EPA’s oversight.
The EPA was calling for Maryland to reissue the final permit decision for US Wind. Maryland, however, on its website for the process added a footnote saying “A previous version of this webpage also described a separate permit appeals process through the U.S. EPA. The appeals process for this permit is through the State of Maryland only, and the language describing the U.S. EPA appeals process has been removed.” It also reissued the public notice in early June, a month before the EPA’s letter.
The Trump administration has been clear in its opposition to offshore wind energy projects. In March 2025, it was the EPA that withdrew an air quality permit for a proposed New Jersey offshore wind farm that related to prior approval of the construction of that wind farm. While that project was still in development, it created another hurdle in the process.
The Maryland Department of the Environment, Air and Radiation Administration (ARA) reviewed the application made by US Wind for the project, which would ultimately be developed in two phases for a total of up to a total of 114 wind turbines generating between 1.8 and 2 GW of power. After reviewing the comments, ARA determined that the proposed construction and commissioning of the offshore wind project would “not cause violations of any applicable air pollution control regulations.” The Department reported it had made a final determination to issue the permit-to-construct, effective June 6, and it included a window till July 14 to file a petition for judicial review in the circuit court for the county where the activity would occur.
The lease area is located approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore of Maryland and approximately 9 nautical miles from Delaware. US Wind, a partnership between Italy’s Renexia and American investment firm Apollo Global Management, won its lease for nearly 47,000 acres in August 2014. The first phase, known as MarWind, was proposed as 300 MW with 22 turbines more than 20 miles from shore, while the second phase, Momentum Wind, was proposed for 800 MW with up to 55 turbines.
Federal approvals for the project were completed in 2024 under the Biden administration. The Department of the Interior issued its Record of Decision after the environmental review in September 2024. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued the final federal approval, the Construction and Operation plan, in December 2024.
Both the state and US Wind told Maryland Matters that they were ensuring that the process was following the letter of the law. The company emphasized that it was “confident that all of our project’s permits were validly issued.”
The project has faced opposition in both Delaware and Maryland, including lawsuits. Despite that, both the state and the company have said they are committed to the project and the benefits it would provide.