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Central Coast fishermen sue California Coastal Commission over wind energy

October 11, 2024

Equinor vessel Island Pride

By KAREN VELIE

Fishermen from Morro Bay and Port San Luis recently filed a legal challenge against the California Coastal Commission for not requiring wind energy companies to abide by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rules before providing permits for sonar testing, the second lawsuit the groups have filed against the commission.

In 2022, the federal government auctioned off three offshore wind energy sites located between 20 and 30 miles off the coast near Morro Bay. Then in Dec. 2023, the state issued a permit allowing survey work to begin.

A lawsuit filed on Feb. 29 by the Morro Bay Commercial Fisherman’s Organization and the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association, seeks to protect the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to fish through mitigation of impacts from the off-shore wind farms, including during the site surveys, construction, operation and decommissioning. The suit is winding through the system.

The fisherman organisation’s latest lawsuit, filed on Sept. 6, argues that the Coastal Commission required the wind energy companies, including Equinor, to “have an independent liaison that is responsible for the coordination and communication of site activities with affected commercial and recreational fishing communities and harbor districts.” The fishing liaison is required to work with fishing communities and the harbor districts to coordinate survey and other activities.

However, Equinor’s liaison “failed to inform the fisherman organizations or their members of the status of various permits required to commence such site surveys in dereliction of its obligations under Consistency Determination Condition 7a,” according to the lawsuit.

In approving Equinor’s coastal development permit for site surveys, the lawsuit contends the Coastal Commission abused its discretion when it denied the fisherman organizations a fair hearing. In addition, the fisherman organizations’ attorney was denied the opportunity to make a presentation to the Coastal Commission during the hearing due to technical problems with the remote appearance system.

In addition, the Coastal Commission determined that the permitted site survey activities will not affect fish and other marine species. However, local fishermen report catch numbers were down 67% to 70% while Equinor did sonar work off the coast.

Meanwhile, recent whale and dolphin deaths near the New York and New Jersey shores have prompted an investigation into the sonar noise levels produced by exploratory survey vessels working in ocean areas leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The California Constitution and the California Coastal Act both prioritize the protection and survival of commercial and recreational fishing. In addition, the public trust doctrine provides the “absolute right of the people to fish.”

The lawsuit asks the court to order the Coastal Commission to set aside Equinor’s survey permit and for court costs and legal fees.

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Maybe they should put a floating solar farm out there too.


-1

I’m thrilled to see there is an area of total agreement among most of both parties, Independents, etc., on this key issue. No nukes, pro nukes, Left, Right and middle, we all want to save what we cherish here. When we band together, we win. I think there is a small chance that such a fake “green” project can be shoved thru if we are so unified against it. Most of us know better than to be railroaded like this by corporate greed. Reading these comments makes me proud to live here.


29

Corporations provide jobs. The stockholders deserve to make a profit since they are risking their investment.


-19

Y’all vote me down but wait until Trump gets back into office. Jobs will multiply and people will get paid what they are worth.


8

Sounds like the the Coastal Commission has been bought off. Hats off to the fisherman for pushing back to stop this madness to ruin our oceans.


56

Why is the government so hellbent on putting these damn things off shore?… the maintenance alone will bankrupt the whole idea… sometimes the government just needs to say well the people don’t want it so we will come up with something else….


47

No other use of this magnatitude would even be considered. This one is because it’s throughly “ Greenwashed” Decades of propaganda have led to this moment. So many of us seem to have lost the critical thinking skills and the ability to hear our “inner compass” – the tools that would reveal this project to be just nuts on so many levels. Environmentally, financially and mechanically unsound.

Building and operating these monsters is as nutty as it gets. There are plenty of onshore places to place them in the Coastal Mountain Range if some insist on wind projects.

It seems that the wealthy elites who favor these “feel good “ projects are the ones most physically and financially removed from the consequences.

Like Americans on the east coast, I hope we can push these despoilers and grifters away .

I hope Californians are smart enough to reject this proposed circus.


62

I couldn’t agree more, California already has the second highest electric rates in the country, this will make electricity out of reach for working class customers.

When dose the wind blow along the coast, the afternoon till sundown. This is the time of day we don’t need the power due to solar so giant battery banks will be required.


31

Wouldn’t also be surprised if California didnt also have the highest number of non-weather related substantial electrical outages. It seems seldom does a day go by that there isnt a large electrical outage somewhere in our area.


33

Damn straight.


26

It’s obvious that you’ve done no research prior to spewing your opinion. if there were continuous winds in the local mountains, then those locations would be viable wind farms and we’d be talking about bird migration routes, noise and sight pollution. There isn’t. Look at wind maps, there is a constant wind river that runs down the coastline. harvest the wind where it is, not where you want it to be.


-6

…. Not sound financially, environmentally Or mechanically…. Geepers. There already are windmills in the Coastal Range. Tehachapi and Lompoc come to mind immediately.

In spite of the obvious nutiness of Offshore wind, is there any concern that “climate crisis” will change the ‘ wind river’ offshore ? This assumes they would ever get done in the first place….

Like the Bullet Train to nowhere . 14 years and 5 billion dollars on that scam and not a mile of track! It too is touted as a fix for Climate Change, but is reall looking like a money laundry these days.


3

Ironic that the greatest polluters of our oceans are “so concerned” about the ocean… I call bs on the fishermen! The benefits of wind energy far outweigh any negatives imo. Be glad to, not even hardly, see it off the coast in the near future!


-76

Enjoy your farm raised Chinese tilapia and liberal pinwheel’s, I’ll take my Pacific Ocean grown Salmon and safe nuclear energy.


39

Rightwing nimby talking points, the wind farm won’t take away your Salmon, why the need to exaggerate?


Also I will never eat tilapia, that shit is the soylent white of the food world.


-39

I’d guess any pollutants from local fishing vessels in total pale in comparison to that if one large cargo ship.


22

Or thousands of tow and construction vessels back and forth to Long Beach.


9