At a press conference in his home state Friday, Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said he would stall updates to federal permitting, surface transportation reauthorization and the Water Resources Development Act until the Trump administration lifts its restrictions on offshore wind.
“We have paused permitting reform negotiations until the attack on clean energy ends and we can have some assurance that a solid bipartisan bill, which we were working on, would actually get implemented fairly by this administration,” Whitehouse said. “So that’s paused. And by the way, good luck with your highway bill — the other bill that needs to come through me. And good luck with the Army Corps of Engineers WRDA bill — the other bill that needs to come through me.”
In late December, the Interior Department paused the leases for large-scale offshore wind projects, citing national security concerns. The move again halted development on the embattled Revolution Wind project off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut after a previous, and since overturned, stop-work order. Interior’s order also impacts projects near Massachusetts, Virginia and New York.
