Lawsuit filed against feds claims science ignored, law violated in Cape Cod wind farm approval

Coalition sues feds over Cape Cod wind farm

BOSTON — Environmental and watchdog groups have filed the first legal challenge to a wind farm off Cape Cod since federal agencies gave final approval to the project two months ago.

A lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the 130-turbine project in Nantucket Sound will endanger protected migratory birds and whales.

The groups say federal agencies refused to adopt recommended protective measures for the endangered roseate tern and the threatened piping plover, including shutting down turbines during peak migration periods.

A spokeswoman at the Northeast office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the agency did a “thorough evaluation of the biological effects of the project based on the best available science.”