A Southern Oregon tribe is suing the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over its plans to sell offshore wind farm leases near Coos Bay and Brookings.

The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians — which have resided on the Oregon Coast and relied on its abundant resources since “time immemorial” — filed the complaint Sept. 13 in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore.

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The Native American tribe claims the government didn’t properly analyze the ecological, cultural and other impacts of the potential projects.

According to the tribe, the government also didn’t consider alternatives, made a biased and prejudged political decision to adopt its preferred alternative and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, violating federal laws that protect the environment and cultural resources.

The tribe asks the judge in the case to vacate, reserve, set aside or rescind the environmental assessment, finding of no significant impact and final sale notice for commercial wind leases.

Impacts to tribe

Wind farms would impact the tribe and its members’ use of the ocean and its resources and would suffer economic harm, in part due to a loss of tourism and revenue at casinos, according to the lawsuit.

“The spirit, culture and rich history of the Oregon Coast will be significantly impacted,” the lawsuit states.

Little information also exists about the impacts of floating offshore wind energy projects, including undersea transmission cables, on the ocean ecosystem, wrote attorney Rick Eichstaedt of Rey-Bear McLaughlin, a Spokane, Wash., law firm that is representing the tribe.

No consideration was given to whether portions of the potential lease sites should be avoided due to impacts or if other areas were better suited, Eichstaedt said in the court filing.

Fishing groups on the Oregon Coast also have voiced opposition to large offshore wind farms, saying the projects’ impacts haven’t been carefully studied, and that they would take fishing areas off the map, displace boats and put additional pressure on other fishing grounds.

The Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw ancestral lands encompass approximately 1.6 million acres along a 75-mile stretch of shoreline, but the tribe also considers the ocean its ancestral territory.

The tribe’s religious beliefs, traditional practices, fishing, first foods and relations are interconnected and influenced by the Pacific Ocean — and untouched views of the water.

Auction in October

In March 2021, the Biden administration established a policy of producing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. The clean energy projects would help the country address climate change.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management planned to auction the first-ever wind energy leases off the Oregon Coast on Oct. 15.

The two areas for sale could generate more than 3.1 gigawatts of peak renewable energy if fully developed. That is enough electricity to power about 1 million homes.

The government has said wind farm plans still would be subject to environmental, technical and public reviews prior to authorization.

The area off Coos Bay is 32 miles offshore and consists of 61,203 acres. The section of ocean off Brookings is about 18 miles from land and includes 133,792 acres.