New York v. Trump

The federal district court for the District of Massachusetts granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss claims challenging Trump administration actions halting federal approvals for offshore and onshore wind energy projects. The case was brought by 17 states and the District of Columbia. Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) intervened as a plaintiff. The surviving claims allege violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), asserting that federal agencies acted arbitrarily and capriciously by imposing a “categorical and indefinite halt on wind-related projects without a reasoned basis”; by “disregarding extra-statutory review procedures” required for federal permitting and approvals of wind energy projects; and by failing to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking for the pause on approvals. The defendants argued the states and ACE NY lacked Article III standing, but the court found the plaintiffs had demonstrated sufficient harm and noted that the state plaintiffs qualified for “special solicitude”; the court also found that the traceability and redressability of the harm had been “firmly established.” The court dismissed common law ultra vires, equitable, and constitutional claims, finding that the APA claims were a better fit and concluding that “extremely high standard” for ultra vires claims was not met. The court also dismissed Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act citizen suit claims.

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