Lawsuits take aim at America's first offshore wind farm

A stack of lawsuits is piling up against the federal government in response to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's April 28 decision to approve the Cape Wind project, America's first offshore wind farm. After nearly 10 years of permitting battles, Cape Wind was approved to place 130 wind turbines on 25-square-miles of federal submerged lands in Nantucket Sound off the Massachusetts coast. The developers hope to begin construction by year's end. A coalition of stakeholder groups has announced a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minerals Management Service for violations of the Endangered Species Act. "This fight is not over," said Audra Parker, president and CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a member of the coalition.