July 22, 2025 — The Maryland Department of the Environment is defending the permit it issued to a wind farm proposed off the coast of Ocean City, after a challenge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Thursday letter from Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain also said the state would not be reissuing the permit, as the EPA requested, because the state had not made a mistake that needed correcting.
The EPA had contended that when Maryland issued the permit to Baltimore-based company US Wind, it identified the wrong process for citizens to file appeals.
Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey, EPA administrator for Region 3, which includes Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states, contended in a July 7 letter that any appeals challenging the air pollution permit issued to US Wind should be filed to the clerk of the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board.
But Maryland argues that its permit would need to be appealed through the state courts, which would involve filing a challenge at the appropriate circuit court — in this case in Worcester County.
Notably, the due date for a state court challenge has already passed. It was set for July 14 — about a month after MDE issued the permit, according to MDE’s website.