Environmental and animal rights groups want to stop further construction on a Greenbrier County, West Virginia wind farm until a judge can determine whether the project is harmful to the endangered Indiana bat.
The Animal Welfare Institute and Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on July 10, 2009 in the U.S. District Court in Maryland against developer Beech Ridge Energy LLC of Rockville, Maryland. No hearing date was immediately set.
The groups filed a lawsuit last month seeking to force Beech Ridge Energy to obtain a required federal permit before it continued working on the project. Shortly thereafter, Beech Ridge Energy stated it would begin placing wind turbines starting in August with 67 turbines operating by the end of 2009. The company's statement forced the plaintiffs to move forward with the motion for a preliminary injunction before additional construction took place.
The plaintiffs say the development will place 390-foot-tall wind turbines within miles of known Indiana bat habitat. A permit is required from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act if an otherwise lawful activity results in the incidental death or harm to an endangered species. The latest motion was accompanied by affidavits from three biologists. Thomas Kunz, a biology professor at Boston University, said Beech Ridge Energy's projection of 6,746 bat deaths annually from the wind project was "likely an underestimate."
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the wind farm project last year. Earlier this year, the West Virginia Public Service Commission said it would not reconsider its previous decision to approve the siting and construction.
Source: wvgazette.com; Photo: windeis.anl.gov
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