National Audubon Society Sues Bay Area Wind Turbines (Altamont Pass – a 40-year affair) – Frustrated with that?

Are from MasterThe source

By Robert Bradley Jr. – February 8, 2022

“The Altamont Pass has been a black eye for the entire wind industry since it was built. ” (National Audubon Association, below)

“…The need for renewable energy is not an excuse to… wipe out local wildlife populations. Wind power companies are making billions of dollars and can afford to ensure projects are arranged responsibly and include appropriate mitigation measures to reduce impacts on sensitive species. ” (Ariana Rickard, Mount Diablo Audubon Society, below)

Altamont pass again? Back in 1997, My Policy Analysis for the Cato Institute,”Renewable energy: Not cheap, not ‘green’“Including a section, “The Problem of Poultry Mortality,” which focuses on Altamont Pass, then the nation’s largest wind farm and a recorded bird kill field.

That 625 MW project is just a short car ride from the headquarters of the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. But the NRDC doesn’t care – that industrial wind complex is at the heart of the alternative to fossil fuel-fired electricity. So does the Sierra Club, whose chapter in Las Angeles coined the term for industrial wind turbines,”the Cuisinarts of the Air. ”

As I noted in my Cato study a quarter of a century ago:

• The National Chamber of Commerce has called for a halt to new wind farms until the bird-killing issue is resolved.
• Killing birds in the Altamont Pass is a federal crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; Killing bald eagles is also a crime under the Bald Eagle Protection Act.
• “The issue of windmill avian mortality has become so acute that in the wind and wildlife world, some people fear their actions if they speak up; Others fear for their research dollars, while companies fear for their future. “

Fast forward to today. November 17, 2021, Press Release stated:

The National Audubon Association, Ohlone Audubon Association, Golden Gate Audubon Association, Mount Diablo Audubon Association and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Association today filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court to challenge the approval. of Alameda County for a new, 80-megawatt wind turbine facility at Altamont Dat, argues that the project lacks an adequate environmental assessment and does not adequately assess and avoid impacts to birds and bats. The lawsuit marks the first time the National Audubon Society has sued to block the approval of a wind project in California.

“Audubon supports responsibly developed wind projects and collaborates with wind developers who truly care about avoiding impacts on birds, but we were forced to file a lawsuit because Alameda County violated the law. breached commitments and failed to protect the birds and bats in the Altamont Pass for forty years,” said Mike Lynes, California state policy director for the National Audubon Society. “Alameda County has approved a poorly planned project that they know will kill Golden Eagles and other birds in violation of state and federal laws and that will contribute to the continued decline of Golden Eagles and other sensitive species.”

The press release continues:

The Altamont Pass is home to the densest nesting Golden Eagle populations in the world, as well as important populations of the Western Elf, Red-tailed Hawk, Tricolor Blackbird, other migratory birds and a number of bat species. The area is also home to the largest wind resource area in the United States, where 5000 turbines were built over a 56 square mile site in the early 1980s without any mitigation impact on the environment. Over the decades, the Altamont Pass has killed so many Golden Eagles that it is a “population nest” for the species and is contributing to its overall decline in the area.

Negotiations with Altamont owners and local authorities were unsuccessful:

Supervisors gave final approval to the project at Mulqueeny Ranch on October 7, rejecting an appeal by National Audubon and the Ohlone, Golden Gate, Mount Diablo and Santa Clara Audubon Societies. In the appeal, Audubon also urged the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to convene their independent Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) experts before making a final decision to hear their recommendations on how to proceed. projects can be modified to reduce impacts on birds. But the developer, Brookfield Renewables, LLC, objected to the independent review and County employees refused to convene the TAC before the board hearing.

Audubon groups’ legal experience with the authorities (and the shameful, silent Great Environmentalism) has been disappointing:

“Fifteen years ago, Alameda County and the wind power companies settled a lawsuit with the Audubon divisions and pledged to reduce bird deaths by 50% by 2009. With the approval of this project, the County is Bring the Altamont Pass back to killing speed as Glenn Phillips, CEO of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, said. “Despite acknowledging that they have not yet reduced bird deaths by 50%, the County will not even convene their Technical Advisory Committee to receive recommendations before making a final decision. Instead, the County relies entirely on advice from Brookfield’s environmental consultants.”

“People in Alameda County want to see renewable energy responsibly, but we are tired of the county breaking its promise to protect wildlife and,” said William Hoppe, President of the Ohlone Audubon Society. do whatever the wind developers want.” “It is time for a balance, where Alameda County listens to wildlife experts to ensure that wind projects avoid and reduce harm to birds and bats as much as possible.”

Climate change policy is no excuse, the press release continued. Law is law, and carnage is slaughter.

“We at Audubon understand better than anyone that climate change is an existential threat to humans and birds, and that responsible renewable energy development is essential to transforming nature fossil material. But the need for renewable energy is not an excuse to… wipe out local wildlife populations,” said Ariana Rickard, Vice President of the Mount Diablo Audubon Association. “Wind power companies are making billions of dollars and can afford to make sure projects are arranged responsibly and include appropriate mitigation measures to reduce impacts on sensitive species.”

Inference

The environmental game is designed to work in favor of wind friends and against existing protections for wildlife, which environmentalists have adopted in the first place. Closing press release:

“Alameda and Brookfield Counties declined to adopt the science-based recommendations of leading experts from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Fish & Wildlife Service in an attempt to improve the quality of life,” said Matthew. minimize harm to birds and still leave Brookfield with a viable project.” Dodder, CEO of Santa Clara Valley Audubon. “We only ask Alameda County to deliver on its promise to conduct an objective, science-based review of projects and to ensure that they are the right size, location, and are minimized to minimize harmful effects on birds and bats.”

Stay tuned for evolution in National Audubon Association versus Alameda County.

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About Audubon
The National Audubon Association protects birds and the places they need them, today and tomorrow. Audubon works across the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and field conservation. State programs, nature centres, chapters and partners give Audubon a great wingspan reaching millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities form in conservation action. A non-profit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world where people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.