Update on the Lava Ridge Fight

Dear Friends,

Over the last week, I’ve filed two separate suits in strategic opposition to the Lava Ridge wind turbine project proposed for the Magic Valley on Bureau of Land Management property. The project itself is promoted by Magic Valley Energy, LLC, an East Coast energy consortium which plans to ship most of the power generated from the massive turbines to California. This plan appears to be assisted by their bureaucratic allies in the Biden-Harris Administration as part of their “Green Agenda.” This project has received widespread opposition and criticism across Idaho from a diverse group including ranchers, farmers, aviators, naturalists, tribal organizations, environmentalists, archaeologists, hunters, historians, and others for the negative impacts threatened to the area.

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At this stage of our opposition, we have challenged the review process conducted by the Bureau of Land Management. As part of this review, the Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for evaluating hazards to aircraft that are presented by the proposed project. One may reasonably suspect that 500 massive wind turbines towering upwards of 700 feet might present such hazards, especially in an area dependent on low-level flights for agricultural applications. 

The first suit is a petition of judicial review filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We filed this action based on the FAA’s inadequate review of low-level flight hazards. According to FAA rules, any structure over 200 feet must be evaluated for flight hazards. However, in the review required for the Lava Ridge project, the FAA arbitrarily excluded from the analysis any flights taking place under 500 feet. Thousands of agricultural aviation flights occur yearly in the area, and most, if not all, operate well below 500 feet. The turbines present a clear hazard to these economically crucial flights. Even the Bureau of Land Management’s own Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, expressly recognizes the importance of low-level aviation operations in the Project area. Changing their own rules certainly sends the message to everyone that the federal government has a desired outcome and will simply ignore inconvenient facts. 

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The second suit was filed in federal district court for the District of Idaho, related to the FAA’s incomplete response to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding the “hazard” evaluations. Inexplicably missing from the documents we requested were the communications between the FAA and Magic Valley Energy, the project proponent. Also missing were the public comments made about the project, as well as the individual hazard reviews for approximately 100 of the 500 proposed turbines. The suit requests the court to compel the disclosures and ensure the federal agency’s compliance with the FOIA request. Following the law may be a novel concept for some government agencies, but we’re happy to help guide them along.

Having to insist on and fight for government transparency is becoming a pattern of my responsibilities as Attorney General. It’s a big red flag when agencies and bureaucrats fight mandated disclosures as awkward and inconvenient to their schemes and plans.

The Lava Ridge fight is far from over and I have every expectation it will be a marathon and not a sprint. The livability of our beautiful state is too important. The voice of Idaho’s people needs to be heard and not ignored by those out-of-state interests and out-of-touch bureaucrats. But we will be here to demand accountability from the proponents, especially from your own federal government.

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