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Environmental groups sought injunction against electric utilities to halt construction of wind turbines in West Virginia, which would allegedly injure and kill Indiana bats, an endangered species; Maryland federal court finds Utilities did not obtain "permit" pursuant to Endangered Species Act and enjoined Utilities from completing project; Court allowed completion of 40 wind turbines already being constructed-but to be operated only during hibernation period of Indiana bat.
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Contractor's apprentice lineman electrocuted while repairing cooperative's lines damaged by winter storm; Lineman's employer cited for six violations of safety regulations and fined $42,000; Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed.
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Regulations - FERC.
Cynthia M. Currin is an attorney in private practice in Raleigh, NC. She has served as counsel for electric utilities for over 29 years. She is past President of the North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperative Counsel Association. She is a former member of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers ("NCATL"), a member of the NCATL Editorial Board, and past editor of NRECA’s Legal Reporting Service. She is a certified arbitrator and mediator in the state of North Carolina.
Our lead case is about bats. It would have been perfect for the October issue.
We report a case from a Maryland United States District Court in which several groups of environmentalists sued Invenergy (the 5th largest wind developer in the United States) to enjoin construction and operation of 122 new wind turbines ("Project") being built in West Virginia-because those turbines would allegedly harm, kill or injure endangered Indiana bats.
In a battle of the expert witnesses, the environmentalists were successful in persuading the Court that:
"Wind energy facilities cause bat mortality and injuries through wind turbine collisions and also from barotraumas, a damage caused to bats' lungs and eardrums as a result of the rapid change in external pressure...The construction of the wind energy projects may kill, injure or disrupt bat behavior."
The Court concluded that the wind developer could complete the 40 turbines already under construction, but those 40 turbines could only be operated from November 16 to March 31 of each year-when Indiana bats are in hibernation.
The Project, upon completion, would have produced 186 megawatts of electricity. Invenergy had signed a 20-year contract with Appalachian Power Company to sell all output from the first phase (167 turbines) of the Project.
The Court stated Congress had intended that endangered species be given the highest priority; and-also-Congress has strongly encouraged the development of clean, renewable energy, including wind energy.
What federal tightrope.
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