Tri-Cities CARES, a group opposed to the Horse Heaven wind farm, is considering whether to file a lawsuit challenging the approval of the project, which would be the largest one in the state of Washington.
It also is in talks with the Yakama Nation and Benton County, which also have legal standing to file a lawsuit that would be decided by the Washington Supreme Court.
Tri-Cities CARES would like to make a decision by Friday on whether it can raise the money needed for a legal challenge of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s approval of the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center. That would allow time to prepare the filing by a legal deadline of Dec. 2.
“Filing a lawsuit is the only way to possibly stop or delay the construction of the project or reduce its size to prevent the significant environmental and economic harm this project will cause to the Tri-Cities,” Tri-Cities CARES said in its appeal to raise donations.
The Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) spent three years studying the project, proposed with up to 222 turbines about 500 feet tall, before recommending to the governor that the project be approved with about half the number of proposed turbines.
Inslee sent that proposal back to the council, saying the council needed to prioritize the need for clean energy and make a less restrictive recommendation for his approval of the Horse Heaven project.
The council relented and its final recommendation, which Inslee approved, would reduce the proposed number of turbines by about 23%, unless developer Scout Clean Energy could find space for them elsewhere on the project.
The initial recommendation to Inslee provided mitigation measures for endangered ferruginous hawks, Yakama Nation traditional cultural properties, the impacts of turbines on fighting wildfires and the visual impact to the greater Tri-Cities area.
But the revised recommendation approved by Inslee no longer addressed the visual impacts of wind turbines along the southern skyline of the Tri-Cities.
Tri-Cities skyline view
While unions have supported the project as an important source of construction jobs close to home for their workers in the Tri-Cities area, opposition has come from Tri-Cities residents who object to what they call the “industrialization” of the southern skyline in a community that prides itself on the colorful sunsets of its desert vistas.
Although EFSEC officials say the loosened restrictions approved for cultural properties and ferruginous hawks in their revised recommendation still would help preserve the view, Tri-Cities CARES said the recommendation as approved could potentially return the visual impacts to the initial proposal.
Tri-Cities CARES has estimated that between the Horse Heaven wind farm and the nearby and smaller Nine Canyon wind farm, just over 100,000 residents of Benton County would live within six miles of a turbine, according to Tri-Cities CARES, a group opposing the wind farm as too close to the Tri-Cities.
That’s five times more than the estimated 20,000 people who live within six miles of a wind farm across the rest of Washington state, according to the group.
Its property appraisal experts testified during the adjudication proceedings for the project that turbines could reduce some real estate prices 20% to 30% and that properties closest to the turbines might not sell while the turbines are standing.
There is additional consensus that property values of residences within 5 miles of wind turbines drop 9% to 10%, with the biggest decline in values for homes where the most turbines can be seen, said Tri-Cities CARES.
“There is widespread recognition that people pay more for scenery and pay less when the views are obstructed by energy industrial facilities and infrastructure,” according to Tri-Cities CARES.
The project also includes solar panels and battery storage.
Tri-Cities CARES fundraising
Tri-Cities CARES estimates that its legal costs to challenge the approval of the project in court could be upwards of $200,000, with pledges for money or donations toward that needed this week.
It previously raised nearly $192,000, but that’s already been spent on legal fees and expert witnesses, plus another $6,000 is needed for some outstanding attorney bills.
Initial new donations will cover those outstanding bills. If there is not enough money raised to proceed with the lawsuit, money above that would be reimbursed to donors.
Tri-Cities CARES says there is no guarantee it could win a lawsuit, but that there were many irregularities and errors made by EFSEC during the environmental impact study process.
Donations to the nonprofit Tri-Cities CARES may be made at tricitiescares.org/donations or by mailing a check to Tri-Cities CARES, 1360 N. Louisiana St. #A-175, Kennewick, WA 99336.
