A federal case involving a West Virginia wind development and its potential impact on the Indiana bat has begun in a Maryland federal district court.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) brought a lawsuit against Beech Ridge Energy in June over its construction of a 124-turbine wind farm on mountain ridgelines in Greenbrier County, W.Va. The lawsuit contends that Beech Ridge Energy did not conduct adequate bat surveys despite repeated requests from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The AWI is seeking a court order enjoining the projects unless Beech Ridge seeks an incidental take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
‘This is not a lawsuit condemning wind energy, per se, but it is a challenge to a specific project that will adversely impact an endangered bat in violation of federal law,’ says D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute.
SOURCE: Animal Welfare Institute
