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You may be thinking that the discussions centering on sage grouse have ended since it was determined that the greater sage grouse does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), as we previously discussed here.
Well, you'd be mistaken...the sage grouse is not old news. The greater sage grouse has again been ruffling feathers in the energy industry. However, this time it is not the oil and gas industry being impacted by the greater sage grouse, it is wind energy.
A recent case involved the Echanis Wind Energy Project and greater sage grouse habitat – the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly "has effectively reversed the approval of a large wind energy project in southeast Oregon, citing the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's inaccurate environmental review and possible impacts to the greater sage grouse." The full text of Judge Berzon's opinion can be found here.
What is the Echanis Wind Energy Project?
Columbia Energy Partners proposed the project on private land in a remote area of Harney County, Oregon on Steens Mountain, according to their website, for a 104-megawatt wind facility supporting 40 to 60 wind turbines and a reported 230-kilovolt transmission line to bring the energy to the electrical grid.
An Oregon Bend-based environmental group, Oregon Natural Desert Association, and the Audubon Society of Portland (collectively "ONDA") brought the suit, specifically challenging the wind energy development at the Echanis site on the ground that the BLM's environmental review of the project did not adequately address impacts to the greater sage grouse – namely, that the BLM's review of the project did not comply with NEPA requirements. The project was to take place on sagebrush landscape. The opinion noted that the greater sage grouse relies on sagebrush for its survival year-round.
The federal court of appeals concluded "that the BLM's review did not adequately assess baseline sage grouse numbers during winter at the Echanis site, where the wind turbines are to be installed."
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