Judge Orders Wind Farm Dismantled In Win For Tribal Sovereignty
By ordering the scuttling of 84 turbines spread over 8,400 acres of land, along with the removal of underground lines, overhead transmission lines, and meteorological towers, U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves essentially ruled that the renewable energy project, known as Osage Wind, should never have been constructed in the first place because the developers – Osage Wind LLC, Enel Kansas LLC, and Enel Green Power North America – did not have the required lease from the Osage Minerals Council.
“The developers failed to acquire a mining lease during or after construction, as well as after issuance of the 10th Court of Appeals’ decision hold that a mining lease was required,” Choe-Groves ruled, according to Tulsa World (Dec. 22).
“On the record before the Court, it is clear that Defendants are actively avoiding the leasing requirement,” Choe-Groves said. “Permitting such behavior would create the prospect for further interference with the Osage Mineral Council’s authority by Defendants or others wishing to develop the minerals lease. […]
The reference to minerals is key to understanding the case. Wind turbines not only soar into the air from the surface of the land. Their construction also requires the subsurface smashing of rocks and other excavation necessary to ground the turbines. The Osage Nation and its Minerals Council have claimed for years that this subsurface excavation activity constitutes mining and is covered by the tribe’s mineral rights. And for that the developers needed a lease from the Osage Mining Council which they never sought. The developers began leasing the surface rights in 2013 but never bothered to acquire the subsurface mineral rights. In the end, that was their undoing.
Interesting angle.
I suspect that (unfortunately) no wind turbines will be removed. Osage Wind will reach a financial arrangement with the Council … or they are fools.
Exactly, the whole thing is a shakedown, instrumentalising the state to steal value from productive enterprises is a growth industry in the west.
Hope you’re all enjoying the third world bullshit.
So it’s more of a paperwork snafu, trying to maximize the gains from the payout as much as possible, standard procedure, ends up costing ratepayers more money..
Would be more interesting if they said it was because windmills are USELESS and an EYSORE,
rather than they just didn’t get enough wampum out of the deal.
Oh well, small victories, I guess..
Hmmmm…as much as I loathe windmills it seems a bit of a stretch to require a mining lease.
However, a win’s a win.
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So, what were they extracting exactly? I’m not getting how digging a hole is mining. I call it grading, maybe excavating. What are the unintended consequences. Is any footing a mine?
I am not sure what the current numbers would be like but back in 1978 when I took Geology Economics aggregate was the biggest cash earner beating gold, coal etc …. mostly due to the shear volume of the gravel etc used in construction.
This was discussed earlier when this was first posted ( I think it was this website) but the key issue was that during construction aggregate was sourced, without permits, on the leases and that is a clear trespass. However I realize this is written as if the excavation was the only trespass.
I’m surprised the judge didn’t order them to work out a deal but it would appear that Osage Wind LLC, Enel Kansas LLC, and Enel Green Power North America decided they could bully the natives into submission through endless court torture and win that way and so now the only solution is remove the wind turbines.
Likely there will be some juicy offers coming to the tribe.
Ok, I think I understand. They shifted aggregate from outside the agreed upon leased property lines??
No they had to dig foundation holes and used the aggregate for making concrete. They may also have actually dug for aggregate on some of the leases which had the best quality aggregate. That wasn’t mentioned in this article but it is in the original court reports which I read somewhere last fall when first looking into this issue as I too had a WTF moment about foundations vs actual mining.
Cheers.
Thanks,
Could you say the developers
helped themselves to aggregate that they were not entitled to?
The key word is “grounding.”
I imagine that grounding wires for these things go pretty deep.
For a 200 amp home service, its two 8′ deep and 5/8 inch copper coated steel rods placed at least 6′ apart.
That’s enough for maybe 40 kW.
A wind turbine can generate (when its working) around 50 times that much power, needing a commensurately larger grounding system.
There was a good detailed discussion on Lehto’s Law YT channel. The way that mining is defined, the fact that they removed hundreds of cubic yards of earth to make the foundations (even if they put it back) is considered mining.
I think the tribe’s argument is bullshit- not all digging is mining. But anyway, I do hope they have to take their bird blenders down.
They didn’t just dig. They used minerals from the site for making cement, if I read it correctly.
Imagine getting permission to build a gold-processing facility, and then you dig up all the land around it which isn’t yours and run it through the mill.
Interesting precedent.
Want to install a cellphone tower? You now need a mining permit.
Want to build a house? You have to install foundations. Get a mining permit.
Repair a road? Need a mining permit.
Etc.
In most of Canada, if you buy land, you can’t even cut the effin trees down without having “logging rights.”
Same goes for “mining rights.”
The land in question here is privately owned, and the utility didn’t buy the necessary permission to do what they did. Its that effin’ simple.
I understand that. The wind company screwed up big time.
My point is now you will need to get a mining permit to do anything on their land.
Suppose the band chief asks your company to install a cell tower. Some disgruntled elders can file a court case saying you didn’t get a mining permit to dig up the earth for the tower.
Or you didn’t get a crossing agreement to cross a band right of way.
Or a road use agreement, to drive to the site.
Etc.
“And for that the developers needed a lease from the Osage Mining Council which they never sought. The developers began leasing the surface rights in 2013 but never bothered to acquire the subsurface mineral rights. In the end, that was their undoing.”
So they want to be paid at least twice for the same project? they must be slacking, the Mississaugas have been paid at least 3 times for the toronto purchase
Well … good ‘ol Jimmy Buffett explained it best in his great song “Migration” from the FABULOUS lp A1A
https://youtu.be/lFWxeWa7eko?si=1Gcg07U4auPgb2Jk
Most of the people who retire in Florida
Are wrinkled and they lean on a crutch
And mobile homes are smotherin’ my Keys
I hate those bastards so much
I wish a summer squall would blow them all
The way up to fantasy land
Yeah they’re ugly and square, they don’t belong here
They looked a lot better as beer cans
Yeah … pretty much the same thing. Giant wind contraptions and solar panels are smothering the land. They’re ugly and square and don’t belong here … they looked a lot better as beer cans
MTG lays out the facts of the Inflation Reduction Act; Biden’s allegiance to China, and Democrat actions that will destroy the West..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa3bU-X_hN8&t=768s
I will say good, but not for the reasons cited.