Notes
Sen. Jim Risch Press Release: Idaho Delegation Demands Historic Preservation Council Terminate Cooperation on Lava Ridge (09/04/24)
9/6/24 Update: Risch: Historic Preservation Council Termination on Lava Ridge is a Win for Idahoans (emailed press release)
BOISE, Idaho - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) released the following statement today on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) announcement to terminate consultation on the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project given widespread concerns about the project’s impact to the Minidoka National Historic Site. The ACHP’s announcement will require further review of the widely opposed wind project in southern Idaho.
9/4/24 Press release: risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2024/…
Full Letter: risch.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/e/…
U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo and Representatives Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher urged the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) to terminate Section 106 consultation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project. The Idaho State Historic Preservation Office recently decided to forgo consultation.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the consequences of their actions or affiliated projects on historic properties. A Section 106 agreement outlines how adverse effects to historic properties will be mitigated, treated, or avoided.
Refusal to consult can help thwart the progress of Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, which would irreparably alter the Minidonka site (not to mention its other destructive effects, which have been discussed extensively in many publications).
The vast majority of Idaho stakeholders have overwhelmingly opposed Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, but their opposition has been disregarded by federal agencies (especially BLM), which stubbornly press forward.