‘This wind energy group moved in and set up these turbines without permission from the rightful owners of the property they built on’
An Oklahoma judge has ordered the removal of a massive wind farm after declaring that it was erected without permission from the Native American tribe that holds rights to the land.
Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled that the 84-turbine wind farm and its supporting infrastructure must be torn down, as its construction violated the sovereignty of the Osage Nation and required a lease from the tribe’s minerals council, which the wind farm companies had failed to obtain.
“The developers failed to acquire a mining lease during or after construction, as well as after issuance of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision holding that a mining lease was required,” Judge Choe-Groves wrote.
“On the record before the court, it is clear the defendants are actively avoiding the leasing requirement,” Ms. Choe-Groves continued. “Permitting such behavior would create the prospect for future interference with the Osage Mineral Council’s authority by defendants or others wishing to develop the mineral lease.”
The judge continued: “The court concludes that [the] defendants’ past and continued refusal to obtain a lease constitutes interference with the sovereignty of the Osage Nation and is sufficient to constitute irreparable injury … The court concludes that a permanent injunction is appropriate relief for defendants’ continuing trespass and failure to obtain a lease.”
The December ruling left open the opportunity for the Osage Nation to sue the project’s developers—Osage Wind, Enel Kansas, and Enel Green Power North America—for damages and means that the large wind turbines and their supporting facilities will have to be removed from the tribe’s property, ending a prolonged court battle which has stretched back more than a decade.
In October 2011, the Osage Nation filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the construction of the wind farm, alleging that the project violated the tribe’s rights by depriving the Osage Nation of access to and the right to develop the mineral estate.
