Neighbors protesting turbine locations for a wind farm near Luverne, N.D., are upset that work has begun while requests for reconsideration are pending before state regulators.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission has granted a permit that allows construction to begin, and state law has no provision for a delay except for a court injunction or stay granted to those who file to formally intervene in the process.

Commissioners on Monday will discuss the requests for reconsideration by several neighboring landowners as well as Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo.

Work has begun on the site of four turbines that neighboring landowners have asked in their reconsideration requests to be moved back farther than the 1,400 feet required by the Public Service Commission, said Merrie Helm, a Fargo woman who owns a second home in a rural area near Luverne.

Although the wind farm has 31 turbines, the wind developer apparently has chosen to build the four disputed turbines first, said Helm, one of those protesting the locations.

"I'm just incredibly frustrated," Helm said Friday. "It's like the small person in North Dakota just doesn't matter. That's how it feels."

Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark said the wind farm developer, Next-Era Energy Resources, has a certificate of site compatibility that allows it to start construction. The company has filed objections to the requests for reconsideration.

Phone messages left Friday afternoon with a Next-Era project manager were not returned.

The only way to halt the work for a project that has been granted a certificate is by court order or to become an intervener, a formal party in the regulatory process who has the right to request a delay pending objections, Clark said.

"In this case there are no interveners," he said, a point raised by NextEra in its objection to the requests for reconsideration. Commissioners have not asked NextEra to delay work on the disputed sites pending the outcome of the reconsideration.

That sort of "behind-the-scenes" contact might not be appropriate. The commission must follow administrative laws, he said.

Commissioners will take up the issue in a meeting Monday. "I think we're going to be seeking guidance from our attorneys," Clark said.