EUREKA -- The special use permit for the El Paso wind farm expired Tuesday without the owners applying for building permits.

Navitas Energy of Minneapolis had paid $40,000 for an application fee and had received approval a year ago for a special use permit after a lengthy and controversial hearing process.

The $160-million, 80-megawatt project was developed by Navitas and later sold to Babcock and Brown of Australia. The company has gone through bankruptcy reorganization, and the project owners are now called Pattern Energy.

Building permits would have been about $138,000.

"They have to re-apply, somebody else could re-apply," Zoning Administrator John Hamann said. "If they choose to come back in, they have to start from scratch - new fee, new application, new hearing."

The status of landowner contracts for wind towers is unclear, since they have all signed confidentiality agreements. The Woodford County Board last month rejected an extension request from Pattern Energy.