Idaho Legislature resolution expressing concern over the proposed Lava Ridge Project and supporting a No-Build option

Legislature of the State of Idaho
Sixty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2023
in the House of Representatives, House concurrent resolution no. 4 by Resources and Conservation Committee

Idaho Legislature resolution expressing concern over the proposed Lava Ridge Project and Supporting a No-Build Option.

Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

WHEREAS, the United States Bureau of Land Management has under consideration an application from LS Energy to lease an extensive amount of acres of public land, Lava Ridge, in Jerome, Lincoln, and Minidoka Counties; and

WHEREAS, LS Energy plans to construct 400 wind turbines, with a maximum height of up to 740 feet, 381 miles of access roads, and the infrastructure to support their construction and maintenance; and 

WHEREAS, the height of the turbines will impact civil, military, and agricultural flight operations; and

WHEREAS, the energy created by the Lava Ridge Project is designed and planned to provide energy to Southern Nevada and California; and

WHEREAS, the States of Nevada and California have tremendous open space that could accommodate this project and more directly move the impacts to the beneficiaries; and

WHEREAS, the Magic Valley economy currently has a shortage of housing, available workforce, and construction capacity, stressing the local markets needed to support the build out of Lava Ridge; and

WHEREAS, local citizens and businesses are concerned about the impact of a boom-and-bust economy over a two-year period; and

WHEREAS, Idaho is required by law to protect all wildlife. This project area will severely impact the migration and habitat of local wildlife; and

WHEREAS, these lands have been utilized by agriculture, public recreation, hunting, and fishing by the citizens of Idaho and specifically the Magic Valley; and

WHEREAS, the Lava Ridge Project encroaches upon the historical significance of the Minidoka National Historic site of the Hunt Japanese Relocation Camp from World War II; and

WHEREAS, tremendous public opinion is not favorable to the Lava Ridge Project; and

WHEREAS, the legislative complexity of the federal, state, and local laws and regulations associated with the project cause concern for citizens and local governments.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Governor Brad Little review the Lava Ridge Project to assure that the in40 terests of Idaho are foremost in the final decision.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature considers the concerns of Idaho and the Magic Valley justification to support a no-build option.