Community Action

We are working with our Attorney Rick Aramburu and coordinating closely with Benton County, the Yakama Nation, and the cities of Richland, West Richland, Benton City and Kennewick. The adjudication is a detailed and tiring ordeal. EFSEC has denied requests for live hearings in Tri-Cities and it will therefore be totally virtual.

We are fighting to protect wildlife habitat, migration corridors and endangered species. Washington Fish & Wildlife experts written in defense of on-going conservation efforts and have stated that there is no way to mitigate for the environmental impacts of the Horse Heaven Hills wind project. The company has not committed to relocation of wind turbines and other project components to mitigate the known significant impacts of the project.

We are calling on the State’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) to comply with the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) which expressly requires:

“The balancing of the state’s need for energy at a reasonable cost and the need to minimize environmental impacts need not be a strict cost accounting. However, inherent in this balancing process is the expectation that an applicant can demonstrate a commitment to provide energy at a reasonable cost that will either directly or indirectly benefit consumers.”

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) statutes also require that every effort to be made including relocation to mitigate for conflicts with conservation.

Please help us. Now that the comment period on the Draft EIS is over, fighting the company in the adjudication is the only way to defend the Tri-Cities and the Horse Heaven Hills from the impacts of the project.

Our goal is to make sure that the EFSEC Recommendation to the Governor is to either deny the project application or include a critical list of mandatory location restrictions and mitigation requirements.

Donations are needed for to continue this legal battle, even to the Washington Supreme Court if necessary.

This project has significant potential to cause significant negative impacts on numerous residential areas, agriculture, numerous types of businesses, industries and organizations, and of course, the environment.

Please help us with this important effort today. You can mail a check or click to donate.

Tri-Cities CARES

Mail to:

1360 N. Louisiana St. #A-175 Kennewick, WA 99336


Volunteer

This organization is dependent on the contributions of time and talent in our local community. We exist and continue to do good work because of YOU. Please sign up to be a volunteer today and tell us how you would like to contribute. We need canvassers, field trip participants, fundraisers, PR and social media coordinators, event staff, and those in our community with special skills such as writers, videographers, photographers, artists, and naturalists, or those with other special skills, to help us keep our pulse on a balanced approach to local conservation.