TWIN FALLS, Idaho — US Senator Jim Risch of Idaho introduced legislation on August 1 to delay the controversial Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, the most recent in a series of challenges from Idaho lawmakers standing against the development.
The proposed legislation would prevent the Secretary of the Interior from authorizing the development until a GAO study is conducted to analyze the impact of the project to the Minidoka National Historic Site.
“The Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project is opposed by virtually all Idahoans and especially the Japanese American community. The Interior Department cannot continue to push through a project without considering the impact to the Minidoka National Historic Site, where Japanese Americans from across the West were incarcerated during World War II,” said Risch. “My bill ensures this project does not proceed until the real impacts to Minidoka and our cultural and natural resources are considered.”
At the July 31 meeting for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Chairman Joe Manchin committed to placing the bill on a meeting agenda in September 2024.
