Counties File Motions To Dismiss Wind Farm Lawsuits

By Gordon HopkinsBoth Jefferson and Gage Counties have filed Motions to Dismiss lawsuits intended to halt the refitting of turbines at the Steele Flats Wind Farm. A Petition in Error was filed in Gage County District Court and another in Jefferson County District Court. Those petitions were filed by attorney Gregory Kratz, who represents landowners in both counties.A Petition in Error is an application for a hearing to reverse action in a lower court that is a statutory substitute in some jurisdictions for the common-law writ of error. In this case, the plaintiffs are objecting to the issuance of permits to allow for what is called “repowering” of the turbines.Repowering can include increasing the height of the towers and well as the length of the blades. However, the repowering project does not call for any new towers to be built.Steele Flats consists of 44 wind turbines, 32 in Jefferson County and 12 in Gage County.NextEra Energy, the company that owns and operates Steele Flats, contends the permits do not require new hearings or approval by Planning and Zoning because the changes to the towers still comply with the zoning regulations the wind turbines were originally built under in 2013.Motions for both counties request that the lawsuits be dismissed, “because the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, Plaintiffs lack standing, Defendants are immune from being sued, Plaintiffs have failed to join a necessary party, and the Petition otherwise fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”Both Jefferson and Gage Counties are represented by attorney Patrick R. Guinan of Lincoln.

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