1. Congressional Research Service on limits to appropriations bills

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill that would block the Lava Ridge wind project proposed northeast of Twin Falls, Idaho.

The final environmental impact statement for Lava Ridge, released in early June, “shall have no force or effect,” according to the Fiscal Year 2025 Interior, Environment and Related Appropriations Act.

The House voted 210-205 to advance the bill to the U.S. Senate. The bill includes U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Environmental Protection Agency funding.

Lava Ridge has generated widespread opposition from local and state leaders. Concerns expressed included impacts on livestock grazing, the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, wildfire response, agricultural aviation, local infrastructure and the Minidoka National Historic Site, a former World War II internment camp.

BLM officials in the Final EIS said they prefer an alternative just over half the size of the original proposal by Magic Valley Energy, a unit of New York-based LS Power.

The bureau has not set a date for release of its final Record of Decision, but the release possibly could be in late August or early September, BLM Twin Falls District public affairs officer Heather Tiel-Nelson told Capital Press.

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, chair of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote the text that would block the project if the bill passes.

The Final EIS “was a slap in the face to Idahoans,” he said in a July 25 news release. “Despite numerous concerns voiced by Congress and the Magic Valley” of south-central Idaho, “the Biden administration and the Bureau of Land Management continue to ignore Idahoans and ram through renewable energy projects that lack local support. From the beginning, I have made it clear that the Lava Ridge wind project is out of touch and has no place in our state. I remain committed to fighting with the people of Idaho in opposition to this project.”

A Lava Ridge principal would not comment except to reiterate earlier statements issued when the House subcommittee advanced the bill to the full House.

Luke Papez, senior director of project development for LS Power, earlier said the project would provide substantial benefits to local communities and generate significant tax revenue while helping to meet demand for domestic clean energy in Idaho and the West. Project adjustments will balance the need for additional domestic energy, protect environmental resources, honor cultural heritage and integrate stakeholder feedback, he added.

The original proposal called for up to 400 turbines and associated infrastructure on about 84,000 acres of federal, state and private land. Turbines would be up to 740 feet tall, generating capacity more than 1,000 megawatts.

The alternative that BLM prefers in the Final EIS reduces the footprint by nearly half, the number of turbines to 241 and the turbine height to 660 feet.

Limitations can be included in appropriations measures, according to a May 2023 report by the Congressional Research Service. Stipulating that money cannot be used for a certain purpose and limiting the amount available to an agency or activity to a specific amount or percentage are examples.