CALL TO ACTION! Minidoka Needs your Input!
Minidoka National Historic Site’s historic, natural, and cultural resources are being threatened. Magic Valley Energy has proposed the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a 400-unit wind turbine field on 73,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property adjacent to Minidoka, 25 miles northeast of Twin Falls, Idaho. If built, it will be one of the largest in the U.S. Several turbines are slated to be installed on the historic footprint of the camp, and almost all are completely visible from the WWII Japanese American incarceration site in Southern Idaho.
The proposed project includes up to 400 wind energy generating turbines, up to seven new substations, approximately 198 miles of 34.5 kilovolt (kV) collector lines, 34 miles of 230 kV transmission lines, 18 miles of 500 kV transmission lines, 381 miles of access roads, 47 miles of temporary crane walk paths, a battery energy storage system, three operations and maintenance facilities, five permanent met towers, and construction-related staging yards. Engineering is preliminary, but the turbines may have a maximum height (including the rotor) of up to 740 feet.
Read the full project plan of development, guidance on submitting public comment, the full timeline and planning process, and other BLM documents here:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013782/540
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an EIS is prepared for major federal actions that may have a significant effect on the environment. The purpose of an EIS is to identify potential issues related to the project, analyze the project impacts, disclose them to the public, and use the information developed to make informed decisions. The EIS is a public document, and the public is encouraged to provide input throughout the development of the EIS. The EIS is currently in the first stage, called public scoping, in which potential environmental issues, project modifications, and mitigation to be evaluated in the draft EIS are identified.
During the scoping period, the public is encouraged to provide comments and information on factors that should be considered in the EIS. There is a short window for public comments, and the Japanese American community needs to be heard! SUBMIT YOUR PUBLIC COMMENTS before the September 20th deadline.
NEED HELP? JOIN “TIPS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC COMMENT”
Live online sessions Wednesday, September 15th
11AM PT Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnKAm4rjXFk
4PM PT Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ2bXWevxn4
Join this information session and writing workshop with these three experts:
Ben Otto is an Energy Associate for the Idaho Conservation League. Ben protects Idaho’s air quality and climate stability by engaging directly with utilities and state regulators to replace fossil fuels with clean energy.
Holly Sandbo is the Northern Rockies' Manager of Outreach and Engagement of the National Parks Conservation Association.
Dan Sakura has worked with Japanese American non-profit partners and the National Park Service to create, expand, and protect World War II-era confinement sites as National Parks.
They will walk through, step by step, how to write an effective public comment that cannot be denied! Bring your list of ideas and rough drafts and fine tune your public comment. Bring your friends and family! Q and A session to follow. Produced by the Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages. These sessions will be recorded and posted on the JAMP website.
Submit your Public Comment
The deadline to have your public comment included is Monday, September 20th!
Email your comments to: BLM_ID_LavaRidge@blm.gov or use the button below.
Or mail them to: Kasey Prestwich, Project Manager, BLM Shoshone Field Office, 400 West F Street, Shoshone, ID 83352 (Must be postmarked by September 20th) Tel. 208-732-7204
STAY ENGAGED: ASK BLM TO BE INCLUDED AS A CONSULTING PARTY
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires Federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and to provide the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) with a reasonable opportunity to comment. In addition, Federal agencies are required to consult on the Section 106 process with State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPO), Indian Tribes (to include Alaska Natives), Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO), and other interested parties to identify historic properties, determine whether and how such properties may be affected, and resolve adverse effects.
If your organization, or you as an individual, would like to be engaged throughout the Section 106 compliance, you can ask to be included as a consulting party. You will then be consulted as an individual or as an organization and notified throughout the Lava Ridge Wind Project. If you are interested in sharing information on these resources or have questions about the Section 106 process, please contact: Kelli Barnes, BLM Idaho State Office, phone: 208-373-3844, email: kbarnes@blm.gov