Wind turbines on sacred Osage land must be removed, according to court ruling

[Elderberry]

NPR by Allison Herrera, Kat Lonsdorf 1/18/2024

A judge in Oklahoma has ordered the removal of a massive wind farm from tribal land because its owners failed to get proper permits more than a decade ago.

A federal judge is ordering three companies to remove more than 80 wind turbines from an Oklahoma prairie. While it may be a setback for green energy production, it's a victory for citizens of the Osage Nation, which worked to remove the turbines from land they say is sacred. Allison Herrera from APM Reports has the story.

WILSON PIPESTEM: The wind energy companies only reached agreements with the county and the landowners and avoided the Osage Nation.

HERRERA: That's Wilson Pipestem. He represented the Osage Minerals Council, which is part of the Osage Nation. It's responsible for the oil and gas development on the reservation. He says what's underneath the ground is not property of the landowners. It's held in trust for the Osage Nation by the federal government.

PIPESTEM: The wind energy companies ignored the sovereignty of the Osage Nation.

More: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225446424/wind-turbines-on-sacred-osage-land-must-be-removed-according-to-court-ruling

[DB]

That's going to be expensive...

[libertybele]

Good.

[GtHawk]

80 windmills with all of their infrastructure, roads, MASSIVE concrete bases...sheesh.  May cost more to get rid of them than what it cost to construct them.

Especially if they are made to put the land back to pre windmill condition.

[mountaineer]

See, this is why this whole Indian reservation business is nonsense. The land is not sacred. It's just dirt.