Lawsuit threatened over Western MD wind farm

A group of Western Maryland residents and a state conservation group have filed formal notice they'll sue to stop construction of a wind farm in Garrett County, contending the massive turbines "almost certainly" will harm endangered bats in the forested, mountainous region.

Save Western Maryland, a group of local residents opposed to wind farm projects in the county, announced Saturday that it had joined with the Maryland Conservation Council and "several concerned citizens" in a June 23 letter warning of the lawsuit to Constellation Green Green Energy LLC, and other businesses that have or have had a hand in the wind farm being built on Backbone Mountain south of Oakland. Constellation Green Energy is an offshoot of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy.

The groups contend the Eagle Rock project will violate the federal Endangered Species Act because the 28 turbines, each more than 400 feet high, would "almost certainly" kill or injure rare Indiana bats or Virginia big-eared bats, both protected by law.

The notice said a lawsuit would be filed within 60 days, unless Constellation obtains an "incidental take" permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any protected bats its turbines might harm. Getting such a permit requires the applicant to prepare a "habitat conservation plan," which lays out steps taken to avoid or minimize harm to rare species, and possibly to mitigate their loss as well.

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