A lawsuit aiming to stop a large wind energy project in Round Mountain will be heard in Shasta County, according to a decision made Monday. The State Attorney General’s Office had asked that the suit by Shasta County and the Pit River Tribe against the California Energy Commission be held elsewhere, but Judge Stephen Baker ruled on a compromise that it will be heard in Shasta County Superior Court by a visiting judge from another county. The Fountain Wind 48 Turbine Project would be spread over an area of nearly 30,000 acres and installed on land leased from timber companies. Opponents say the land is rated by Cal-Fire as a high fire hazard zone, much of it in the footprint of the Fountain Fire. The project is also opposed by the Pit River Tribe, who fear the impact on Native American cultural sites and wildlife, such as Eagles, Hawks and Owls. The project has been denied by both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, so last January the company sought approval from the California Energy Commission. In November the Board of Supervisors voted to drum up public opposition through a $100,000 media campaign.
– Steve Gibson