California AG Fears Local Jury in Fountain Wind Lawsuit
California Attorney General Rob Bonta fearing a local jury in the looming Shasta County Superior Court trial regarding Governor Newsom passing special legislation to suspend local control for approving the massive Fountain Wind Project, has moved the court for a change of venue to litigate the case in front of a friendly judge and jury in Sacramento.
The Fountain Wind Project proposed to build a 4500-acre wind energy generation farm on private and leased land in the unincorporated area of Shasta County. The project initially proposed to place up to 72 massive 679-foot tall wind turbines on the top of Round Mountain in the Montgomery Creek area, about 36 miles from Redding.
After Shasta County unanimously rejected the project twice, Fountain Wind partnered with Governor Newsom to circumvent local control of environmental ordinances by seeking state approval for the project from the California Energy Commission (CEC).
Governor Newsom lobbied the Democrat-controlled California Legislature in 2022 to pass AB 205, which enabled the commission to overrule Shasta County and approve Fountain Wind as a key component of achieving Newsom’s Climate Chage agenda.
Shasta County investigators found numerous negative and dangerous impacts from the proposed $300 million Fountain Wind energy project including, but not limited to:
“Significant impacts to a wide range of tribal cultural resources of the Pit River Indian Tribe and other local tribes,
Elevated wildfire risks in a zone designated at risk for high fire hazard severity’
Impediments to aerial firefighting’
Endangerment to wildlife,
Ignores local County ordinances.”
The California Energy Commission (CEC) and Governor Gavin Newsom have been inundated by opposition letters, telegrams and emails requesting inclusion in the docket log for the CEC environmental impact evaluation and determination.
The AG’s office filed the request for a change of venue after the county sued the energy commission in November, claiming it did not have the legal authority to consider approving the proposed 4,500-acre project to be located in Shasta County.
AG Bonta hypocritically argued that the California Energy Commission could not get a fair trial in Shasta County because local jurors are presumed to be “prejudiced” against the agency after the state blatantly usurped local and judicial authority.
Kevin Crye as Chairman of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors told the Mountain Top Times that the county intends to educate the public on their rights to prevent the state from usurping local control to approve Fountain Wind Project in Shasta County.
The Madesi Band of the Pit River Tribe that oppose Fountain Wind as a disturbance to their well-known ancestral lands, have joined in the county lawsuit against the state.