In Calif., Environmental Efforts at Odds

ALTAMONT, Calif. – Alameda County supervisors approved a deal with environmental groups and energy companies to reduce bird deaths in the Altamont Pass, home of California’s oldest wind farm.

The agreement approved 4-1 Thursday by the Board of Supervisors settles a lawsuit filed by environmentalists who claimed the county failed to protect red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and other birds killed in the rotating blades of the region’s 4,800 wind turbines.

Between 1,700 and 4,700 birds, including some federally protected species, are killed each year by windmills in the Altamont Pass, about 50 miles east of San Francisco, according to a 2004 state study.

Under the deal, the wind energy companies agreed to reduce by half the number of raptors killed each year within three years.

The companies will also remove particularly deadly turbines, develop a long-term bird conservation plan and participate in a study looking at whether painted blades keep birds away.

Officials at the Golden Gate Audubon Society, one of the plaintiffs, said they were satisfied with the long-negotiated deal.

But the Center for Biological Diversity, another environmental group, called the settlement “a complete disaster for birds” because it gives the companies veto power over new mitigation measures and doesn’t include a schedule for replacing old turbines.

—

Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle