The Obama administration is giving wind power producers a pass by not going after them for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of federally protected birds and bats.
But the feds have gone after fossil fuel and other companies that have killed these animals.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently has 18 open investigations into bird and bat deaths due to wind power operations, according to a service spokeswoman, with 14 of these cases involving the death of at least one golden eagle — which are federally protected under three different laws. Seven of these cases have been referred to the U.S. Justice Department for “potential prosecution.”
A spokesman with the Justice Department, however, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that there “have been no prosecutions to date under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and/or the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act related to the deaths of migratory birds, including eagles, at wind facilities.”
The Obama administration’s support for wind energy development and inaction against wind producers that allegedly break these laws has sparked the ire of House Republicans. Earlier this month, Republicans on the Committee on Natural Resources sent letters to the administration slamming them for not providing documentation related to bird deaths from wind farms.
“[Justice Department’s] lack of a timely response is unacceptable and frustrates Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of this important matter,” reads one letter sent to the Justice Department.
One of the most contentious energy issues of the 2012 campaign was the Wind Production Tax Credit, or wind PTC, which paid wind power producers for the electricity they generated from harnessing the wind.
Obama supported the tax credit to bolster support in states like Iowa where the wind energy industry has a huge presence. Nineteen non-energy firms — including Yahoo!, Starbucks and Sprint — also sent a letter to Congress urging them to extend the tax credit.
Via: Daily CallerContinue Reading.....
