Idaho’s congressional delegation is stepping up pressure to block the Bureau of Land Management from approving a hotly contested wind project in that state.
The Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Jim Risch and Rep. Mike Simpson, argue in a letter sent Wednesday to a separate federal agency that it should stop its review of potential impacts to a nearby historic site and begin steps to halt BLM from issuing final approval of the Lava Ridge Wind Project.
In the letter to Sara Bronin, chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, they say that allowing the Lava Ridge project to be built “would irreparably alter” the Minidoka National Historic Site, which commemorates the incarceration of thousands of Japanese American citizens during World War II.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation advises President Joe Biden and members of Congress on historic compliance with the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. That law requires federal agencies work with the council to evaluate the impacts of projects they oversee on historic resources, such as the national historic site.
