Risch bill to delay Lava Ridge passes Energy Committee with bipartisan support 

Today, four bills authored by U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) to support Idaho communities passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources by voice vote.

Idaho is at the center of all four bills, which would delay the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, enhance cyber security, expand access to existing aging infrastructure funds, and correct existing law to enable aquifer recharge.

“I appreciate Chairman Joe Manchin, Ranking Member Barrasso, and my colleagues for passing these important bills benefiting the State of Idaho,”said Risch. “Lava Ridge has near-unanimous opposition in Idaho and among the broader Japanese American Community. My bill will stop Lava Ridge from moving forward until a full assessment of its impacts on the Minidoka National Historic Site and other natural and cultural resources can be conducted. While I will continue to fight for a full, point-blank cancellation of Lava Ridge, this is an important step forward.”

S. 4936 was introduced by Senator Risch. This bill would prevent the Secretary of the Interior from authorizing the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project until a GAO study is conducted to analyze the project’s impact on the Minidoka National Historic Site, a concentration camp where Alaska Natives and Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. S. 4936 has been endorsed by a number of groups and individuals representing survivors, descendants, and allies of Minidoka.

Risch & Crapo letter to BLM Director: Do not move forward with Lava Ridge

November 21, 2024

U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) today sent a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone Manning demanding the agency reject the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project following the passage of their bill to delay the project out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“The message is clear. Do not approve such a controversial and unwanted project in the final days of this administration. Publishing a favorable Record of Decision at this point would be irresponsible and reprehensible,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to seriously consider the rejection of this project by Idahoans, the Japanese American community, and now the committee of jurisdiction in the United States Senate. Do not move forward with Lava Ridge.”

Risch and Crapo’s bill would specifically prohibit any authorization of the Lava Ridge Wind Energy project until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducts a comprehensive review of its adverse effects on the Minidoka National Historic Site.

Senator Risch led the Idaho delegation in introducing legislation and other measures to block the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, which would build hundreds of wind turbines on nearly 100,000 acres of public land in Southern Idaho. The proposed Lava Ridge project would visually compromise the Minidoka National Historic Site, a relocation site where more than 13,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War Two. The project has received repeated, formal, and passionate opposition from the Idaho State Legislature, Idaho’s Constitutional Officers, impacted county and city officials, and many in the Japanese American Community.

Read the letter here.