CHA Files Petition with FAA

The Coastal Habitat Alliance has filed a Petition with the Federal Aviation Administration to undertake a Programmatic Environmental Impact statement to study the impact of the agency's actions on birds. The petition requests the FAA find that preconstruction authorization of thousands of wind turbines obligates the agency to comply with federal environmental impact and endangered species regulations. To date, the FAA has refused to apply environmental impact and endangered species regulations to this review.  CHA alleges that the FAA is violating federal environmental requirements. More. ..

UPDATE

Mapping Wind Industrial Sites on the Texas Coast

Wind developers are having their way with the Texas coast forming a gauntlet of blades through which resident and migratory birds will have to fly. The CHA has mapped these coastal wind industrial sites. In addition to sites listed on the map, a 30-turbine location is being considered for acreage owned by the Gulf Coast Water Authority. This acreage is across State Highway 146 from the Texas City Prairie Reserve, which provides habitat for the endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chicken and excellent wetlands for resident and migratory waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds.

E.ON Climate and Renewables recently reached a compromise with the FAA over turbine locations at their Papalote Creek wind farm. E.ON plans to have the wind industrial site operational in the fall of 2009. The Coastal Habitat Alliance has requested E.ON discontinue working on Papalote Creek until a plan is in place to protect migrant and resident birds. The Papalote Creek site is within North America’s most important migratory bird pathway, the Central Flyway. It’s also in close proximity to the renowned Hazel-Bazemore Hawkwatch site. Each fall millions of raptors pass through Hazel Bazemore during their south bound migration. Even in the spring, thousands of raptors migrate north through the site. As of early April 2009 over 45,000 raptors have been reported.

CHA objects to court ruling by filing their Motion for Reconsideration (10-14-08)

Federal Court Ruling, September 30, 2008: Read Judge Lee Yeakel's ruling, Order granting MSJ (9-30-08)
Statement by Jim Blackburn, August 29, 2008 
On August 4, 2008, Federal Judge Lee Yeakel issued an oral ruling dismissing our litigation against Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, the Commissioners of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the two private companies – Iberdrola (formerly PPM) and Texas Gulf Wind owned by Babcock and Brown. More. ..

News

FAA Petition

Group Files Complaint Over Texas Coastal Management Program

CHA Files Complaint with NOAA

Audubon Texas opposes wind farms

Coastal Habitat Alliance Opposes Border Fence

The Border Wall

The Coastal Habitat Alliance sent a letter to elected officials urging them to enact an immediate moratorium on border wall construction. A moratorium will allow time to access the value of border walls in the overall national security strategy, and ensure the social, economic and environmental health of our border region is not needlessly sacrificed. Read the letter.

Migration blog

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