Community Action

TCC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in June, 2022 and is funded by donations only, almost entirely from individual citizens.

We are working with our Attorney Rick Aramburu and coordinating closely with Benton County, the Yakama Nation, and the cities of Richland, West Richland, Benton City and Kennewick.

We provided detailed comments to the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statemements. We were approved as an Intervenor and then participated in the formal adjudication - a detailed and tiring ordeal. EFSEC has denied requests for live hearings in Tri-Cities and the adjudication was virtual.

We are fighting to protect wildlife habitat, migration corridors and endangered species. Washington Fish & Wildlife experts written in defense of on-going conservation efforts and have stated that there is no way to mitigate for the environmental impacts of the Horse Heaven Hills wind project. The company has not committed to relocation of wind turbines and other project components to mitigate the known significant impacts of the project.

We have filed a Petition for Judicial Review with Thurston County Superior Court to take numerous issues to the Washington Supreme Court. We are calling on the State’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) to comply with the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) which expressly requires:

“The balancing of the state’s need for energy at a reasonable cost and the need to minimize environmental impacts need not be a strict cost accounting. However, inherent in this balancing process is the expectation that an applicant can demonstrate a commitment to provide energy at a reasonable cost that will either directly or indirectly benefit consumers.”

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) statutes also require that every effort to be made including relocation to mitigate for conflicts with conservation.

The Governor Remand Order and EFSEC’s revised recommendation do not comply with the requirements in the WAC and RCW to mitigate the impacts of the project.

Please help us. Our lawsuit is the only remaining way to defend the Tri-Cities and the Horse Heaven Hills from the impacts of the project.

Our goal is to make sure that the revoke the Governor’s approval of the revised EFSEC Recommendation to the and the final SCA and require EFSEC to apply proper mitigation requirements.

Donations are needed for to continue this legal battle.

This project has significant potential to cause significant negative impacts on numerous residential areas, agriculture, numerous types of businesses, industries and organizations, and of course, the environment.

Please help us with this important effort today. You can mail a check or click to donate.