Richard Porter Comments on Ruling Against Northwest Illinois Wind Farm Developers

Richard S. Porter was quoted in the article "Judge Rules Against Bureau County Wind Farm Developers," published on the news wesbite saukvalley.com on May 13, 2015. The article discusses Hamrick, et al., v. U.S. General Services Administration, et al., No. 1:15-cv-01023 (C.D. Ill.), in which plaintiff landowners — who are represented in the case by Mr. Porter and fellow Hinshaw partner Michael F. Iasparro — are contesting the locating of a proposed wind farm (incorporated as MG2 Tribal Energy LLC) in northwest Illinois. Specifically, the article discussed a U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois ruling that a contract between the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and MG2 Tribal Energy LLC (the name of the subject incorporated northwest Illinois wind farm project), in which the GSA would purchase much of the power generated by the wind farm, was not exempted from a federal review of environmental impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Says Mr. Porter in the article, “MG2 still exists, and Walnut Ridge LLC [one of the wind farm project developers] is one of the defendants[.] This [ruling] is enforceable against all of the parties sued.” He added, "[i]t could take a very long time to do environmental impact work, because they have to do it for the environment and the people involved[.]"