Michael Iasparro Comments on Ruling That GSA Power Purchase Contract Is Subject to NEPA Review

May 8, 2015

Michael F. Iasparro was quoted in the Law360 article "Tribe-Backed Wind Farm Hits Snag Over GSA Enviro Review," published on May 8, 2015 on Law360. The article discusses 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.

Mr. Iasparro and fellow Hinshaw partner Richard S. Porter represent plaintiff landowners in the case, Hamrick, et al., v. U.S. General Services Administration, et al., No. 1:15-cv-01023 (C.D. Ill.). As noted in the article, Mr. Iasparro stated "that it was unclear at this point how the narrow ruling would play out, stressing that the judge’s brief order only declared the GSA’s exclusion determination was wrong. 'That, to us, means [the GSA has] to go the next step and complete at least an environmental assessment, if not an environmental impact statement[.]'"

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