From our colleague Ryan Steen:

On July 10, 2009, the Animal Welfare Institute and others (”Plaintiffs”) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Beech Ridge wind project in Greenbrier County, West Virginia (the “Project”). The Plaintiffs seek the injunction to prevent unavoidable harms that they allege the Project will cause to the Indiana bat, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The Plaintiffs’ injunction request follows closely on the heels of the complaint the Plaintiffs filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland (Civ. No. 09-1519), which alleges that the Project will unlawfully “take” Indiana bats in violation of Section 9 of the ESA. In their complaint and request for an injunction, the Plaintiffs assert that the Project cannot lawfully move forward without an incidental take permit (“ITP”) issued under Section 10 of the ESA. Judge Titus recently ordered that the hearing on the Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction will be addressed in conjunction with the trial on the merits of the case, currently scheduled for October 2009.Continue Reading Animal Rights Group Seeks Injunction to Halt Wind Project on ESA Grounds