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February 9, 2004

Benton County nixes wind farm

PROSSER (AP) -- Benton County officials have rejected a proposal to build a 549-turbine wind farm on the Yakima-Benton county line near the Hanford nuclear reservation.

The five members of the county Board of Adjustment unanimously rejected permits for the Maiden Wind Farm last week, citing concerns about the potential impact on elk and two scientific laboratories in the area.

In October, the board requested additional studies into how the wind farm might affect elk on Rattlesnake Mountain, and the effects of vibrations on the Battelle Gravitational Physics Laboratory and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO.

LIGO is one of three sites on the planet used to probe deep space for signs of gravity.

Washington Winds officials argued the supplemental studies, in addition to studies that had already been completed, were unnecessary and refused to do them.




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