Energy company ESI to pay $35M over windmill eagle deaths

April 6 (UPI) -- Energy company ESI Energy Inc. must pay $35 million because its windmills killed or injured at least 150 bald and golden eagles over the last decade, a federal court in Wyoming ruled.

On Tuesday, ESI was sentenced after pleading guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The company's plea was linked to the documented deaths of three golden eagles by blunt force trauma from being struck by a wind turbine blade.

ESI failed to apply for the necessary permits at its facilities in Wyoming and New Mexico, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

"For more than a decade, ESI has violated those laws, taking eagles without obtaining or even seeking the necessary permit," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "We are pleased to see ESI now commit to seeking such permits and ultimately ceasing such violations."

The settlement includes $27 million for implementation of measures aimed at minimizing future bird injuries, $6.2 million in restitution and a $1.9 million fine.

Bald and golden eagles fall under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits individuals and organizations from harming or trapping migratory birds without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"This agreement holds ESI and its affiliates accountable for years of unwillingness to work cooperatively with the service and their blatant disregard of wildlife laws, and finally marks a path forward for the benefit of eagles and other wildlife resources entrusted to the Service's stewardship," said Edward Grace, assistant director of the FWS' Office of Law Enforcement.

ESI is a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, which in turn is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. The company owns wind power generation facilities in Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and North Dakota, among other states.

NextEra Energy Resources issued a response to the sentence on Tuesday, classifying the resolution as a voluntary agreement with the Justice Department.

"We disagree with the government's underlying enforcement policy, which under most circumstances makes building and operating a wind farm into which certain birds may accidentally fly a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) -- even when the wind farm was developed and sited in a way that sought to avoid avian wildlife collisions," the company statement said.

"The reality is building any structure, driving any vehicle, or flying any airplane carries with it a possibility that accidental eagle and other bird collisions may occur as a result of that activity."

The company's guilty plea, the statement continued, was "the most expedient solution" to resolve the dispute.