In late October, Gov. Jay Inslee, D, approved a proposal for the Horse Heaven Hills project, a massive clean energy development in central Washington. Now, the Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation are appealing the decision in court, alleging that the decision-making process sidestepped state law and failed to mitigate potential damage to the tribe’s treaty-protected natural and cultural resources.
The project, first submitted in 2021 by Boulder-based developer Scout Clean Energy, proposed leasing 72,500 acres of land just south of Washington’s Tri-Cities. It included three solar arrays and more than 200 wind turbines and would ultimately be able to generate roughly 1,150 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 1 million homes. But the project’s footprint extends over Yakama ceremonial sites and landscape features that are central to the tribes’ oral histories. Development would also impact the natural habitat of pronghorn and ferruginous hawks, a threatened species featured prominently in Yakama Nation ceremonies.
In April 2024, after testimony and public comment from tribes, scientists, environmental groups and local organizations, Washington’s energy-permitting body, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC), found that the developer’s proposal failed to adequately mitigate the project’s potential impacts on native species and on the Yakama Nation’s natural and cultural resources. It recommended creating two-mile buffer zones around known ferruginous hawk nests, cutting in half the number of windmills that the developer, Scout Clean Energy, would be permitted to build. The developer opposed the decision, arguing that EFSEC’s amendments reduced the project’s energy capacity to 736 megawatts and compromised the project’s viability. Meanwhile, the Yakama Nation maintained that even the new recommendations were not enough to prevent irreversible damage to cultural and natural resources.
In May, Gov. Inslee rejected EFSEC’s proposal and sent the council back to the drawing board. “Washington state faces the stark reality that without a rapid buildout of new clean energy … the dependability of our electric grid is at risk,” Inslee wrote in a letter to EFSEC. The governor told the council to “focus mitigation on specific and narrowly tailored approaches” to address tribal concerns while ensuring that its suggestions “do not reduce the generation capacity of the project.”
In September, EFSEC submitted new recommendations that left the development’s originally proposed size and energy generation capacity relatively unchanged. The council suggested keeping the buffer zones for the ferruginous hawk but reduced them to 0.6 miles, with opportunities to increase the buffer to two miles on a case-by-case basis, subject EFSEC’s approval. Inslee approved the proposal in October.
On Dec. 2, the Yakama Nation petitioned the court to review the decision, asserting that EFSEC and Inslee did not engage in proper procedure during the approval process and that they violated a law that requires the state to balance the growing demand for energy with environmental impacts and environmental justice concerns. In public court documents, they say that Inslee’s rejection of the initial proposal was “arbitrary and capricious” as well as inconsistent with the information and feedback that the agency had gathered prior to the decision. In the appeal, the Yakama Nation asked Washington’s Superior Court to nullify Inslee’s decision and kickstart a fact-finding process about Inslee and EFSEC’s decision-making process outside of the agency record before directing the lawsuit to the state Supreme Court. EFSEC and Gov. Inslee’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S., a group of homeowners, and Benton County also filed lawsuits. The lawsuits are separate but similar, and they cite different concerns: Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S. sued mainly to protect homeowners’ viewshed and property values, while Benton County contends that the project would significantly disrupt the area’s agricultural industry. Washington law requires that these lawsuits be consolidated since they appeal the same EFSEC decision.
It’s unclear how long the judicial process will take, though it may delay the project’s timeline. During the approval process, Scout Clean Energy stated that it intends to sell the development to a contractor once it’s permitted. However, a final permitting decision will not be made until the appeals are settled.
In an August letter to EFSEC, Yakama Nation Tribal Chairman Gerald Lewis wrote that the revised proposal “allows the developer’s business interests and Governor Inslee’s unsupported demands to override (EFSEC’s) entire administrative record for the Project,” adding that it could have “devastating impacts to non-renewable natural and cultural resources; this sacred landscape will be forever changed.” High Country News reached out to the Yakama Nation for further comment but did not receive a response before press time.
The Horse Heaven Hills is one of several clean energy projects that are accused of putting culturally important tribal resources at risk.
The Horse Heaven Hills is one of several clean energy projects that are accused of putting culturally important tribal resources at risk. Dozens of wind and solar developments are currently proposed across Yakama ceded and reservation lands, according to HCN’s investigations.
The problem lies with how permitting is currently done: Tribal and public consultation do not happen until well after a project proposal is submitted. “At the end of the day, the Horse Heaven project really shines a light on how our current approach is not working,” said Trina Bayard, director of bird conservation for Audubon Washington. Audubon, tribes and other stakeholders are currently in talks with developers and state officials, pushing for a new approach that requires consultation with tribes and local governments before projects are approved. Instead of having developers submit plans, tribal nations and local governments would establish “build-ready” sites — sites that are pre-vetted for clean energy buildout. “This would flip the current model from a developer-led process to one where the state is collaborating with tribes and local governments,” Bayard said.
In a Yakama Nation press release earlier this month, Chairman Lewis acknowledged that renewable energy is an important tool in solving the energy crisis but pointed out that it cannot come at the expense of tribal resources. “Tribes and the State of Washington can work together to define a new energy future for the State of Washington, but that collaborative journey must start with EFSEC and the Governor opening their eyes and hearts to more than just the energy developers’ interests in this State,” he wrote.
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