Nov 8 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Erin Sherbert The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Two environmental groups have sued Alameda County, saying the county has failed to fully protect the thousands of birds killed each year by the Altamont Pass windmills.

The Golden Gate Audubon Society and Californians for Renewable Energy filed the lawsuit last week. The lawsuit claims the county violated state law by not ordering an in-depth environmental report before renewing 29 permits for windmills in the hills that straddle San Joaquin and Alameda counties.

An environmental report likely would show that the wind-energy companies can do more to limit the number of birds killed each year by the fast-turning turbine blades, environmentalists said.

"They decided to forgo doing the report, and that's totally illegal," said John Gabrielli, an attorney representing Californians for Renewable Energy.

Alameda County attorneys did not return phone calls seeking comment Monday. However, a county planner said environmental reports weren't necessary, because the wind companies were just renewing permits, not expanding their operations.

A settlement hearing is expected in the next month. Meanwhile, the Center for Biological Diversity is pushing forward with a lawsuit filed last year against the wind-energy companies. That group claims the wind-energy industry violated federal and state laws by killing thousands of protected raptors.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors renewed the 29 windmill permits in September but added stricter conditions to curb the number of protected and endangered birds killed every year.

Some of those conditions included shutting down half the wind turbines for two months beginning each November. Also, wind-energy companies are required to remove or relocate some of the most-dangerous turbines.

The county decided to wait three years before doing an environmental-impact report to see whether those steps were effective, said Andy Young, a planner for Alameda County.

Environmental groups wanted the county to deny those permits unless the wind-energy companies would commit to reducing bird fatalities immediately by 50 percent. They had other requests: that windmills shut down completely during winter; that 300 of the most-dangerous turbines be removed; and that the wind farms pay $6.5 million to boost bird numbers through better breeding habitat.

A 2004 study released by the California Energy Commission showed that Altamont wind turbines kill about 4,700 birds each year, including golden eagles and red-tail hawks, both of which are federally protected.

"Given the birds have been killed in such large numbers for two decades, we think there is enough data there to require significant reduction in the bird fatally now," said Elizabeth Murdock, executive director for the Golden Gate Audubon Society.