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Posted: Oct 01, 2015 10:05 AMUpdated: Oct 01, 2015 10:05 AM

Federal Judge Rules Against Osage Nation

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Diane Coston

According to a federal judge, the holes dug for wind turbine bases do NOT violate tribal mineral rights. The ruling is a rejection of arguments from both the Osage Nation and the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Osage Nation passed legislation in November 2014, extending the tribe's civil jurisdiction of all activities and people within the tribal territory. It also includes actions by non-Natives on restricted or trust property.

The Osage Nation and the Department of the Interior filed a lawsuit last November, arguing that digging the wind turbine bases removes minerals from the ground, which in their words, makes it a “mining” operation. U.S. District Judge James Payne ruled against that argument because if it were allowed, anyone that dug any kind of hole on their property could be required to get a mining permit. The Osage Nation has long opposed wind farm development because it mars the landscape and could destroy burial sites.


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