Attorneys for Preserve the Sandhills and Charlene Reiser McCormick filed a second lawsuit against Cherry County and other entities on November 29th in Cherry County District Court. Also named in the lawsuit are the Cherry County Board of Commissioners, BSH Kilgore, Cherry County Wind and Bluestem Sandhills.
This lawsuit asks the court to vacate and reverse the October 29th issuance of a Conditional Use Permit by the Board of Commissioners to BSH Kilgore to erect a wind farm in the Sandhills.
The court documents allege the application itself had numerous defects and the planning and zoning board relied on false advice and did not perform any meaningful review or investigation. It also alleges that Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott attempted and assisted in impeding and interfering in the legal process. The suit also alleges that the application was approved because it greatly benefits the families of two of the commissioners that advocated for and voted in favor. County authorities studied the application after it was submitted on June 4th, 2018 until it was approved on October 29th, 2019, a period of approximately 480 days.
The first lawsuit against the county, which is still in the hands of district judge Mark Kozicek, accuses two commissioners of conflict of interest violations. The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission had cleared both Commissioners of any conflict after a thorough review. Previously the judge also ruled that no conflict existed and his ruling is still under appeal by Preserve the Sandhills.