Wyoming Agency Accuses Opponent of Wind Project of Document Fraud
In a recent development, the Wyoming Industrial Siting Division has alleged that documents submitted by a resident and reporter in southeastern Wyoming, opposing a large wind and solar project in the Chugwater area, are fraudulent. The project, known as the Chugwater Energy Project, is a joint venture by NextEra Energy Resources, aiming to construct a 300-megawatt wind energy facility, a 150-megawatt solar plant, and a 150-megawatt battery storage system (BESS) in Platte County, east of Chugwater and Interstate 25.
The controversy began during a Monday hearing of the Industrial Siting Council, where the council was to decide on the build permit for the project. The council approved the permit despite concerns from locals about potential health risks from living near turbines, the possibility of eagle fatalities, the solar project's impact on wildlife corridors, and the risk of BESS rupture and groundwater pollution. The council imposed conditions, including groundwater quality monitoring and increased distance between wind towers and a nearby resident's home.
The Alleged Fraud
The Wyoming Attorney General's Office paralegal, Carrie Mays, and Supervising Attorney General Greg Weisz presented evidence that the documents, including a 10-page letter with a Colorado doctor's digital signature and two documents bearing official insignia from Laramie County School District No. 1, were not prepared by their purported authors. Dr. Aaron Meng and school district employees explicitly stated that the documents were fraudulently submitted and should be disregarded.
The Doctor's Denial
Dr. Meng, whose signature appeared on the letter, denied ever providing the letter to anyone. The letter was dated October 31 and had UC Health letterhead. Mays contacted Meng to authenticate the letter, but he stated he could not have written it since he hadn't worked for UC Health for two years and was working for Kaiser Permanente in Colorado instead.
The School District's Response
Similarly, the school district's attorney, Amy Pauli, disavowed the documents submitted by Hamilton, which bore the school district's letterhead and digital signatures. Pauli and Adams, the educator whose signature appeared on the documents, confirmed that they did not author or approve them. The documents were redacted to remove sensitive information, including the name of Hamilton's child, referenced in the letter.
Correcting the Record
The council was asked to correct an order signed by hearing examiner John Knepper, which stated that the council did not rely on the documents. Weisz argued that the council did indeed rely on the documents, as Ms. Hamilton discussed the graphs from Dr. Meng's letter in detail. The council voted to correct the order, acknowledging their reliance on the documents.
Hamilton's Counterargument
Marie Hamilton, who submitted the documents, expressed her difficulty in providing an email contradicting the division's testimony without undermining a due process complaint she submitted to the state. She accused the Industrial Siting Division of violating federal law by sharing her child's school and the name of an educator on his special education team in a public meeting, citing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) definition of personally identifiable information.
The division, however, was unable to respond to her claims due to staff being in Chugwater throughout the day. Hamilton concluded that the documents were immaterial, as they were never officially submitted, and the division and energy company objected to their admission. She emphasized her concerns about the process, accuracy, and protection of confidential information, particularly regarding her minor child's information.
