Lawsuit alleges ERCOT violated its fiduciary duty to Ward-Walker Seven Oaks Ranch and Cole Ranch
DEL RIO, TEXAS – May 4, 2023 – Texas attorney Dallas J. Barrington has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ward-Walker Seven Oaks Ranch and Cole Ranch against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), GH America Investments Group (GHA), GH America Energy, and Greenalia Wind Power Blue Hills, for violating the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (SB 2116), which became law in 2021.
ERCOT previously granted GH America, a subsidiary of China-based Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Co., the ability to develop a 46-wind turbine project until the Texas legislature passed SB 2116 in April 2021. The act prohibits entities from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea access to Texas’ critical infrastructure. However, ERCOT allowed the project to proceed. GHA, controlled by Xinjiang oligarch Sun Guangxin, acquired over 130,000 acres in the county with plans for wind and solar developments.
“As ERCOT refuses to follow the law and protect local power systems for our ranchers in Val Verde County, against Chinese developers, we have no choice but to turn to the District Court of Val Verde County, and respectfully request that ERCOT and other Defendants be made to abide by the laws of Texas,” said Dallas J. Barrington, Attorney for Cole Ranch Holdings, LLC, & Ward-Walker Seven Oaks Ranch, LLC.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of groundswell local opposition to ERCOT’s decision to allow the project to proceed. The Devils River Conservancy (DRC), which played a pivotal role in the passage of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection bill through their advocacy campaign, Don’t Blow It Texas, has partnered with the Lower Pecos Landowner Group (LPLG), The Nature Conservancy, and other local landowners, to express their opposition to the proposed wind farm development.
Supporters of the lawsuit emphasize that the proposed 46 turbines, at 700 feet in height, would not only impact local private properties and pose a national security risk due to concerns around foreign-owned companies' connection to Texas’ power grid, but also negatively impact ecotourism from multiple state and federal parks and natural areas, impair archeological findings including historic cave paintings, and cause untold damage to bat roosts and migratory pathways of birds and Monarch butterflies.
“Conservation and protecting private property are extremely important to landowners in the Devils and Pecos River Canyons,” said Alice Ball Strunk, President of The Devils River Conservancy. “Val Verde County has already faced significant national security threats relating to border security. ERCOT violating its fiduciary duty creates an additional economic and ecological burden for private property owners, including local ranchers.”
“As we act as stewards to nurture and preserve this cherished land, this violation of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act is deeply concerning and a threat to the ecological integrity of the region,” said James King, LPLG Member. “These preserved public and private lands create an intact, undisturbed landscape rich with ecological and cultural resources and we will continue to fight to protect them.”
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ABOUT DALLAS J. BARRINGTON
Dallas J. Barrington is an attorney in Kountze, Texas, and is a law partner with Jacob Z. Wheeler of Kountze, Texas. Licensed in 2005 by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Mr. Barrington has spent nearly two decades inside and outside courthouses standing up for the legal rights of rural Texans across Texas in local, state, and federal matters. In addition to practicing law in Kountze, Mr. Barrington serves on the Board of Directors for the Ward-Walker Seven Oaks Ranch, previously served as legal counsel to former Texas House of Representative James White, and also served as Mr. White's finance chair in Representative's 2022 bid for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.
ABOUT THE DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY
The Devils River Conservancy, a 501 (c)3 organization committed to treasuring, preserving, and protecting the Devils River, its springs, and the lands within its water catchment area. The Devils River is a place many consider to be the last pristine river in Texas. Through education, research and advocacy, the DRC is on a mission to ensure the river's clean, clear waters and springs will continue to flow according to their historical and natural regimes. To learn more about the Devils River Conservancy, visit www.devilsriverconservancy.org
ABOUT THE LOWER PECOS LANDOWNER GROUP
Lower Pecos Landowners Group (“LPLG”) are riverside landowners who are committed to protecting, managing, and restoring the Lower Pecos River and its associated tributaries and uplands. Partnering with a variety of organizations, agencies, landowners, and stakeholders, the Lower Pecos Landowners Group will be a catalyst for developing resources and best practices for landowners through communication and action and stands ready to react to threats to this wild and natural Texas river.