In May, another conflict about wind power in reindeer husbandry areas will go to court. Law professor calls it “highly objectionable” that licenses are granted before it is known whether they are valid.
Almost two years ago, the Supreme Court concluded that the government violated the Sami’s human rights when they granted a license to develop wind power in the reindeer grazing area at Fosen in Trøndelag.
With the current situation, a license may be granted for development projects which may later be deemed invalid by the courts.
In May, the reindeer grazing district Jillen-Njaarke will face the developer Øyfjellet Wind in the district court. The reindeer herders will argue that the windmills contravene their statutory right to cultural practice.
If they are successful, the basically valid concession to build the wind turbines will be invalidated.
– It is a very reprehensible situation that you have a piece of legislation where you can give a permit that you do not fully know about.
So says law professor Øyvind Ravna at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. He points out that the legislation today allows for so-called preliminary intervention, before a decision has been taken on the legality of the intervention.
Ravna believes that there are many similarities between the Fosen case and the Øyfjellet case.
– I will be careful about making a statement about what will potentially be the outcome of the case, but in my opinion the intervention on Øyfjellet is at least as extensive, perhaps more extensive, than in the Fosen case.
He previously chaired the so-called Reindriftslovutvalget. It proposed to change the legislation on licences, so that situations where permits are granted and then withdrawn are avoided.
– Completely parallel features
Torstein Apppfjell is manager in the reindeer herding district Jillen-Njaark. He says that the district has protested against the wind turbine development on Øyfjellet for several years.
Among other things, the wind power plant makes it difficult to move the reindeer from summer pasture to winter pasture, he says. He believes the conflict is similar to the one in the Fosen case.
– There is clearly a parallel between the cases, says Appfjell.
– It should have been clarified in advance whether the license was valid, and what consequences the construction has for the rainfed industry.
When the license for development on Øyfjellet is to be assessed by the district court in May, the reindeer district will use the Fosen judgment in its argument.
The reindeer herding district’s lawyer Pål Gude Gudesen confirms that they want the reindeer herding district on Øyfjellet to be “returned”. This means that the windmills are taken down.
– If the protection of the minority is not “absolute”, there will never be any reality in the protection – then there will always be greater economic interests that threaten the interests of the minority, says Gudesen.
Not necessarily like the Fosen case
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is assisting the wind power plant in the case.
The ministry believes, like the reindeer herders, that the Fosen judgment will be relevant in the upcoming trial. This is what communications advisor Margrete Løbben Hanssen writes in an e-mail to Aftenposten.
The ministry nevertheless believes that the cases are not necessarily the same. For now, they will not say anything more about how they will argue that the concession from 2016 is valid.
– As the case is to be dealt with by the courts, the ministry believes it is not right to comment further on the case now beyond the fact that the state will participate when the court has to test the validity of the license decision that was given by the Ministry of Oil and Energy in 2016.
– Very different from the discussions around Fosen
– We do not comment on the Fosen judgment in particular. But there are big differences between these cases.
Eolus Vind’s communications manager, Karin Wittsell Heydl, said so NRK.
According to Heydl, there are significant differences between Fosen and Øyfjellet. She points out that the main grazing area of the reindeer grazing district has not been touched.
– It is important to find good solutions for the challenges the reindeer grazing district sees, and we are working on that, but this is very different from the discussions around Fosen.
