Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project: Environmental Training and Compliance Monitoring

For over a decade, SWCA has been working closely with Power Company of Wyoming, LLC (PCW) to design strategies that minimize environmental impacts of a 3,000-megawatt (MW) wind farm. These strategies include sensitive wildlife species and habitat assessments, mitigation planning for birds and bats, wetland permitting compliance, reclamation planning, and archaeological and paleontological surveys. SWCA facilitates permitting at the local, state, and federal levels for the construction and operation phases of the project. This large wind development includes hundreds of miles of roads, turbine infrastructure, transmission lines, a quarry, water extraction facilities, and a railroad loading facility.

Since 2016, as PCW entered the construction phase, SWCA has been designing and implementing the environmental training and compliance program for on-site personnel, contractors, and visitors. SWCA also developed a robust, customized environmental compliance management system through a web-enabled, near real-time Project Portal, with daily and summary reports that allow for multi-party access in managing variance requests and approvals simultaneously across multiple contractors and construction spreads. With SWCA’s large, qualified team of archaeologists, biologists, and environmental inspectors from around the region, we anticipate and respond to the needs of the evolving construction project and document and communicate progress effectively to the client, agency staff, and contractors. The ongoing work includes continuous support for Environmental Compliance, Natural Resources, and Training, with construction expected to continue beyond 2030.