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(Des Moines, IA) -- The state of Iowa is filing a lawsuit over stockpiles of old wind turbine blades. The Iowa Attorney General's Office accused Global Fiberglass Solutions of violating solid waste laws. The lawsuit claims the company failed to cut up, transport, and recycle blades, leading to stockpiles in Ellsworth, Newton, and Atlantic. The wind-turbine companies ended up completing clean up the sites, after the Department of Natural Resources issued orders.
GFS was contracted in 2017 and paid millions of dollars by two major wind-turbine companies to dispose of the decommissioned blades.
“GFS failed to do its job, and instead, dumped and abandoned 1,300 decommissioned wind turbine blades in stockpiles across the state,” said Attorney General Bird. “Despite efforts from my office and the DNR, GFS refused cleanup, allowing these blades to pose an environmental risk. We are taking action to hold them accountable.”
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties against GFS and its executives for their years-long failure to dispose of the decommissioned wind turbines.