Oneida Tribal Corporation Suing Green Bay Over Failed Power Plant

Wisconsin’s Oneida Tribe of Indians is suing the city of Green Bay over a failed energy project.

The tribal corporation, Oneida Seven Generations Corp., received go-ahead from the city in 2010 to build an energy plant, but, after construction began, the city rescinded the conditional use permit under pressure from citizens opposed to the plant.

The $21 million lawsuit was filed in federal court Friday. The tribal corporation is trying to recover damages and asserts it has lost $5 million in start-up costs and another $16 million in lost future profits. The suit also includes legal expenses.

The plant was to be built in Green Bay and would have burned municipal solid waste to turn into gas.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the city council’s action to renege on the conditional use permit was improper.

No one from the Oneida tribe was available for comment, and a spokesperson for Green Bay’s mayor said the city has yet to be served with a complaint and has no formal comment.