INVOICES, Mont. (AP) – A wind power company has been sentenced to probation and fined more than $ 8 million after at least 150 eagles were killed on its wind farms in eight states over the past decade, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

ESI Energy, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Poultry Convention Act during a court hearing in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Tuesday. He is accused of killing eagles at his three wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico.

In addition to the deaths, golden and bald eagles have been killed at wind farms linked to ESI and NextEra since 2012 in eight states, prosecutors said: Wyoming, California, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado , Michigan, Arizona and Illinois. Birds die when they fly on wind turbine blades. Prosecutors say several ESI turbines killed several eagles.

Killing or hurting eagles is against the law under federal law.

The bald eagle – a national symbol of the United States – was removed from conservation under the Endangered Species Act in 2007 after a dramatic recovery from widespread pest control due to pesticides and other problems. Golden eagles have also failed, whose populations are considered stable but under pressure, including from wind farms, car accidents, illegal hunts, and poisoning with lead ammunition.

Businesses have historically been able to avoid prosecution if they take steps to prevent the death of birds and seek permits for what happened to them. ESI has not applied for such authorization, authorities said.

The company was warned prior to the construction of wind farms in New Mexico and Wyoming that they would kill the birds, but still persisted and sometimes ignored advice from federal wildlife officials on how to reduce the amount of dying, according to court documents.

“For more than a decade, ESI has violated (wildlife) laws, depriving eagles of required permits or even requirements,” Todd Kim, assistant attorney general, said in a statement from the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources Department of Justice.

ESI agreed to spend $ 27 million under the plea deal on measures to prevent further deaths of eagles during its five-year probationary period. This includes shutting down turbines at times when eagles are more likely to shut down.

Despite these measures, wildlife officials suggest that some eagles may still die. When that happens, the company will pay $ 29,623 per dead eagle, under the contract.

NextEra president Rebecca Kujava said the collision of birds with the wind turbine was an inevitable accident that should not be made criminal. He said the company is ready to reduce wildlife losses from its projects.

“We do not agree with the government’s law enforcement action,” Kujava said in a statement. “Building any structure, driving any car or flying any aircraft is accompanied by the possibility of accidental collision of eagles and other birds.

Tennessee state lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a separate bureaucratic zone to allow men and women to enter into traditional marriages, allowing them to obtain a regular marriage certificate. which is not allowed for same-sex couples.

The State House committee on Wednesday heard the bill, HB 223, after harsh criticism of the original version, which removed the minimum age for marriage in Tennessee, possibly legalizing child marriage in period when Republicans were national. Scene Continue to spread false narratives about pedophilia.

The account was changed late last month and is at least 18 years old.

State Representative Tom Lesserwood, the Republican who introduced it, has repeatedly defended the original language, though he said the judicial system would prevent marriage between minors.

“My position is that the bill will never allow minors to marry … but I see and I understand how this can be misunderstood,” Leswood said at a hearing Wednesday.

He told HuffPost that the bill “makes no changes to existing marriage law and does not allow minors to marry.”

Instead, Lesserwood said he is creating “another path to marriage” through a “common law” to eliminate “religious contradictions based on the deep religious beliefs that many pastors and individuals have under the law. and testimony on the spot. ”

Tennessee does not currently recognize ordinary marriage law, a term that typically refers to a legally recognized partnership without a marriage license because the couple has been together for several years. The bill also obligates the state to protect the clergy in any district who refuse to issue a marriage license based on their personal beliefs.

Generally, couples apply for a marriage license and fill out a form after the ceremony, which is submitted to the state register. Marriage offers many legal and financial benefits, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples have the right to marry. This historical case, Obergefell v. Hodges demanded that all states recognize same-sex marriage.

Ebi Rubenfeld, the Nashville civil rights lawyer who worked to end the ban on same-sex marriage in Tennessee, told HuffPost that the bill was a “huge attempt to override Oberfefel’s decision.” Rubenfeld filed a lawsuit that filed lawsuits in the Tennessee Supreme Court along with Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.

“First of all, naming a simple marriage does not change the fact that they create a“ separate but supposedly equal ”alternative, which violates Oberfefel’s constitutional requirement that same -sex couples are all receiving the same benefits from marriage, ”Rubenfel said. Written by mail.

“Our legal team is united and I am ready to challenge even this discriminatory law – and it will still cost millions of taxpayers when we win and save our money,” he said.

While Lesserwood’s proposal doesn’t change the fact that gay couples get married in Tennessee – they may still be – it does enforce a separation between straight marriage and gay marriage based on some people’s religious beliefs. . Instead of a license, stressful couples may need a special certificate.

But Wednesday’s hearing showed that lawmakers still have no idea how the new “marriage path” will work in practice. Lesserwood said couples are not required to return a new certificate to the state for registration, prompting another lawmaker to ask if the marriage would be legal.

“It’s very different what they’re trying to do here,” Sarah Warbellow, legal director of the human rights campaign, told HuffPost. “The law itself isn’t very clear on how it works.”

Rubenfeld also rejected the suggestion that the current process had any influence on pastors or other religious leaders.

“If ministers or imams do not want to have a particular wedding, they should not. An easy solution, ”he said.