State Rep. Bill Allemand, R- Casper, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that neither he nor his family own any land that has been leased to wind energy developers.
That was a response to Bar Nunn Public Works Director Dustin Smart, who claimed Allemand is hypocritically leasing land to wind developers while at the same time showing staunch opposition to public subsidies for nuclear storage projects.
Smart claimed via Facebook that Allemand has an incentive behind his anti-nuclear platform, according to a series of screenshots Allemand released in a Sunday press release addressing the allegation.
“Allemands have never owned any acres in Converse or Albany counties,” he said. “I wish I had land that had a nice turbine on it because I’d be making $2 million to $3 million per year.”
The legislator's stance on nuclear subsidies has earned him the nickname “Mr. No-Nuclear” and he's frequently opposed a proposed development by Radiant Nuclear to build nuclear microreactors, and their spent nuclear fuel, to Bar Nunn.
Allemand was recently tossed out of a Bar Nunn City Council meeting by Mayor Peter Boyer for speaking out.
He told Cowboy State Daily earlier this month his anti-nuclear crusade has begun to tarnish his relationships within the political world, but he “will not back down.”
Accusations
Smart took to the “Wyoming Nuclear Industry — Future, Pros & Cons, and Undecided” Facebook page to level his accusations against Allemand.
He said his post was a response to Allemand’s challenge for residents to “fact check” him on his stance toward nuclear waste.
Repeated attempts to contact Smart for this story were unsuccessful.
“Bill, please fact check this,” Smart wrote in the post. “While you sanctimoniously fight nuclear energy and Radiant specifically, and you cry about ‘no tax money to subsidize for private business!’ you are being paid massive amounts of federal taxpayer subsidy money for leasing your family ranch land to Next Gen wind turbine owners who sell the electricity to California."
Smart pointed to what he alleged are public records showing a supposed Allemand family ranch in Carbon County south of Medicine Bow. That land, he claimed, is used as part of the TB Flats Wind Project and contains 92 wind turbines.
“Bill, your wind turbines have caused Rocky Mountain power to increase our rates nearly 85% cumulative over 10 years,” Smart wrote. “But you don’t care do you? Because you are getting rich off of our backs and you will ‘die on this hill?’”
Smart later issued an apology under Allemand’s Facebook press release for the “lack of clarity” of his post and “the offensiveness” of his statement.
He said his claims were the result of a “deep search” on the internet using artificial intelligence.
Rebuttal
Allemand adamantly denied Smart’s allegations, calling them “100% fiction” and the misguided product of artificial intelligence.
The representative disclosed to Cowboy State Daily he receives about $700 per year in oil revenue through a general trust set up by his grandparents, but does not receive any other money from energy.
While Allemand said he owns no land anywhere in the United States, he said his sister is the owner of Teapot Ranch in Natrona County. That location is also known as “Allemand Ranch” and is situated near an oil field, he said.
While he stopped short of calling the allegations “stupid," a word he said he never uses to describe constituents, Allemand said Smart’s comments appeared to him as “truly silly.”
Allemand added he believes Smart is “not a bad man.”
The representative in his Sunday statement labeled the accusations as “misinformation” and called for respectful public debate on critical issues such as state energy developments.
“We may disagree on issues such as nuclear or wind energy, but disagreement should not destroy friendships, families, or communities,” he wrote. “We should be able to come together — share our concerns, research, and questions — and treat each other with respect.
“I am committed to representing all of House District 58 with fairness, transparency, and civility. I urge everyone, regardless of their stance on these issues, to stick to the facts and keep the conversation respectful.”
Records
Online property records reviewed by Cowboy State Daily in the counties Smart referenced do not appear to show any land associated with Allemand.
Information filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office show an “Allemand Ranch” was registered as a livestock ranching entity in 1979. That entity is now inactive.
The search terms “Bill Allemand” and “Allemand" did not return any results in the county assessor databases for Albany and Carbon counties.
The Converse County assessor’s database returns results for an Allemand Family Trust controlled by a Raymond Allemand.
Bill Allemand told Cowboy State Daily he has no association with that trust, and that Raymond is a cousin of his father.
Each of those databases only included current information and does not contain historical records.
Cowboy State Daily asked several artificial intelligence engines about Allemand’s land records, none of which appeared to return conclusive results the way Smart claimed.
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
