EL DORADO ? Several landowners have sued the Butler County Commission to block the development of a wind farm.

Utility lines transmitting power generated by the proposed Elk River Windfarm would run across the plaintiff’s land. And the landowners claim in the suit filed last week that the commission shouldn’t have granted the wind farm a utility right of way because the county doesn’t own the land on which county roads are built.

Also at issue is what would happen should the wind farm stop operating. The suit alleges that a $3 million bond proposed to cover the costs of dismantling the wind farm is too small and should be guaranteed by the wind farm’s owners.

County Administrator Will Johnson declined to discuss the lawsuit, which has been referred to the county’s legal counsel.

The proposed wind farm, on 8,000 acres three miles south of Beaumont and about 45 miles east of Wichita, would be the state’s largest producer of wind energy. The $190 million project would bring 100 wind turbines — each nearly 400 feet tall. Construction is expected to begin in March.

The wind farm is expected to produce 150 megawatts of power — enough to power 42,000 homes annually.

Empire District Electric Co. of Joplin, Mo., has an agreement to purchase the power.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that claimed the wind farm would destroy native tallgrass prairie.