Environmental Assessment

Postconstruction Study:

To view the Annual Report for the Maple Ridge Wind Farm -
Post Construction Bird and Bat Fatality Study - 2006,
please click here.


Preconstruction Studies:

Environmental Design & Research, P.C., of Syracuse, New York, under contract to FRWP, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Maple Ridge Wind Farm. The FEIS incorporates public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which was circulated for public review from December 3, 2003, to January 15, 2004. Written comments were received during the pubic comment period in addition to verbal comments conveyed at a public hearing held on January 5, 2004, in the Town of Martinsburg, New York.

The DEIS and the FEIS examine the project purpose, need, and benefits and the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the project, providing proposed measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential impacts. Environmental studies undertaken for the document examine land use, vegetative communities, wildlife, hydrology (including floodplains and wetlands), geology, and visual and cultural (historical and archaeological) resources within a study area encompassing the proposed facilities. These studies examine all generating facility components, including proposed turbine locations, electrical interconnects, access roads, and substation facilities.

The studies conducted for the proposed facility conclude that both beneficial and adverse impacts will result from either the construction or operation of the proposed generating project. These impacts will be both temporary and permanent in certain cases. The Town of Martinsburg, acting as Lead Agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, has determined that the project may have a significant impact on the environment and has issued a Positive Declaration.