Nothing damages the public’s trust in government more than the possibility that elected and appointed officials are benefiting personally from government action.
That’s why New York state must aggressively pursue investigations across upstate New York into potentially improper dealings between wind-power companies and local officials. That’s why town leaders in Stueben County and elsewhere must avoid financial connections with such companies. And that’s why state agencies must step in and develop some guidelines for reviewing and approving such projects.
As the nation seeks alternative energy sources, wind power projects are flourishing. They help the nation reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
At the local level, however, the scope of such projects can be daunting. Rural towns are being asked to decide the fate of multi-million-dollar projects, a process that can include extensive environmental impact reviews.
Those environmental impacts can be significant: The massive Maple Ridge wind farm on the Tug Hill Plateau in Lewis County has pitted neighbor against neighbor, relative against relative, because of the size of the towers and the hum of the turbines.
That’s why the last element that should enter into the equation is potential financial benefit for local officials. Yet that’s precisely what may have happened in multiple upstate New York rural counties. The Franklin County district attorney received so many complaints about potentially unseemly financial perks for individual officials that he ultimately turned the whole matter over to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Among the allegations are those the anti-wind farm group, Cohocton Wind Watch, lodged against Prattsburgh Supervisor Harold McConnell, who voted for an eminent domain resolution put before the Prattsburgh Town Board in April. If carried out, the resolution would allow the town to seize privately owned property in order to bury transmission cables.
McConnell publicly admitted at the April 21 board meeting he set up an unpaid real estate transaction for UPC/First Wind last year. McConnell told the board he later received payment for the transaction after the town signed an agreement with UPC, adding he had been told by counsel the action would not prevent him from casting the deciding vote for eminent domain.
In the Herkimer County town of Stark, one Town Board member and three Zoning Board of Appeals members have signed lease agreements with a wind-power company. Such lease deals typically bring a landowner a few thousand dollars per year.
Public servants fail the people when they make deals with companies or individuals seeking approval for private projects. Such dealings create conflicts of interest for those directly involved, and the appearance of a conflict of interest for the entire town government.
The state must investigate all such conflicts to see if wrongdoing occurred. Local officials must act in a manner beyond reproach by turning down all entreaties from private wind-turbine developers dangling lucrative lease deals in front of them. And the governor, state Legislature and attorney general must study this entire approval process so that localities have clear guidelines within which to operate.
Only then can rural residents feel assured that reviews of wind projects can occur without the taint of possible corruption.
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