Hornell Tribune - Bob Clark/Justin Head September 23, 2009 CWW Letter by James Hall

http://www.eveningtribune.com/homepage/x1073707155/Crane-crash-injures-one-in-Cohocton

September 23, 2009

Hornell Tribune
85 Canisteo Street,
Hornell, NY 14843

Messrs Clark and Head,

In the event you have not seen the photos of the Cohocton Crane Collapse, they can be viewed on the Cohocton Wind Watch site. http://cohoctonwindwatch.org.

Note that the statement made by Mr. Bob: “The crane was 500 to 600 feet from the nearest tower,” Bob said, is a deliberate misrepresentation or Joe Bob cannot measure distance. This coming from a code inspection officer who is not qualified for this duty.

I was on site about 30 minutes after the scanner reported the crane collapse. The extent of damage to the crushed cab is total. Previously a crane was hit by lightning at this same spot during the construction of the First Wind project.

The photo that has the Clipper truck in the foreground is clear proof of proximity to the turbine of the downed crane. It should also be noted that this particular turbine is approximately 100 feet from the Chesapeake gas pipeline.

Everyone should be thankful that the crane did not come down and rupture this gas line.

Has it been verified that the crane operator was personally certified and not working off the license of someone who may not have even been onsite? This was a common practice during the construction of the First Wind project.

Also, what is not disclosed by First Wind, Clipper Windpower or Barnhart is that these cranes have been consistently moved on Town of Cohocton and county roads without any closure of the road and required safety procedures. I and my wife have personally witnessed these violations and CWW has a photo of the crane moving down Pine Hill Road in an upright and elevated condition.

The point of this message is to memorialize my warning to the Town of Cohocton and to document that Mr. Bob mislead your reporting.

At the September 21, 2009 Town of Cohocton meeting, Supervisor Zigenfus and the rest of the Town Board were asked to review the liability limits of the town and consider prudent increases where necessary. The Town Board responded that no review was needed and present limits are adequate.

I trust this attitude could be viewed as malfeasance, especially if the injured crane operator was killed or if the active gas line was dislodged. Experts in the field of gas transmission and exploration acknowledged the gas well adjacent to this turbine could blow off the top of the hill if an explosion occurred. CWW has warned the Town of Cohocton, the PSC and project consultants about the inadequate distant location of Turbine #16 to the Chesapeake gas pipeline to no avail. It is especially interesting that Chesapeake did not sign off on the proximity to their working line until after the project was constructed.

On Tuesday September 22, 2009, I posed the same concern and request to the Town Board of Prattsburgh about reviewing their liability coverage in light of the Ecogen industrial wind turbine application in their town. Their response was positive and respectful to take up such a task.

Thanks you for publishing this significant new report. Public health and safety risks and avoidance of reducing real dangers has always been the major purpose of Cohocton Wind Watch.

Cordially,


James Hall for CWW