Clayton wind vote rejected safety findings

This letter is to bring to the forefront an injustice that has occurred. On April 26, Clayton Town Supervisor Justin Taylor and Councilman Don Turcotte voted to reject the new town law regarding wind turbines. They rejected not only the findings of the independent, unbiased firm they hired to review the original local law, but also the recommendations of their citizens' wind committee.

The independent firm of Tocci and Cavanaugh reviewed the original law regarding sound and setbacks of wind turbines, concluding the setbacks in the original law were not sufficient nor were the sound limits acceptable in protecting surrounding residences. They gave specific recommendations on how to change the law to prevent future problems.

The citizens wind committee, represented by residents of the town, reviewed the original local law and after extensive scientific research, recommended that changes be made to the law. Both of these recommendations agree with the Department of Environmental Conservation and the World Health Organization on sound regarding safety. These recommendations were accepted by the town board last fall.

A good analogy to illustrate what transpired is if you went shopping for a used car. Suppose the salesman told you the car was safe and reliable. Being a fair and systematic person, you took the car to your mechanic for an inspection. He said it was unsafe and posed a potential threat. Consumer Reports confirmed the same problems, and the state inspection failed. You decide to reject the experts' advice and believe the car salesman. This is exactly what Justin and Don did. They chose to believe the salespeople at Iberdrola, the company which is selling wind to Clayton, over reputable scientific evidence.

Justin said residents would have to learn to deal with the wind turbines and that the wind project would be eliminated based on the recommendations. He is partly right. The recommendations would eliminate the current project, but it doesn't deny the potential to still have a wind project. If wind is truly what the town wants, why not pursue it further, but with safer standards that scientific experts are advocating? Why hire a firm to review the law and implement a citizen's panel only to reject their findings and recommendations? The recommendations of the wind companies are not protective and are based on maximizing profit.

I applaud Councilmen George Kittle, Lance Peterson and Bobby Cantwell on their willingness to stand up and vote based on the protection of their constituents and not for monetary gain. Unfortunately, our town supervisor and Councilman Turcotte are willing to sacrifice our safety for potential profit.

John Jepma
LaFargeville