Editor:
Does anyone in Orangeville believe the Town Board is working for them? On Sept. 23 at the Town Hall it was obvious that we are being represented by a lawyer, not the Town Board. The wind turbine law that was voted on specifies that 450-foot turbines can be built 700 feet from your property line and 1,320 feet from your residence. Approximately 200 residents filed petitions objecting to these setbacks for health and safety reasons. Hundreds of residents attended the public hearing in May and gave monumental documentation regarding health and safety concerns pertaining to noise impacts and inappropriate setbacks. The Town Board took no significant action.
The Town Board paid thousands of dollars to a consulting firm who recommended that standards regulating noise for wind farms be modified to include more stringent requirements including standards for low-frequency noise. The Town Board took no significant action. (The standard remains 50dBA at your residence and not your property line. Go to Sheldon and try sitting in a tree stand 700 feet from a turbine.)
On Aug. 4 the town attorney strongly recommended to the Town Board that they take a hard look at noise impacts and remarked that as the noise standard in the law stood he could not defend the Town Board in court regarding this issue. The Town Board took no significant action. Failure to have proper standards puts people at risk and exposes the town (taxpayers) to legal liability from individuals, groups, corporations and governmental agencies.
The Town Board was provided with examples of incentive zoning laws that would allow the town to negotiate with developers to fund infrastructure projects (roads), fund a Town Park that could be connected to the Lodge on Royce Road by hiking trails or snowmobile trails, etc., or any other project that would benefit all residents of Orangeville. Former Town Board member Donnelly was the only one that commented and read what was presented. The Town Board took no action.
An agreement signed on May 14, 2008, between Noble Wind and the Wyoming County IDA specifies that Orangeville would receive a portion of an annual $204,000 payment in lieu of taxes for the Noble transmission line and switchyard in Orangeville. The Town Board took no action. In fact they did not attend the public hearings nor did they participate in the negotiations. To date Orangeville has not received a penny.
The New York State Model Ordinance for wind turbines speaks on the need for towns to consider district overlays to provide a Town Board with the power to restrict location and number of turbines to appropriate locations in the town as stated in the Orangeville Comprehensive Plan. A copy of a district overlay amendment from the Town of Leicester was provided to the Town Board. Invenergy continues to request 142.5 megawatts for the Orangeville project (divide 142.5 megawatts by 1.5 megawatt turbines and this indicates 90 turbines) A quick internet search shows how Invenergy begins phase II projects once they have turbines in place and the town has no way to stop them. The Town Board took no action.
If you want a Town Board that will represent and work hard for all residents vote Nov. 3.
Steve Moultrup
Orangeville
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Dr. Tony Parker comments on THE WIND FARM SCAM book by John Etherington
THE WIND FARM SCAM
By John Etherington
Thank goodness for this timely contribution. As a professional engineer and academic I was recently faced with the task of educating myself and fellow villagers on the numerous issues surrounding industrial wind turbines. We needed to rapidly acquire and assimilate the information on turbine capital costs, electrical output, revenue streams, subsidies (including the Alice-in-Wonderland ‘renewables obligation certificates’), health issues (particularly noise) and claimed contributions to carbon-reduction.
All this was required to counter the ‘steamroller’ tactics of developer and lobby groups, both apparently determined to despoil the new South Downs National Park landscape and (as it transpired) to charge us for the privilege! We spent many weeks collating information, then promulgating to residents and planning authorities and at public inquiry. Dr. Etherington’s monograph would have dramatically eased and speeded our learning experience.
Etherington’s book will surely come to be recognised as the immediate source of reference for communities such as ours when faced with proposals for industrial wind turbine farms. From painful experience our community now knows that they are indeed a ‘scam’.
Hopefully ‘The Wind Farm Scam’ will also be required reading for all MPs in the 2010 intake; particularly so for ministers who thus far have failed spectacularly to grasp the scientific and environmental issues which John Etherington so adeptly assembles and analyses.
It is no exaggeration to say that none of our legislators (with the honourable exception of Lord Lawson) has thus far grasped the futility of wind turbine economics. If appropriate early action is taken to modify current policies it would save our nation tens of billions of pounds that we can ill afford - and all this with no harm to the environment!
We all owe Dr. Etherington a debt of gratitude for his timely publication – let us not waste the opportunity to revise our strategy.
Dr. Tony Parker
East Sussex, UK
By John Etherington
Thank goodness for this timely contribution. As a professional engineer and academic I was recently faced with the task of educating myself and fellow villagers on the numerous issues surrounding industrial wind turbines. We needed to rapidly acquire and assimilate the information on turbine capital costs, electrical output, revenue streams, subsidies (including the Alice-in-Wonderland ‘renewables obligation certificates’), health issues (particularly noise) and claimed contributions to carbon-reduction.
All this was required to counter the ‘steamroller’ tactics of developer and lobby groups, both apparently determined to despoil the new South Downs National Park landscape and (as it transpired) to charge us for the privilege! We spent many weeks collating information, then promulgating to residents and planning authorities and at public inquiry. Dr. Etherington’s monograph would have dramatically eased and speeded our learning experience.
Etherington’s book will surely come to be recognised as the immediate source of reference for communities such as ours when faced with proposals for industrial wind turbine farms. From painful experience our community now knows that they are indeed a ‘scam’.
Hopefully ‘The Wind Farm Scam’ will also be required reading for all MPs in the 2010 intake; particularly so for ministers who thus far have failed spectacularly to grasp the scientific and environmental issues which John Etherington so adeptly assembles and analyses.
It is no exaggeration to say that none of our legislators (with the honourable exception of Lord Lawson) has thus far grasped the futility of wind turbine economics. If appropriate early action is taken to modify current policies it would save our nation tens of billions of pounds that we can ill afford - and all this with no harm to the environment!
We all owe Dr. Etherington a debt of gratitude for his timely publication – let us not waste the opportunity to revise our strategy.
Dr. Tony Parker
East Sussex, UK
PILOT enabling wind power development
I would like to state up front I am opposed to industrial-scale wind development in rural residential areas, especially ones such as the Thousand Islands and Great Lakes where the unrivaled scenic beauty and quality of life are an essential part of the economy and an integral component of the environment.
There is considerable data now available to anyone with an open mind and objective perspective that clearly shows industrial wind generation has severe limitations as an efficient alternative-energy source. The experiments in many European nations as well as those in operation in the U.S. and now also including the Wolfe Island project which dramatically impacts this region can only boast at best a 20 percent to 25 percent rate of production.
This is not hearsay. It is information readily available from the wind industry — they do not dispute it. There is no other industry, whether it be energy generation, manufacturing of any kind, farming, construction, education, any business in general, even advertising, that would tolerate a production rate as low as this.
The only way the wind industry can survive is with substantial government subsidies and tax exemptions which come at great cost to the taxpayers. It would be irresponsible for Jefferson County legislators to prematurely approve a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement created by the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency for the sole purpose of allowing the Galloo Island wind project access to federal stimulus funds. Legislators must give due consideration of limitations and negative impacts this project and others proposed for this county will subject the residents and taxpayers to.
Offering this PILOT is a tacit endorsement of wind development and will be all but impossible to deny to any subsequent applicants. The unresolved controversy that engulfs industrial wind development at every level, including its questionable significance to solving global warming, its obvious failing as a self-sustaining industry, the growing mountain of evidence of harmful impacts, and the totally unacceptable ethical practices of not only the individual developers, but also the many local government officials promoting it, hardly suggest that it warrants this sort of preferential treatment.
Your city editor, Perry White, warned the residents of Cape Vincent and neighboring communities to look beyond the money when considering wind development. It seems he should have addressed the county legislators as well.
David LaMora
Cape Vincent
There is considerable data now available to anyone with an open mind and objective perspective that clearly shows industrial wind generation has severe limitations as an efficient alternative-energy source. The experiments in many European nations as well as those in operation in the U.S. and now also including the Wolfe Island project which dramatically impacts this region can only boast at best a 20 percent to 25 percent rate of production.
This is not hearsay. It is information readily available from the wind industry — they do not dispute it. There is no other industry, whether it be energy generation, manufacturing of any kind, farming, construction, education, any business in general, even advertising, that would tolerate a production rate as low as this.
The only way the wind industry can survive is with substantial government subsidies and tax exemptions which come at great cost to the taxpayers. It would be irresponsible for Jefferson County legislators to prematurely approve a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement created by the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency for the sole purpose of allowing the Galloo Island wind project access to federal stimulus funds. Legislators must give due consideration of limitations and negative impacts this project and others proposed for this county will subject the residents and taxpayers to.
Offering this PILOT is a tacit endorsement of wind development and will be all but impossible to deny to any subsequent applicants. The unresolved controversy that engulfs industrial wind development at every level, including its questionable significance to solving global warming, its obvious failing as a self-sustaining industry, the growing mountain of evidence of harmful impacts, and the totally unacceptable ethical practices of not only the individual developers, but also the many local government officials promoting it, hardly suggest that it warrants this sort of preferential treatment.
Your city editor, Perry White, warned the residents of Cape Vincent and neighboring communities to look beyond the money when considering wind development. It seems he should have addressed the county legislators as well.
David LaMora
Cape Vincent
Natural Gas Production - At What Cost to NYS?
NYSNaturalGasForumOct19_2009email.pdf
What impact will Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus
Shale have on our Water, Environment and Economy?
Monday, October 19, 2009 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Free)
Brighton Town Hall Downstairs Meeting Room
2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618
Orientation to the Issues
Wes Gillingham - Program Director of Catskill Mountain Keeper
http://catskillmountainkeeper.org
Expert Panel
Dr. Diane Hope - William A. Kern Professor in Communication
Rochester Institute of Technology
www.rit.edu/cla/communication/kern/
Ashur Terwilliger - President, Chemung County Farm Bureau
Dr. Ron Bishop - Lecturer in Chemistry and Biochemistry
SUNY Oneonta
Co-sponsors
Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists
League of Women Voters
Rochester Regional Group - Sierra Club
Genesee Valley Audubon Society
Genesee Valley Chapter - Adirondack Mountain Club
Center for Sustainable Living
Pre-register
for Pre-Forum Reference Materials
info@fmce.org
www.fmce.org
(585) 392-4918
What impact will Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus
Shale have on our Water, Environment and Economy?
Monday, October 19, 2009 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Free)
Brighton Town Hall Downstairs Meeting Room
2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618
Orientation to the Issues
Wes Gillingham - Program Director of Catskill Mountain Keeper
http://catskillmountainkeeper.org
Expert Panel
Dr. Diane Hope - William A. Kern Professor in Communication
Rochester Institute of Technology
www.rit.edu/cla/communication/kern/
Ashur Terwilliger - President, Chemung County Farm Bureau
Dr. Ron Bishop - Lecturer in Chemistry and Biochemistry
SUNY Oneonta
Co-sponsors
Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists
League of Women Voters
Rochester Regional Group - Sierra Club
Genesee Valley Audubon Society
Genesee Valley Chapter - Adirondack Mountain Club
Center for Sustainable Living
Pre-register
for Pre-Forum Reference Materials
info@fmce.org
www.fmce.org
(585) 392-4918
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wind farms interfering with weather radar in NY
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - The National Weather Service says wind farms in upstate New York are interfering with its Doppler radars, making it more difficult to detect and assess approaching lake effect snow storms.
The spinning blades on the towering turbines cause problems when they're in a radar's line of sight to the sky by reflecting some of the signal, which can be falsely interpreted as wind or precipitation.
While the reflections can make storms coming off lakes Erie and Ontario look stronger than they actually are, the structures can also act like a wall and hide a storm from forecasters.
Bill Hibbert, a meteorologist and radar specialist with the weather service in Buffalo, says forecasters are working around the problem while better software is developed to filter out the interference.
The spinning blades on the towering turbines cause problems when they're in a radar's line of sight to the sky by reflecting some of the signal, which can be falsely interpreted as wind or precipitation.
While the reflections can make storms coming off lakes Erie and Ontario look stronger than they actually are, the structures can also act like a wall and hide a storm from forecasters.
Bill Hibbert, a meteorologist and radar specialist with the weather service in Buffalo, says forecasters are working around the problem while better software is developed to filter out the interference.
Judge dismisses Italy wind lawsuit
Italy, N.Y.
Yates County Supreme Court Judge W. Patrick Falvey dismissed a petition challenging the Town of Italy’s wind farm regulation just days after the town board denied an application to build a wind farm with 17 industrial wind turbines.
The Finger Lakes Preservation Association, a group of Italy residents, had filed the lawsuit against the Italy Town Board and the wind farm developer Ecogen in June. They argued that the town was taking financial incentives from the developer to offset unacceptable environmental effects allowed under the town’s local law.
However, Falvey found the town acted properly in balancing economic benefits against adverse impacts as it understood them at the time.
Last week, the town board voted to deny Ecogen’s application for special use permits to begin construction of the wind farm.
Gary A. Abraham, attorney for the Finger Lakes Preservation Association, released a statement last week saying the town board’s denial was in agreement with comments submitted by FLPA that environmental impacts would be unacceptable.
“This turn of events was anticipated in Judge Falvey’s decision,” wrote Abraham, an environmental attorney who brought the case for FLPA.
“The judge said consideration of a wind farm application is separate from the action of adopting the wind farm law.” he wrote.
“We still believe the science shows a 50 decibel limit on wind turbine noise is too high,” FLPA member Vince Johnson said, adding, “But now that the town board agrees, Judge Falvey’s decision seems less important.”
Michael Herzog, another FLPA member agreed. “This is how democracy is supposed to work: the town board invited comments. We submitted technical information on the acoustics of wind turbine noise and the board came to see the noise issue in a new light.”
The town board has scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 27 to consider a six month moratorium on wind projects. Herzog commented, “Once the town adopts the moratorium, Ecogen will know that FLPA and the town board are on the same page.”
In related industrial wind farm news, the Yates County Planner Shawna Bonshak said the Yates County planning Board will continue to address the issue of wind turbines and alternative energy sources and their inter-municipal and county-wide affects.
The planning board had received the Ecogen application for review just days before the Italy Town Board denied the action. The Yates County Planning Board acts in an advisory capacity only, but took no action on the application in September, saying it needed more time to learn about the issue.
Other Yates County towns, such as Benton and Jerusalem, are at various stages of learning about industrial wind farm development.
Some residents in Benton have already signed agreements with wind companies. "I have nothing against wind farms, says Benton Supervisor Bob Clark, adding, “But one of my main concerns is for the protection of non-participant landowners. We really have to be concerned with them in regards to noise and safety.”
I don't know if it will happen, said Clark, “but we will continue to look at wind farms.”
Yates County Supreme Court Judge W. Patrick Falvey dismissed a petition challenging the Town of Italy’s wind farm regulation just days after the town board denied an application to build a wind farm with 17 industrial wind turbines.
The Finger Lakes Preservation Association, a group of Italy residents, had filed the lawsuit against the Italy Town Board and the wind farm developer Ecogen in June. They argued that the town was taking financial incentives from the developer to offset unacceptable environmental effects allowed under the town’s local law.
However, Falvey found the town acted properly in balancing economic benefits against adverse impacts as it understood them at the time.
Last week, the town board voted to deny Ecogen’s application for special use permits to begin construction of the wind farm.
Gary A. Abraham, attorney for the Finger Lakes Preservation Association, released a statement last week saying the town board’s denial was in agreement with comments submitted by FLPA that environmental impacts would be unacceptable.
“This turn of events was anticipated in Judge Falvey’s decision,” wrote Abraham, an environmental attorney who brought the case for FLPA.
“The judge said consideration of a wind farm application is separate from the action of adopting the wind farm law.” he wrote.
“We still believe the science shows a 50 decibel limit on wind turbine noise is too high,” FLPA member Vince Johnson said, adding, “But now that the town board agrees, Judge Falvey’s decision seems less important.”
Michael Herzog, another FLPA member agreed. “This is how democracy is supposed to work: the town board invited comments. We submitted technical information on the acoustics of wind turbine noise and the board came to see the noise issue in a new light.”
The town board has scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 27 to consider a six month moratorium on wind projects. Herzog commented, “Once the town adopts the moratorium, Ecogen will know that FLPA and the town board are on the same page.”
In related industrial wind farm news, the Yates County Planner Shawna Bonshak said the Yates County planning Board will continue to address the issue of wind turbines and alternative energy sources and their inter-municipal and county-wide affects.
The planning board had received the Ecogen application for review just days before the Italy Town Board denied the action. The Yates County Planning Board acts in an advisory capacity only, but took no action on the application in September, saying it needed more time to learn about the issue.
Other Yates County towns, such as Benton and Jerusalem, are at various stages of learning about industrial wind farm development.
Some residents in Benton have already signed agreements with wind companies. "I have nothing against wind farms, says Benton Supervisor Bob Clark, adding, “But one of my main concerns is for the protection of non-participant landowners. We really have to be concerned with them in regards to noise and safety.”
I don't know if it will happen, said Clark, “but we will continue to look at wind farms.”
Windmill farm visit raises questions
Cortland Standard Newspaper article on visit my public officials to the Cohocton First Wind Project.
CS%20Wind%20Story%201_jpg%20-%20Gmail.mht
CS%20Wind%20Story%202.jpg
CS%20Wind%20Story%201_jpg%20-%20Gmail.mht
CS%20Wind%20Story%202.jpg
Monday, October 12, 2009
BIG FIRE ON TUG HILL AT SUBSTATION!!!!
Right now, the sky is full of BLACK smoke.. a couple local fire stations have been called to the scene so far!!!!! As they sit in Martinsburg watching the smoke get thicker... how many wells will this fire contaminate?? Two years ago, the same transformer had a fire during a drought, most area wells were dry... a few months later 2 people had contaminated wells from it. Today, the water table is high... where will all that fuel run to?? Have a call into WWNY... will they cover the story?? Watertown Daily Times is being copied on this email.. let's get the word out as the black smoke fills the sky, not GREEN!!!!!!
www.weopposewindfarms.org
http://we-oppose-windfarms.tripod.com
Order your Tshirt today via paypal or email. PLANT TREES NOT TURBINES. The donations enable me to continue what I do for "the cause."
www.weopposewindfarms.org
http://we-oppose-windfarms.tripod.com
Order your Tshirt today via paypal or email. PLANT TREES NOT TURBINES. The donations enable me to continue what I do for "the cause."
Not Evil Just Wrong
Can one film change the course of history?
Yes, with your help.
Just a few months ago leftwing pundits were writing the obituary of modern conservatism.
That was before a momentous summer of Tea Party protests and town hall insurgency. Before one million friends of liberty took to the streets of the nation's capital on September 12 shouting “NO” to government control of the nation's health care; “NO” to nanny state socialism; and “NO” to an unending spiral of taxes, spending and debt.
The left has overreached; grossly misreading the results of the last election as a mandate to radically change America.
And nowhere is this overreach more evident than the blind allegiance to Al Gore's agenda of environmental extremism. The conversion of global warming hysteria into actual public policy is already having huge impacts on American families. On the price we must pay to drive our cars and heat and light our homes and businesses. On jobs and the very standard of living we Americans take for granted.
Now, like a sleeping giant, the love of freedom and limited government is rising again from the American heartland. More and more Americans are joining the increasing number of scientists across the planet skeptical of Gore's doomsday predictions.
After the revolt against government health care, how do conservatives continue the momentum against the radical agenda of the left?
Here's a place for turbines: The landfill
As the final resting place for everything from the meatloaf your kids refused to eat to sewer sludge and industrial waste, it’s no wonder landfills get a bad rap. But until we stop producing waste, as one area group — the Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition — hopes, they’re needed.
While performing a necessary — if unpleasant — task, the operators of the Ontario County landfill have come up with a plan that would make a positive contribution to the community and the environment.
Casella Waste Systems wants to put up wind turbines and solar panels at the landfill in Seneca.
They’re proposed as part of a renewable energy plant that would generate electricity by harnessing the sun’s rays and wind. Proponents say the electricity could be sold to a power company and used to power the landfill’s buildings and nearby homes and businesses.
Such projects often carry a hefty price tag, and this is one is no exception — its estimated cost is about $13 million. But what makes it appealing in this case is that, under the plan, county residents wouldn’t have to foot the bill.
Casella and a partnering business, Innovative Energy of Genesee County, are hoping to land $6.5 million in federal stimulus funds to pay for half the project. The remainder would be paid for by the two companies.
Sure, stimulus money ultimately comes from our pockets, but if it is to be doled out toward such ventures, better to have it be one that will benefit local residents — in more ways than one.
The sale of electricity could mean more revenue for Ontario County. The added income could mean infrastructure improvements, revenue-generating tourism projects or reduced taxes. The latter would be welcomed since — despite its bounty of sales-tax revenue from Eastview Mall and its environs — Ontario County ranked 15th among counties nationwide for high property taxes.
“It is very exciting,” said Canandaigua city Supervisor David Baker, who heads up the county’s Solid Waste Committee. “(We’re) trying to be creative — create another revenue stream and work with partners to use the property to put more than just trash there.”
Indeed. It’s a positive any time businesses find ways to protect the environment and conserve fossil fuels, especially without passing the cost on to customers or taxpayers.
While performing a necessary — if unpleasant — task, the operators of the Ontario County landfill have come up with a plan that would make a positive contribution to the community and the environment.
Casella Waste Systems wants to put up wind turbines and solar panels at the landfill in Seneca.
They’re proposed as part of a renewable energy plant that would generate electricity by harnessing the sun’s rays and wind. Proponents say the electricity could be sold to a power company and used to power the landfill’s buildings and nearby homes and businesses.
Such projects often carry a hefty price tag, and this is one is no exception — its estimated cost is about $13 million. But what makes it appealing in this case is that, under the plan, county residents wouldn’t have to foot the bill.
Casella and a partnering business, Innovative Energy of Genesee County, are hoping to land $6.5 million in federal stimulus funds to pay for half the project. The remainder would be paid for by the two companies.
Sure, stimulus money ultimately comes from our pockets, but if it is to be doled out toward such ventures, better to have it be one that will benefit local residents — in more ways than one.
The sale of electricity could mean more revenue for Ontario County. The added income could mean infrastructure improvements, revenue-generating tourism projects or reduced taxes. The latter would be welcomed since — despite its bounty of sales-tax revenue from Eastview Mall and its environs — Ontario County ranked 15th among counties nationwide for high property taxes.
“It is very exciting,” said Canandaigua city Supervisor David Baker, who heads up the county’s Solid Waste Committee. “(We’re) trying to be creative — create another revenue stream and work with partners to use the property to put more than just trash there.”
Indeed. It’s a positive any time businesses find ways to protect the environment and conserve fossil fuels, especially without passing the cost on to customers or taxpayers.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Wind panel tackles health and safety
LAFARGEVILLE — The second set of recommendations from the town of Orleans Wind Committee includes requirements for fences around turbines, an earthquake preparedness manual and fire department training.
The recommendations were submitted to the Town Council at Thursday night's meeting.
These recommendations addressed a wide range of health and safety issues unrelated to noise concerns, which were addressed in the first set of recommendations. The new issues also included stray voltage, well water and radon.
"These are all things that we had found during our research and we wanted to put them in, but we didn't want them to go with the first part and have too much for board members at one time," Chairman Stephen Bingeman said.
The committee recommended the town require pre- and post-construction studies on electronic interference and radon. If conditions are worse after construction, the developer would be required to fix the situation.
Other studies include a survey of underground "karst features," which have pockets that are susceptible to allowing tainted groundwater to run into underground aquifers. Committee members expressed concerns that blasting for foundation construction could cause contamination of aquifers and the wells they feed, and allow radon gas to infiltrate houses.
Suggested requirements for wind developers include:
■ Follow the National Electric Code to eliminate stray voltage.
■ Submit construction schedule reports to the town.
■ Perform a survey of underground karst features and well testing.
■ Submit an earthquake preparedness manual and report on the likely effects of seismic activity on the facility.
■ Provide firefighting equipment and training as well as an emergency response plan.
■ Minimize the possibility of lightning damage to the turbines.
■ Use lights on the central nacelle of the turbine that won't shine downward.
■ Restore all roads to county and town specifications.
■ Place a fence around and security cameras on turbines.
All of the recommendations come with references to research that is the basis for the committee's suggestions.
The recommendations also include appointing a seven-member complaint board to handle problems with unresolved noise, health and safety issues.
The board would have a $100,000 escrow account to use for studies and expert advice.
"The problem is if there is no town input or complaint board, you are left at the mercy of the developer," said committee member Patricia A. Booras-Miller. "The town should have input and make sure complaints are responded to in a timely manner."
ON THE NET
Complete recommendations are available on Writer's Bloc, the Times' newsroom blog: www.watertowndailytimes.
The recommendations were submitted to the Town Council at Thursday night's meeting.
These recommendations addressed a wide range of health and safety issues unrelated to noise concerns, which were addressed in the first set of recommendations. The new issues also included stray voltage, well water and radon.
"These are all things that we had found during our research and we wanted to put them in, but we didn't want them to go with the first part and have too much for board members at one time," Chairman Stephen Bingeman said.
The committee recommended the town require pre- and post-construction studies on electronic interference and radon. If conditions are worse after construction, the developer would be required to fix the situation.
Other studies include a survey of underground "karst features," which have pockets that are susceptible to allowing tainted groundwater to run into underground aquifers. Committee members expressed concerns that blasting for foundation construction could cause contamination of aquifers and the wells they feed, and allow radon gas to infiltrate houses.
Suggested requirements for wind developers include:
■ Follow the National Electric Code to eliminate stray voltage.
■ Submit construction schedule reports to the town.
■ Perform a survey of underground karst features and well testing.
■ Submit an earthquake preparedness manual and report on the likely effects of seismic activity on the facility.
■ Provide firefighting equipment and training as well as an emergency response plan.
■ Minimize the possibility of lightning damage to the turbines.
■ Use lights on the central nacelle of the turbine that won't shine downward.
■ Restore all roads to county and town specifications.
■ Place a fence around and security cameras on turbines.
All of the recommendations come with references to research that is the basis for the committee's suggestions.
The recommendations also include appointing a seven-member complaint board to handle problems with unresolved noise, health and safety issues.
The board would have a $100,000 escrow account to use for studies and expert advice.
"The problem is if there is no town input or complaint board, you are left at the mercy of the developer," said committee member Patricia A. Booras-Miller. "The town should have input and make sure complaints are responded to in a timely manner."
ON THE NET
Complete recommendations are available on Writer's Bloc, the Times' newsroom blog: www.watertowndailytimes.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
CONGRESSMAN ERIC MASSA LETTER ~ TO BARACK OBAMA ~ ABOUT ABUSES OF FOREIGN ~ OWNED WIND DEVELOPERS
Question about Windmills
Congressman Eric Massa - Town Hall Meeting - September 3, 2009 The congressman responds to a constituent question. CWW member James Hall asks for a GAO investigation into First Wind.
(Click to read Congressman Eric Massa Letter to President Obama)
(Permanent CWW Link to Letter Archive)
Congressman Eric Massa - Town Hall Meeting - September 3, 2009 The congressman responds to a constituent question. CWW member James Hall asks for a GAO investigation into First Wind.
(Click to read Congressman Eric Massa Letter to President Obama)
(Permanent CWW Link to Letter Archive)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)