Fifteen new letters of opposition were filed on the Ohio Power Siting Board docketing Web site Thursday after a public hearing on the Buckeye Wind case Wednesday night at Triad, during which some 50 people testified on the record about their views for and against the project.
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio spokesman Matt Butler said Thursday it will take court reporters some time to complete a transcript of the public hearing and that it could be ready by the end of next week, prior to the start of evidentiary hearings involving Buckeye Wind and parties named as intervenors in the application process.
The OPSB is charged by state law with determining if Everpower's request to build the 70-turbine utility will be granted. If approved, construction would likely begin in 2010. Written comments can still be addressed to the OPSB at 180 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43215-3793, referencing the case number, 08-0666-EL-BGN.
To learn more about the proposed project, log on to www.opsb.ohio.gov, scroll down to Pending Cases and click on the Buckeye Wind Project link. An OPSB-generated "Staff Report" about the project is available in PDF format along with other public records about the project, such as the letters of support and opposition as well as the legal documents filed by intervenors in the case, such as the Champaign County commissioners, trustees for Goshen, Rush, Salem, Union, Urbana and Wayne townships, the city of Urbana, CT Communications, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, the Urbana Country Club, the Piqua Shawnee Tribe and Union Neighbors United.
In a filing posted Wednesday, Union Neighbors United identified officers and trustees for the organization as follows: president, Robert McConnell, of 4880 E. U.S. Route 36, Urbana; vice president, Larry J. Peace, of 466 Cambrian Road, Cable; secretary, Anita Bartlett, of 6044 E. U.S. Route 36, Cable; treasurer, Linda A. Gordon, of 7400 state Route 161, Mechanicsburg; trustees James A. Bartlett, of 6044 E. U.S. Route 36, Cable, Larry Gordon, of 7400 state Route 161, Mechanicsburg, Julia Johnson, of 4891 E. U.S. Route 36, Urbana, Diane McConnell, of 4880 E. U.S. Route 36, Urbana, Mildred Peace, of 466 Cambrian Road, Cable, and Glenda Rodriguez, of 6047 E. U.S. Route 36.
In a response to an OPSB staff request for information, a filing for Buckeye Wind Wednesday noted that there are 1,004 residential structures and one church within 1,000 meters, or 3,280 feet, of the nearest turbine, with a total of 2,087 structures within 1,700 meters (1.05 miles) of the nearest wind turbine but no schools, hospitals, nursing homes, or libraries within 1,700 meters of the nearest turbine.
Also this week, Everpower began filing direct written testimony from witnesses expected to be called on Buckeye Wind's behalf during that process.
One of those was Everpower vice president Christopher Shears, who stated that notification letters were sent to residents and others in the proposed project area on Sept. 25.
"It was served on the county commissioners, township trustees, and a representative of the Local Regional Planning Commission along with the approximately 1,200 addressees. A number of letters were returned due to incorrect addresses. Buckeye Wind researched for updated addresses and resent those letters on October 16, 2009. An additional 27 letters were sent on October 23, 2009 representing contiguous landowners that were not originally sent letters," he said.
He explained the goal of the project as well.
"The 70 turbines will collectively generate approximately 331,000 to 460,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year (based on the average Ohio generation mix), the equivalent annual electrical power consumption of 35,000 to 48,000 Ohio homes, which would offset about 300,000 to 415,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year."
Shears also claimed the economic benefits of the project to be "significant" but did not cite a source for his figures other than the socioeconomic study submitted as part of the application.
"It is expected that the project will generate about 2,000 jobs during the construction phase, about 62 long term jobs and, over the life of the project, $2 billion in economic output," Shears said.
Shears also named other witnesses Buckeye Wind plans to present, including Cara Meinke of Stantec Consulting regarding studies performed on Everpower's behalf and plans for mitigating impacts to the Indiana bat; Hugh Crowell of Hull & Associates regarding construction impacts in or near surface waters; David Hessler of Hessler and Associates regarding the acoustic studies performed for the application and the standards used in designing the facility; Thaddeus Brys of Aviation Systems Inc. on the Federal Aviation Administration's notices of presumed hazard for 38 of the 70 turbines and the Ohio Department of Transportation's denial of construction permits for 11 of those 38 turbines; Dr. Kenneth Mundt on whether utility-scale wind turbines cause adverse health effects; Dale Arnold of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation regarding the overall benefits of the project to OFBF members; and Donald Bauer of Hearthstone Farms and Bauer Stoves on the benefits of the project to participating landowners.
Other than Dr. Michael Nussenbaum, a Maine physician who offered written testimony on behalf of Union Neighbors United regarding health impacts of wind turbines but declined to travel to Ohio, no other witnesses for intervenors have been named. The administrative law judge for the OPSB, Greta See, denied a request by UNU to use Nussenbaum's written testimony in place of direct appearance at the upcoming adjudicatory hearings. In addition to the concerns about noise, health, safety, property values and aesthetic impacts, one factor that could still derail the project is the potential danger to wildlife.
In a filing of testimony by Meinke, she noted that another wind developer found evidence of the presence of the federally-endangered Indiana bat in Champaign County this year after Buckeye Wind had redrafted their own project boundaries to exclude Logan County when Stantec biologists discovered the species there. "Buckeye Wind contracted Stantec to conduct mist-netting surveys in summer 2008 (report included with Buckeye Wind's Application as Exhibit X)," Meinke stated. "The scope of the mist-netting survey covered an area extending from southern Logan County south past the village of Mutual. Although one non-reproductive adult male and two reproductive adult female Indiana bats were captured and radio-tagged in Logan County, none were identified within current project extent. Radio telemetry was used to calculate home ranges for the captured Indiana bats."
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were notified due to the species' federally-endangered status.
"The proposed Project adheres to the USFWS recommended setback distance of five miles from the Indiana bat capture and roost locations identified in the summer 2008 mist-netting study," Meinke said. "Based on this, the USFWS concluded in an April 9, 2009 memo that no impacts to Indiana bats or their habitat are anticipated from the proposed Project ... During a July 17, 2009 meeting between the USFWS, ODNR, Stantec, and the Applicant we were informed that Indiana bats were captured by a different wind developer (name undisclosed) within Champaign County."
Breanne Parcels can be reached at bparcels@urbanacitizen.com
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