Published: January 23, 2009 02:50 pm      

Public comments at wind hearing vary

Public comment period open through Feb. 2.

FROSTBURG — A total of 37 members of the general public spoke during the Maryland Public Service Commission’s hearing Thursday at Frostburg State University attended by more than 200 people.

The hearing addressed whether to grant or deny a request by Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC for an exemption from obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. Eighteen people spoke in favor of the exemption and 15 spoke against the project. The remaining four did not indicate a position or were neutral.

Judge Joel M. Bright, chief hearing examiner for the commission, said the issue at hand was whether “the safety and reliability of the grid system is not jeopardized” by the project.

Bright noted that any commission ruling does not override or supersede local zoning restrictions.

Kenneth Hurwitz, attorney representing U.S. Wind Force, noted that while the plans call for up to 29 wind turbines, it’s not likely that more than 25 would be constructed. The project would remain less than 70 megawatts and thus be eligible for the expedited approval process.

Hurwitz noted the environmental review report was completed voluntarily at the developer’s expense. The report was made public at the Frostburg Community Library and at www.uswindforce.com.

• Theresa Czarski, an attorney from the Office of People’s Counsel, said she was on hand to listen to stakeholders’ comments and then submit a report prior to the commission bringing the matter to a vote in Baltimore.

• Todd Gibbons, staff attorney with the commission, said he also intended to submit a report prior to the vote.

• John Sherwell, administrator of atmospheric sciences, state Power Plant Research Program, said his agency had not reviewed the project and he intended to submit comments.

Hurwitz entered a series of exhibits, many of which will be made available online at www.psc.md.state.us. Use “Case Search” then “Case No. 9164” to find the Dan’s Mountain project information.

• Tom Matthews, president and chief operating officer of U.S. Wind Force LLC, said “one thing that wind energy can do that most other forms (of energy) can’t do is stabilize the cost of electricity. The cost is zero.” He said PJC Interconnection LLC, which oversees the expansive electricity grid, said the 25-turbine project will not strain the system.

Matthews said each turbine would be 262 feet tall to the hub with an overall height — from the ground to the top of the highest rotor — of 418 feet. Also, a rotor diameter of 312 feet. Matthews said he “fully expected” the project to remain at 25 turbines instead of the 29 turbines noted on the application.

The projected area is “100 percent” on private land, located north of Dan’s Mountain Wildlife Area, he said. While the project comprises some 1,800 acres, “only 150 acres actually will be disturbed to build this project.” He said the extra space is need to secure “air rights.”

The 25-turbine industrial wind energy facility will serve 13,140 average Allegheny Power homes, equal to what 276,000 barrels of oil would serve. The carbon reduction is equivalent, Matthews said, to removing 12,228 large sport utility vehicles off the road.

Putting aside economic opportunities, Matthews said tax payments to local government and lease payments to local landowners would result in nearly $250 billion into the state and local governments’ coffers and landowners’ pockets.

Matthews showed a series of photos manipulated to represent viewsheds from different spots surrounding the proposed project area, including along Interstate 68, Country Club Mall and on Main Street in Frostburg. His intent was to show the skyline was marred far less than some might think.

Matthews said his company has “spent the last four years” preparing a voluntary environmental review report, which was made public at the Frostburg library in advance of Thursday’s hearing.

Bright asked Matthews if the number of turbines was 25 or 29. Matthews said Dan’s Mountain Wind Force would “like to maintain the flexibility to build 29” and if that were to occur, the turbines’ “total height would be slightly less,” by about 3 meters each, because of the necessary distance between each turbine.

• Garrett County resident Jon Boone, a longtime outspoken critic of industrial wind facilities, said he’s never seen “such an awful project.”

“How it could have gotten this far is chilling,” Boone said.

Boone criticized a process that he said allowed developers to seek public financing and subsidies when private investment couldn’t be secured. He also said wind energy is a “hit-or-miss” power supply and turbines “often produce nothing. They will never supply any power on demand.”

“The answer’s not blowin’ in the wind,” Boone said.

• John Bambacus, former state senator and Frostburg mayor, opposed the project because it is “not in the best public interest.”

He chided Bright for posting a public hearing start time of 4 p.m., adding there were “quite a number of people working and unable to be here.”

Of the project, Bambacus said it had “no sense of public purpose.”

“We need informed decisions made by local government,” he said. “Instead of having a formal hearing like this, there should have been informal public meetings” over a period of time.

Bambacus asked if the “millions of dollars” in tax payments to county government were “guaranteed.”

He asked the public comment period, which was to end Thursday, be kept open for an extra 60 days.

Bright said he chose a 4 p.m. start time to avoid a hearing that, with a later start, could go beyond midnight. He told Bambacus he would “stay as long as necessary” to hear everyone who wished to be heard.

• Ajax Eastman, of Baltimore and a member of the Maryland Conservation Council, opposed the exemption to the full regulatory process.

While the project “may fall under the law, I believe the damage ... will be horrendous. The Public Service Commission must consider the public’s interest.”

Eastman said it was evident the Allegany County commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Commission had “abdicated their responsibility” to regulate the devices.

• Barbara Boone repeated Bambacus’ request to keep the public comment period open another 60 days. She said she had submitted questions to the commission in March on another project and never received a response.

“Most of those questions are relevant today,” said Boone, who resubmitted a copy of the questions to Bright.

• James Robertson said he supported the project from an educational standpoint. “t’s important for students to have access to modern technology,” Robertson said.

“Allegany County needs to step up,” Robertson said.

• Mike Roe said he opposed the project.

• Jon Rosenberger supported the project because “the reasons for it are more credible than the reasons not.”

Rosenberger said he visited wind facilities at Mount Storm, W.Va., and “the landscape was altered but still breathtaking.”

There was no smoke, soot or sludge and “plenty of wildlife,” he said.

He likened critics’ claim of affecting the landscape similar to the upgrade of U.S. Route 48 to I-68, completed in the early 1990s. The thoroughfare now “is a lifeline to local workers. Let’s not let this opportunity slip away.”

• Richard Carder, the business manager for a local union that he said represents 300-plus members in the tri-state area, spoke in favor of the application.

“It seems crazy not to even pursue it” because of the economic opportunities, Carder said. “I feel this project is a step in the right direction.”

• Cliff Wendricks, an avid hunter and fisherman, said he was “for the windmills” and doesn’t feel they are “a detriment to society.”

“They’re not as loud as everyone makes them out to be,” he said.

• Kevin Bolinger said he was “100 percent in support” of the project.

• Jeff Conner of Avilton countered Wendricks’ remarks and, also an outdoorsman, said the project is “a total disgrace.”

“Everybody wants green energy,” Conner said, but “it will not lessen our dependence on foreign oil.”

Conner indicated the public hearing was a mere formality and, looking toward U.S. Wind Force representatives, said “at the end of the day, you’re going to get” the exemption.

• Victor Fickes opposed the project. He said ensuring the project’s safety and reliability refers to the health of the grid, “not to our safety.”

• Harry Wolford of Frostburg and an employee of TWR Communications in Cumberland, said through work with his company “I haven’t seen the detrimental affects” others suggest.

Wolford expressed concern about his firm’s towers atop Dan’s Rock. He has spoken with wind company officials and was assured the project would not interrupt communications abilities.

• Rick Lashbaugh, also of Frostburg, supported the project. He lives within “100 yards” of the affected project area but doesn’t stand to benefit financially, he said. Lashbaugh said he’s visited Meyersdale, Pa., which has turbines, and found “no opposition” to them and no dead wildlife in the vicinity of the machines.

“Everything has been above board,” Lashbaugh said, addressing suggestions of back-door dealing and impropriety. “You need to build these yesterday. This is an opportunity.”

Lashbaugh said the possibility of rolling brownouts just two years from now is a higher priority than aesthetics.

“Issue a permit tomorrow,” Lashbaugh said.

• Richard Berg, director of communications for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, said Allegany County and Dan’s Rock is host to “key sites” for communications towers on which public safety officials rely. He wasn’t for or against the project but was surprised not to have ever been contacted by the wind company, which has been planning this project for a number of years.

• Noel Richardson, communications director for the West Virginia State Emergency Communications Committee, said he “had not seen or heard anything” about the project in advance and, like Berg, was concerned about disruptions to communications.

• Doug Nave, a construction worker, supported the project. It would bring revenue and jobs, he said, and “we need some jobs around this area.”

• Randy Appel said he represented unemployed workers in the area and noted the region’s “very high unemployment rate.” He said it’s “not very often a company has guaranteed us the work” U.S. Wind Force has.

“I’m 100 percent for this project,” Appel said.

• John Suter said critics of the area’s prisons said they’d be a black eye to the area but “tell that to the prison guards” who work there.

“We’ve got to put people to work,’ said Suter in favor of the application.

• Mona Clites, dean of administrative services at Allegany College of Maryland, said school officials were concerned about disruption or degradation to microwaves atop Dan’s Mountain which could impact voice, Internet video and data transmissions on campus.

• DeCorsey Bolden said he opposed the project, which is “a stone’s throw away” from his home in Garrett County. He questioned the wind company’s plans for decommissioning and whether the costs to remove any abandoned machines would be shifted to taxpayers.

Bright asked Matthews to address the communications and decommissioning issues mentioned by multiple speakers.

Matthews said experts are “very, very aware” of the issues and “have ... all the microwave beams” mapped out.

Matthews suggested creating an advisory group to address concerns among stakeholders.

As for decommissioning standards, Matthews said money is put into an escrow account for that exact purpose. Terms also dictate that workers will ultimately “restore the land back to its natural state.”

Matthews estimated decommissioning and dismantling a single turbine at approximately $25,000, a figure which he said considers a salvage value.

• K. Darlene Park, a Harwood subdivision resident near the project, said there are many questions that have not been answered. For that reason, the application should be denied.

“I deserve to know more than I know right now,” Park said. “We’ve been kept in the dark.”

She also expressed concerns about water run-off due to additional impervious surfaces. Park also asked the public comment period be extended.

Bright then agreed to extend the public comment period. Those wishing to do so can submit a hard copy letter on the proposed project and send it to: Executive Secretary Terry Romine, Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202-6806. Any letters must reference Case No. 9164.

No e-mails or faxes will be accepted, Bright said, and letters must be received by — not postmarked by — Feb. 2. For more information, visit the Public Service Commission Web site at www.psc.state.md.us.

• John Eversole, a union operator, supported the project because it establishes “new economic opportunities.”

“There’s no reason to wait,” he said.

• Andrea Baker, who is building a new home with her husband near the project site, opposed the project because she feared for the safety of her children, whom she home-schools.

She asked that the project be delayed until Allegany County implements some level of protection.

“Why can’t U.S. Wind Force wait until setbacks are in place?” Baker asked.

Baker disagreed with Matthews’ decommissioning estimates. Baker said she called two heavy equipment companies and received estimates of between $115,000 and $130,000.

• Robert Doyle, an FSU professor who has taught energy courses for six terms, lectured that the advantages of wind power have long been utilized by sailors, farmers and other specialties.

“There is a tremendous amount of energy in wind,” Doyle said, noting the Earth’s fossil fuels are running out.

If not wind, Doyle asked, “where are we going to get the power?”

• Dale Sams of Cumberland said the application for exemption should be denied.

“If this project is the right thing to do, it will withstand all such scrutiny,” Sams said. “There’s no good or valid reason” to rush.

• Ed Gates spoke of the endangered species in the area, including the Allegheny woodrat and small-footed bat. He also spoke of the change in scenery.

“Is this something you really want to see all the time?” Gates asked. “There are other things that are more important.”

• Frank Parry, a member of the Allegany-Garrett Sportsmen’s Association, opposed the project. He asked for a one-year moratorium until more information could be obtained by local government.

“One of the biggest problems is the lack of information,” Parry said.

Parry also spoke of the potential harm to recreational areas.

“If you like to camp, hunt or fish in Western Maryland, you should be outraged by this intrusion into our mountain heritage,” he said. “I urge you to suspend the process now.”

Bright told Parry statutes and regulations indicated the application process was “to be an expedited” one.

• Sydney Duncan, an English professor at FSU, said she is “unequivocally in favor of green energy” to the point of having solar panels installed on the roof of her home.

“I ask that the permit be denied. I would love to support this project,” Duncan said. “But I think what I heard here today ... there are a number of people in this community unhappy” with the information available.

• Don Shirley, of Local 1024 Carpenters and Millwrights, looked upon the application favorably because of the jobs it would create.

• Ryan Cunningham, who works for a local heavy equipment company, also spoke in favor of the project.

• James Pratt, who works in the environmental restoration industry, said damage from wind turbines is “very minimal” and new roads improve access for emergency vehicles in case of a forest fire.

• Bryce Hoopengarner said he has worked on two wind farms and favors this application.

• Fred Loar, a local landowner who has signed a lease with U.S. Wind Force, favored the projected.

• Ray Bourdeau said “there seems to be enough procedural questions” that remain. “Whether they are valid or not, I do not know. There are many unanswered questions. This is not an absolute pressing urgency.”

• Jeff Hutter of TWR Communications favored the proposal because of the local people it would help put to work. While “we really aren’t sure of the exact answer yet,” he felt a resolution of any potential communications disruption could be resolved.

• Gary Marsh said a friend allowed a wind company on his land and has since regretted it. Monies promised were not realized.

Bright asked David Friend, vice president of sales and marketing for U.S. Wind Force, to address safety concerns. Friend said ice throws in cold weather from rotors do have a “theoretical distance.” Practically, however, ice often lands “directly below the turbine,” he said.

Safety of employees are a priority, Friend said, and they are “trained to watch out for these circumstances.”

Friend also said the wind company isn’t able or equipped to sell power on the retail market. Instead, it will be sold wholesale. He noted wind energy offers rate stability. Wind sold now can be sold at the same price 20 years from now because the costs of overhead are known.

“No other fuel can offer that,” Friend said.

• Cara Meinke, a wildlife biologist working with U.S. Wind Force, was the last person to speak prior to the Times-News leaving at approximately 9 p.m. She reviewed elements of the environmental review report.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.