Many of you have followed along or participated in the Bowers wind project proceedings. For that, many other people owe you thanks. I ask that you continue to stay involved, because the developer is employing new and more devious tactics in an attempt to have its way.
On October 19th, Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission took a 'straw vote' on First Wind's permit application for the Bowers Wind Project.
LURC Commissioners voted unanimously to instruct staff to draw up a decision document DENYING a permit for the project.
Today, First Wind's attorney Juliet Browne submitted a lamentful appeal to LURC, requesting permission to 'withdraw' their application. Employing the same tactics used last year during Trans-Canada's Sisk wind project application process, Ms. Browne is making an end-run, attempting to circumvent established procedures with deceitful tactics.
The letter Ms. Browne sent to project manager Fred Todd will most likely be posted HERE in a day or two. In the meantime, here is my response to First Wind's request:
**********************************
November 8, 2011
Fred Todd, Project Manager
Land Use Regulation Commission
Augusta, ME 04333
Dear Fred;
As a citizen of Maine, I am writing this letter in response to the request LURC has received from First Wind’s attorney, Juliet Browne, of Verrill Dana LLP. In regards to FW’s (Champlain Wind LLC’s) permit application #DP4889 for the Bowers Wind Project, Ms. Browne “respectfully requests that (First Wind) be allowed to withdraw its application for the purpose of reconfiguring the project…”
The applicant also generously offers to “extend the deadline for the Commission to issue a final decision…through January, 2012…”
Confronted with an imminent “deny” decision, the applicant is playing fast and loose with the state’s resources and is gaming the system. Juliet Browne was a member of former Governor Baldacci’s wind task force which designed LD 2283, the so-called “expedited wind permitting law”—aka the “Maine Wind Energy Act”. Due to the passage of this law, citizens in 2/3 of the state of Maine have been disenfranchised. Our communities were rezoned without our input, and our right to “have a say” was sharply curtailed. In addition, citizens were suddenly required to abide by a law wherein a tight time-frame was mandated in which our regulatory agencies must make decision on wind development applications. DEP and LURC must ‘expedite’ these applications, and deny or approve within 6 months if there is no public hearing; and within 9 months if a public hearing is granted. You have no options, and the public has no option—we must abide by the law. And yet, First Wind, a company from another state, is graciously granting a Maine state agency an extension of time?
The unmitigated gall!
I have never been in favor of LURC’s taking of a ‘straw vote’, as (in my opinion) it is an invitation for an unscrupulous developer to do exactly what First Wind is doing. It gives them a ‘heads up’ that they are not going to receive their permit and opens up this new avenue in an already difficult and expensive process. Ms. Browne’s tactics were somewhat successful when she pulled this same rigmarole for Trans-Canada in the Sisk application process in the summer of 2010. After taking a straw vote wherein Commissioners voted to deny the project, LURC later proceeded to approve an altered application for Sisk. Whether or not the process was properly administered is now under debate and LURC and Maine citizens are waiting for a Law Court verdict on the appeal of that decision.
While I am not a fan of the Wind Energy Act, I (and each Maine citizen) have been obliged to abide by it until such a time as it is repealed. First Wind and every wind developer looking to build grid-scale wind energy plants in this state must do the same. They cannot have it both ways. They cannot expect to benefit from their own law when it suits them; but then bend those rules, or expect special dispensation when that same law works against them.
I urge you to deny Ms. Browne’s request to withdraw First Wind’s application. Additionally, I urge you to send a strong message to the developer. LURC is not theirs to manipulate, nor is the DEP. And our laws must be obeyed, whether they work as the wind industry planned, or not. If First Wind would like to lead the charge in repealing the Wind Energy Act, with its tight time constraints and less stringent standards for development, many Maine citizens will step forward to offer them their support. Until that time, they’ll have to play by the rules they set in motion.
If First Wind is allowed to withdraw from this lengthy process at a point where it has almost reached its conclusion, you will do a huge disservice to the people of Maine. And if you allow withdrawal and First Wind is allowed to reapply for a wind project permit in Carroll Plantation or Kossuth Township in the future, I urge LURC to require an additional application fee of $100,000.00 above and beyond that fee which is normally required. Intervenors such as PPDLW have spent tens of thousands of dollars opposing this project, and that money was raised one dollar at a time by individuals who were committed to doing what they believed was right—and who were constrained by the Wind Energy Act’s mandates and stipulations in how they could oppose the project. Additionally, the hundreds of citizens who took part in this process must be reimbursed, as well. Many Mainers lost several days’ pay, and spent money for gas, food and lodging as they traveled to the various LURC meetings and public hearings. We do not have the resources that large corporations such as First Wind have, and if this developer is going to be allowed to game the system, they must pay for the privilege. They must reimburse the People of Maine.
First Wind lost. The system is designed so that those who are unhappy with a decision have the right to appeal. I request that LURC Commissioners not allow themselves to be swayed by the applicant. I urge LURC Commissioners to stand firm and sign a decision document on December 7, 2011, denying First Wind’s Bowers Mt. permit.
Ms. Browne can appeal LURC’s decision in the very same way Maine citizens can, or she can recommend that her client move on, recognizing that Bowers is one of those places in Maine which is worthy of being protected from industrial development.
Thank you for your time and attention. Please feel free to call me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Karen Pease
Lexington Twp., Maine
No comments:
Post a Comment