Tardy Voices

Since the beginning of this legislative session in January, citizens from across Maine have been working to promote common-sense bills which will protect Mainers' heath, their finances, their quality of life, and this state's unparalleled "Quality of Place". We've encountered stiff opposition from some Legislators, and amazing and courageous support from others. But many members of the 125th Legislature are confronted with a large learning curve, and haven't yet had the opportunity to research the facts about mountaintop industrial wind facilities, or the wind energy plan for Maine. Others have already been lobbied-- and lobbied hard-- by the wind industry. They don't want to listen to us.

As you can see by the letter below, not everyone has turned a deaf ear. But the representative who wrote this letter, Rep. Tardy, is no longer a member of Maine's House of Representatives. As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, he was in a good position to assist our efforts. Now, many of our efforts must be repeated--ARE being repeated--and we must speak up, again. We only hope that members of the 125th Legislature and the EUT Committee will listen.

Listen, and act accordingly.
*************************************
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2 STATE HOUSE STATION
AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333-0002
(207)287-1440
TTY: (207)287-4469

Joshua A. Tardy
P.O. Box 381
Newport, ME 04953
Residence: (207) 368-5858
E-Mail: tardylaw@adelphia.net Ma rch 5, 2010

Ms. Heidi Emery
46 Sandy Stream Road
Highland Plantation, Maine 04961

Dear Ms. Emery:

I appreciate your taking the time to write and express your concerns with wind energy developments, specifically LD 2283, "An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power Development." This bill was passed during the 123rd Legislature and was signed as an emergency measure by the Governor on April 18,2008.

Your letter clearly points out your apprehensions with regard to the expeditious nature of these developments and I am sympathetic to your situation, i.e. your son's medical condition and the fact that you live in a valley where sounds are very much amplified. Although it does not seem likely additional legislation will be permitted this session to address a moratorium on development, let me assure you that I will speak with my colleagues on the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy, the committee with jurisdiction over these matters, about the need for more comprehensive and restrictive noise testing and standards.

Nearly a dozen bills were introduced this session dealing with wind power, demonstrating this topic is one that is gaining momentum in the public's eye and validating the need for careful regulation and oversight. For more information, I would direct you to the Land Use Regulation Commission website, Highland Wind LLC Development Pending Actions, to follow any developments with this project:

http://www.maine.gOv/doc/l urc/projects/Windpower/HighlandWind/Highland_DP4862.s html.

Also, I am sending along a site I have come across from other inquiries regarding the Highlands Mountains: http://highlandmts.org/.

Thank you for writing. Please do so again should other matters of interest arise.

Joshua A. Tardy, State Representative

Sincerely,


District 25 Corinna, part of Corinth, Exeter, Newport and Plymouth
Printed on recycled paper

*****************
Bottom Photo: Rep. Larry Dunphy, District 88-- a true representative of the People

Talking to Taxation

On Monday, May 9th, the Taxation Committee voted “Ought to Pass” for LD 1157, “An Act to Protect Property Tax Revenue in the Unorganized Territories”.

I wrote to the esteemed members of the Committee and thanked them for their vote, and for supporting those of us who live in UT's.

And then, "today" happened. Actually, it was yesterday. I arrived in Augusta on Thursday, prepared to attend the work session for LD 1366, "An Act to Amend the Maine Wind Energy Act..." in the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee room, and was told by Rep. Larry Dunphy that the Taxation Committee was reopening the work session for LD 1157 that very moment after being told by a member (or members) of the EUT Committee that (save Dunphy) they didn't support Taxation's stance. Since there were other concerned citizens at the EUT work session who had driven to Augusta to observe, I ran to the State House for the 're-do' work session on LD 1157. Upon arriving, the Taxation clerk, a very personable young woman, told me 1157's work session had been postponed. They would be reopening the record this morning at ten a.m.

So... back to the Cross Building... only to find that, due to a scheduled three p.m. session in the State House, the EUT's work session on LD 1366 was ALSO postponed... this time, until Tuesday, the 17th.

Today, I drove back to the Capital to attend Taxation's 're-do' work session. I witnessed Rep. Stacey Fitts lobbying the members in the hall outside the Committee room for an hour before LD 1157's work session began. I suppose that is how this works... that our Legislators make every attempt to promote their pet projects to Committee members whose votes might affect those projects. Still, it seemed unethical. The Taxation Committee had ALREADY voted... and here was a ranking member of the Legislature trying to convince them to change their votes.

To a small degree, that tactic worked. Two members who'd voted "Ought to Pass" on Monday, changed their votes. But six members chose to stand by their earlier votes, and stand by their constituents, and held fast. The Taxation Committee voted OTP, by a vote of six to three.

I've done really well in containing my emotions on this roller-coaster ride. After all, I'm a strong country woman who has faced some of the worst that life has to offer, without backing down. But, as tough as I am, I admit to tearing up when I witnessed those two Representatives giving their reasons for changing their minds. I couldn't help but wonder what argument the "Wind" supporters used to sway them. One representative claimed that he didn't think it was fair to target one industry (wind), and yet... LD2283, which became the Wind Energy Act (a.k.a. the Expedited Wind Permitting Law) gave FAVORITISM to that one industry. In my humble opinion, the corporate wind lobby can't have it both ways. End of story.

What changed my tears to a smile were the words of Rep. Knight, who said that he'd received "dozens and dozens" of emails and phone calls over the last few weeks from citizens who wanted him to support LD 1157; but he'd only heard from the wind lobbyists in the last two days... since Representatives Fitts and du Houx called for them to reconsider their "OTP" votes.

Rep. Knight, along with five other conscientious men, showed us that our voices ARE being heard, and our desires DO matter. Thank goodness.

Thank the members of the Taxation Committee!

And thank YOU, the Maine Citizens who are working so hard to 'have a say' in this important issue!

Below are the email addresses of the members of the Taxation Committee; should you wish to thank them for their vote, today.

dptrahan@roadrunner.com
dhastings@hastings-law.com
Dick.Woodbury@legislature.maine.gov
LGary.Knight@usa.net
RepPaul.Waterhouse@legislature.maine.gov
bick0585@aol.com
bennettco2000@hotmail.com
dburnsy12@gmail.com
ryan.harmon82@yahoo.com
seth@sethberry.org
RepMarkBryant@yahoo.com
elsie.flemings@gmail.com
dpilon@maine.rr.com

Disillusionment and hope.

Tears and a smile.

Yep, this is a roller-coaster ride. But I have faith that there are members of our Legislature who are truly committed to doing the right thing, no matter what pressure is exerted from a corporate lobby. All in all, there are worse ways for a country gal to spend her day off. Thank you, esteemed members of the Taxation Committee!!

***********************
An aside... a friend informed me this afternoon that a post from Tuesday night had disappeared from this blog. It was a 'thank you' to the Taxation Committee, combined with the text of the testimony I gave before the Members on April 26th. I didn't believe him... thought he hadn't looked in the right 'spot'. But upon arriving home, I checked the archives of VOW... and that posting is gone.

Very strange. I can't imagine what happened to it. I'll re-post my testimony as soon as I'm caught up on my tasks and obligations. And we'll see what happens, this time...

Idaho Wind

As I've already mentioned, other states (as well as countries all around the globe) are fighting the same wind battles we are. Some folks are playing catch-up-- just getting their 'wind bearings' and others are strides ahead of where we are.

World-wide, there are hundreds and hundreds of citizens' groups waging war against the corporate wind lobby.

Below is an excerpt from a letter I received from a 'wind warrior' in Idaho. And above is an interesting ad from the same state...This is the wording, in case you can't make it out:

"Something is missing from the conversation about energy.

"For nearly a century, Idaho Power has been committed to clean energy. Today about half the energy in our portfolio is generated from hydro, wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. We are proud of our small carbon footprint and history of responsible energy that rivals any electric utility in the nation.

"What Happens When The Wind Doesn’t Blow?

"For the most part, people work by day and rest at night. Wind, however, sometimes does the opposite. Or it blows one minute and not the next, so integrating wind energy into the grid that brings power to our homes requires facilities that can quickly adjust to moment-to-moment fluctuations in wind activity. Unfortunately, traditional generating plants can take hours to come on-line and off, so they are not suited to the task. Integrating all of this variable capacity also undermines the time-tested, science- and technology-driven, 20-year look-forward plan that is required of all utilities. And that just isn’t right.

"Sensible. Dependable. Responsible. It’s the Right Thing.

"To learn more and make your voice heard, visit www.GetPluggedIn.com. Together, we can get wind back on a responsible track." (I haven't had time to check out that link...guess I'd better do that, huh?)

***********************************
From Idaho:

"Our moratorium bill did not move out of House Committee by 1 vote -- so disappointing. We tried to push a siting bill through during the last week of the legislative session, but it did not move out of Committee by 3 votes. However, we did have a win. In the final moments of the legislative session, Idaho's sales tax rebate for wind did not pass on the Senate for by 1 vote. That was it -- then the session was over! This was huge! I testified in the Senate Committee. When it moved out of committee, I actually left the capitol building because I could not bear to watch the Senate floor debate -- I thought it would pass for sure. I was at lunch having a quick bite to eat before I made the long trip home when our lobbyist called and said that it failed on the floor by 1 vote. I guess the Senator who was the Chairman of the committee where I testified (and 1 other person against it) was the only Senator that debated against the bill -- our lobbyist said his debate was heroic! Of course, I went back over to the capitol building after I got the news so that I could shake the lawmakers' hands. It was incredible. Our tiny group and 1 lobbyist beat their army of lobbyists (worth $1 million). It was a great day in Idaho!

"Is your legislative session still going? Did Maine propose a moratorium?"

*****************************

Maine's Legislature is still in session. And we DID write a moratorium bill, but today it was voted by the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee as "Ought Not To Pass". However, the EUT Committee is holding another work session on Tuesday, and we have hopes that they will "tweak" LD 1366 (And Act to Update the Maine Wind Energy Act...), vote that it "Ought To Pass" and support the wishes and the will of the people of Maine rather than the corporate wind lobby. There are too many very real problems with industrial wind; from the sometimes-questionable conduct of developers and government officials, to the health effects of the turbines, and the impact to property values and the environment. And on and on and on. As frustrated as we become and as hopeless as we sometimes feel, there are many good men and women in Augusta who simply didn't know all the facts behind 'wind' when they passed LD 2283 in 2008.

Please help my contacting the members of the EUT Committee and ask that they support our legislation.