An ill wind blows in Highland
The wind debate has entered a more ominous phase.
A month after the hearing on the prospect of industrial-scale wind power for Highland County, and just days before the three supervisors cast votes up or down to allow such a project, the landscape has been radically altered. What has been an emotionally-charged issue has become a high-powered legal issue as well.
As detailed in todays Recorder, the county has been put on notice that if it approves a conditional use permit that would allow Henry T. Mac McBride to establish a 39-megawatt wind power project on his Allegheny Mountain property, it will need to defend that decision in a federal court.
Retained by the Goodall family, Ralph Swecker, and Gregory Warnock, the Roanoke firm of Woods Rogers, linked with the Bath/Highland firm of John C. Singleton, will challenge McBrides project on environmental and regulatory grounds as well as claiming violating these landowners rights to enjoyment of their property.
Simultaneously, a second lawsuit filed weeks ago by several landowners affected by their proximity to the proposed site is gaining momentum. It charges the supervisors decision in May that altered the countys height restriction ordinance, and paved the way for structures higher than 400 feet, was illegal. The county has now hired yet another Roanoke law firm well-versed in land use issues to advise the board on any matters related to wind turbines.
One can hope these shots across the bow have gotten the attention of our leaders, who now face the prospect of engaging the county in protracted and expensive legal battles if they insist on approving McBrides application.
To forge ahead at this point would require a deep faith by board members that McBride has offered Highlanders a good deal. A deal good enough to compensate for the inevitable trashing of their countryside. A deal good enough to justify allowing Highland ridges to sprout hundreds of huge wind turbines over the next decade or two, and be laced with a network of high-voltage transmission lines to carry the expensive electricity outside our borders onto the national grid. A deal good enough to gamble on whether other privately held property could be taken by utilities to expand their projects here. A deal good enough to foreclose on Highlands heritage and its promising future.
And therein lies the essential flaw with supporting McBride, not only at the expense of his neighbors but in spite of a clear majority of Highland residents and landowners: Faith is not sufficient to underpin a decision of this magnitude. We need more information and assurance and virtually none has been offered by McBride or, more accurately, his attorneys through whom he speaks.
Its possible the county could gain a substantial cash flow from such a project, but its evident now that most states involved with wind power are waiving property taxes for developers instead of collecting them. And, again, McBride has offered nothing to Highland.
It is possible Highlands bats and birds would avoid the turbines blades, but that requires ignoring the experience of massive bird and bat kills recorded in other states on similar ridges.
And its possible (as we are told by the developer) that tourists would flock here in great numbers to stare in wonder at these massive machines without mourning the loss of one of the worlds most unspoiled pastoral landscapes. But there are no statistics supporting that notion. Those who appreciate our unique countryside, on the other hand, can point to the more than 50,000 visitors drawn to the Maple Festival each year as clear evidence what we offer now works just fine.
McBride is asking us to sacrifice our identity simply to bend to his will. He would have us bypass thorough environmental and regulatory reviews to expedite his need to fulfill his personal mission: To be seen as an energy visionary bringing the first wind-generated power to Virginia. The potential fortune he stands to gain through the current level of tax credits and favorable market stimulants for alternative energy is certainly a prime motivator, and a consequence wed gladly grant him were the consequences for the rest of us not so dire.
These new legal developments provide supervisors with an excellent reason to step back from the brink. Its not backing down to be prudent in the face of changing circumstances. Its not weak to reexamine options and demand the applicant provide a full and accurate accounting of his plans. Its not contradictory to support introducing wind power in Highland while insisting it not be allowed except under conditions fully disclosed and understood by all involved.
And there is no longer any reason for supervisors to withhold their thoughts on the matter for fear of pending litigation its no longer pending. If a yes vote sends the argument into the courts, everyones reasoning will be thoroughly aired. One would hope the supervisors are as confident of their positions then as they have been up to now.
A no vote virtually eliminates expensive legal consequences. Its difficult to imagine McBride could successfully sue a board that has followed the rules of public participation and bent over backward for his interests every step of the way. And besides, were McBride to take such an action against the county, one can bet the solidarity among Highland citizens would only strengthen. All those who have put so many resources into opposing McBrides plans would rally behind county leadership with the same amount of zeal to see the developers lawsuit defeated.
Denying McBrides request does not necessarily mean the board has given up on wind power as an opportunity for Highland. It means it will not accept anything less than full disclosure from any developer of any project that has the potential to vastly alter the countys quality of life. It means the board will allow sufficient time for citizens to finish revising their comprehensive land use plan without being preempted by a project so clearly at odds with that documents intentions or their suggestions so eloquently laid out in last weeks Recorder. The vision of Highlands future they see is based on tourism supported by successful farming and timbering, home-grown businesses, celebration of our heritage and expanded recreational opportunities. Industrial-scale wind power was not on their radar.
For supervisors to offer up Highland County as a guinea pig for wind power development in Virginia is an irreversible act. One that would dismiss the will of the people and risk everything for what could well be worth nothing or far worse. The supervisors may elect to take that risk, but its certainly not what they were elected to do.
It is a rich irony that three good men, who in all other matters are so determined that Highlanders retain control of their own destiny, are on the verge of tying the countys future to powerful outside interests over which they will have no control, and from whom they can expect no consideration.
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