Vote sparks bitterness from many, applause from some
By Anne Adams and Will O’Connor Staff Writers
MONTEREY After the initial letdown of the Highland boards permit approval for Highland New Wind Development, those who have so strongly opposed the 39-megwatt industrial wind energy project are not about to give up hopes of preventing it from getting off the ground.
Tom Brody and his wife, Patti Reum, are one of the families most severely affected by the proposal, as they own and operate a small retreat and offer environmental education programs directly beneath the project site. I believe the supervisors sold us out, he said this week. I want Highland residents to know were not trying to keep them from getting jobs and were not trying to stop progress. Were just trying to protect our own property rights. This (project) is impacting us far beyond (HNWDs) boundaries. Im worried about our property values, and all the investments weve made in opening our farm to the public in ways that highlight the countys assets. Were defending our rights.
Brody said the vote marks the beginning of the kind of exploitation that has been part Appalachia history in West Virginia, most of which Virginia, and Highland in particular, has so far manged to avoid taking the mountains from the people and giving them to developers.
Brody still contends there was no reason the board should have considered the project because of all the unknowns surrounding the merits of wind energy. The only way the county will benefit in terms of significant, guaranteed tax revenue is if 50 miles of ridgetop are developed, he said. There will be hundreds of turbines in Highland County,
Brody was surprised by how little the county asked of McBride in terms of conditions for a $60 million project. Supervisors usually grill and scrutinize local people for much smaller projects, he said. They didnt do their homework. County supervisors said they had reviewed tons of research but they avoided the issue and didnt listen to concerns of the people in the county, he said, noting neither he nor nearby landowner Pendleton Goodall was ever contacted by supervisors Lee Blagg or Jerry Rexrode to ask how they felt. The supervisors just talked to the McBrides and catered to their needs, he said.
I know the quality of my life will change dramatically, but so will everybodys, he said. Were not fighting just one development here, were fighting an industry that wants to exploit our mountain ridgetops in Highland and in the region.
Brody also said he was bitterly disappointed that supervisors didnt listen to the majority and appeared to completely disregarded six months of research and work done by the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission.
Our assets in Highland County are intangible. They cant be counted in dollar bills. We should be doing something to enhance these assets.
Wind energy is not free. Were going to be paying for it in our taxes, electric bills, and in our quality of life. The move isnt about green energy, its about green bills, he said.
I think (the supervisors) made the right decision, said Dave Smith of McDowell, one of the few ardent supporters of HNWDs project. Its right for the county and the country. There are troops fighting overseas right now, in part due to dependence on foreign oil, he said, adding that wind energy is not the total answer, but is part of the solution, along with solar energy and energy-efficient construction, to many of the county and countrys problems.
The revenue the project could bring in will benefit everyone in Highland, Smith said. He believes the county needs more of a commercial and industrial base. Currently, raising the real estate tax is the only way the county can generate more money, and this hurts farmers and people living on fixed incomes, Smith says. He hopes money from the project will at least stabilize real estate tax rates.
Smith said he doesnt believe wind turbines will proliferate in Highland. He said the government owns a significant portion of ridgeline property and as of yet, they dont allow turbines. He also said the infrastructure is not sufficient to add more projects and anyone wishing to develop further would incur serious costs in connecting a different site to the grid. McBrides location is ideal due to existing KV lines and because no land would have to be cleared, Smith said.
Smith believes momentum among those who support the project is growing, though many wouldnt speak out.
I dont think (the turbines) are as bad as what weve been led to believe, he said. Once people have all the facts, and take out the emotion, they see the project is not a bad thing, he said. He blamed The Recorder for helping to paint a negative picture of the project. None of us want to destroy Highland County at all, he said.
Goodall, whose family lands also fall under one of the turbine sites, says he was not at all surprised by the vote. The Goodall Family Trust, owners of thousands of acres on Allegheny Mountain, is party to at least two pending lawsuits against the county so far. I really get the sense its going to be all right, he said Tuesday. Though he has said he may leave the area if the project is built, hes not packing his bags. Were going to see through all these lawsuits, and another ones coming. He and his brother, McChesney Goodall, are confident in their attorney David Bailey, and believe there is some hope for winning in court particularly with regard to the Endangered Species Act.
Goodall was quoted in a daily newspaper article as threatening county board chair Jerry Rexrode, but Rexrode says the article took those comments out of context. When the Roanoke article about me came out, I talked to Jerry about it, Goodall says. The two are congenial, though Goodall says at the time of their conversation, Rexrode told him if the wind project is successful, hed consider leasing his own land. He pointed to Jack Mountain where he owns property, Goodall said, and said hes going to put them up there, too.
Highland County Chamber of Commerce director Carolyn Pohowsky has also been outspoken opposing the project, though the chamber itself has not taken an official position on the matter.
Pohowsky said she had done research over the past year, contacting counties all over the east (Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Michigan) who had installed turbines. She wanted to know how the turbines were affecting the tourism industry. Tourism is vital to most of the businesses who belong to the Highland chamber, she said.
She called these counties chambers and spoke to lodging facilities and said she didnt find any evidence the turbines brought sustainable overnight tourism. Each of the counties experienced an influx of day-trippers who come out to see them out of curiosity, but that the boon in visitors was certainly not sustainable. She cautioned that as more turbines are built, they attract fewer people.
Pohowsky said she found three things in the areas she researched, noting many people had no objection to turbines in their areas:
Tourism was not a growing industry in the counties she contacted. Most were run down and didnt have much of a draw before, she said.
None received the projected revenue promised by wind utilities, though they had been receiving a limited amount, nor the number of jobs promised.
All said they expected wind projects in their areas to expand. The industry had started with just one site in these areas, but quickly grew from there.
As to assertion expressed by supervisors here that turbines will increase tourism, Pohowsky said, I dont know where theyre getting their evidence from. She has found no evidence to support that conclusion, she said, but would be interested in knowing where tthe board got its information.
As the process surrounding Highlands project unfolded, opponents last fall organized a new citizens group, Highlanders for Responsible Development, that outlined a mission to assist the county with any potential development. Members (anyone can participate) were garnered through wind project opposition, though a broader goal has been described.
HRD vice president Randy Richardson says the group plans to meet again as soon as president Charlotte Stephenson returns from vacation sometime next week, and members will discuss a response to the permit approval and a plan of action.
Richardson said he couldnt speak on behalf of all HRD members, but said, I can tell you were not pleased … Its disappointing … We will continue onward.
Meanwhile in neighboring Pendleton County, W.Va., those opposed to a wind utility proposed there, at a site adjacent to the Pendleton/Highland County line, continue to wage a battle against what they see as a threat to their quality of life. Their citizens group, Friends of Beautiful Pendleton County, organized very quickly upon learning of that project developers plans for an 80-megawatt wind energy plant dubbed Liberty Gap. The group has been working with Highland citizens, and closely following events here.
Disappointment is my gut feeling, said FBPC spokesman Robbie Sites, pointing to how long and hard opponents here have fought. The board of supervisors are effectively operating on their own here … their own agenda.
Sites is concerned that now that Highlands utility has received board support, the door will be open to more projects. This particular project may not directly impact Pendleton, but its implications will, he said. Now that (the wind developers) have some, they might as well go for more.
Developer U.S. Wind Force has not filed an intent to make application to West Virginias Public Service Commission, and Sites suspects its due to not knowing where transmission lines will run. July 25, the PSC will adopt new siting regulations for wind turbines in West Virginia.
In the interim, FBPC is working with landowners approached by the developer to offer support. Sites says U.S. Wind Forces offer to landowners for rights to install transmission lines has risen from $15,000 to $17,000 per acre.
U.S. Wind Force president Tom Matthews did not return calls for comment this week, and the companys Pendleton County representative, Jim Cookman, declined to comment on Highlands project, saying it was a Highland County matter.
The initial application to the PSC shows U.S. Wind Force is leaving the door open for extending the Liberty Gap project into Highland County, and Cookman has said before his company is very interested in whether Highlands project is approved. But he declined to explain how last weeks vote here affects USWF plans at this point. I dont have a dog in the fight, he said.
Senior CSPDC planner Darryl Crawford attended last weeks meeting to see how the board would vote. Crawford did months of research on wind energy at the boards request last year, and presented supervisors with an all-inclusive list of conditions it could consider placing on a permit for HNWDs project. He, too, declined to comment on the boards vote.
The CSPDC, he said, completed its work back in May or June, and from there, it takes no position on the supervisors decision. The PDC made its recommendations as planners, and that was the end of the job.
Whether HNWD gets to move the first shovel of dirt remains to be seen. Most agree construction is a long way off. Lawsuits have been filed or promised by at least 10 individuals and families, all of whom are prepared to see out the process in court.
Im going to fight this, Brody said. Its not over until the wind turbine spins.
No comments have been posted. Be the first!
| 
