Engineers change wind utility plans

Supervisor David Blanchard, left, and Mattern & Craig engineer Tom Austin, listened as Highland New Wind representatives explained their proposal. Austin was hired by the county to review HNWD's erosion and sediment control plans. (Recorder photo by Anne Adams) MONTEREY — After a list of concerns and questions about Highland New Wind Development's site plans were discussed last week, the company's firm, Blackwell Engineering, made some changes.

In a letter Monday to the county's Technical Review Committee, engineer Ed Blackwell responded point-by-point to issues raised by the county's engineering firm, Mattern & Craig, represented by Tom Austin. Some of the questions and responses included:

• Land area to be disturbed — Austin said the limits of land disturbance were not adequately shown. Blackwell added a more detailed breakdown.

• Stabilizing the road — Austin asked for details. Blackwell pointed to the plan narrative, which says permanent stabilization on the access roads, parking areas, and other routes will be installed immediately after grading. He also added that access road grading will be limited to 3,000 feet in length without stabilization.

Henry T. "Mac" McBride of Harrisonburg hopes to build Virginia's first industrial wind energy utility, with a generating capacity of 38 megawatts, on his 4,000- acre tract on Allegheny Mountain, in western Highland County. McBride, his wife, Lola, and his son, Tal, created Highland New Wind Development LLC for the project. (Recorder photo by Anne Adams) • Austin asked why the new access road doesn't follow the existing road. Blackwell explained the proposed road would minimize impacts to natural features, and maintain needed radii and grades. "The existing road shown on the map at this location is a simple, almost non-existent farm path through a well established pasture."

• Austin asked for detailed information on the portable concrete plants; Blackwell added that information in the plans.

• Austin said a brush barrier is not an acceptable substitution for a silt fence; Blackwell cited regulations, saying the brush barrier "will function in rocky areas where silt fence cannot be installed or properly anchored."

• Check dams — Austin noted these were far away from the grading/ land disturbing, in some cases more than 1,500 feet away, which he said was unconventional and unacceptable. Blackwell replied, "Check dams are called out in these locations as an additional barrier and protection measure for the Laurel Fork. They are simply intended to slow down the existing time of concentration in order to allow the well established vegetation to provide additional filtering for the storm water runoff."

• Detail for underground lines — Austin had asked for details. Blackwell said no additional clearing or grading is proposed for the underground transmission lines. They will follow in the easement and cleared zone of Allegheny Power lines and existing access roads. The proposed trench, he said will be two feet wide with a limited number of six-foot wide splice pits, and limited to 500 feet in length.

• Crossing streams and wetlands — Austin asked these crossings be clearly stated on the plans, along with a note about performing directional drilling. He also said plans should refer to the surveys of each wetland area, and that all work shall be performed outside the wetland limits. Blackwell added a note to the plans that says all stream crossings shall be installed per applicable permits and outside the delineated wetland areas.

• Austin asked for detail on the substation; Blackwell revised that drawing, plus the detail on the turbine site as requested. The turbine detail also gives cross sections.

• A state storm water management plan permit — Blackwell acknowledged a permit through the Department of Conservation and Recreation is needed for disturbing more than one acre of land, and said the application has been prepared and engineers must wait for an approved E&S plan to send it. He said the application would be sent to DCR within one workday of that approval.

• Cost estimate for all E&S measures — Austin said this was needed so a value could be set for the Security Performance. Blackwell sent one categorized, showing roadway work: $691,621; E&S items: $167,721; grand total: $859,342.

Blackwell noted several of the comments were addressed in the previous plan, "and several others could have easily been clarified by a quick phone call, email, or site visit. I believe an on-site meeting between the county, Mattern & Craig, and Blackwell Engineering would benefit all parties, could easily clarify several issues and allow for a better understanding of the site and our plans."

Monday, county supervisors approved a joint site visit for the engineers to discuss the plans, and Austin and Blackwell agreed to meet as early as Thursday this week if possible.