Friday, July 30, 2010
INPUT SOUGHT ON LINE ROUTES~GALLOO ISLAND WIND PROJECT
By NANCY MADSEN
TIMES STAFF WRITER
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010
Link here to large map
Galloo Island Wind Farm's developer is asking for public comment again, this time on four possible routes for a transmission line.
Upstate NY Power Corp. on Monday will begin a series of public information meetings in Jefferson and Oswego counties about the routes. Information with maps of the routes was sent to towns and villages where the line may run and is available on the developer's website.
Friday, July 23, 2010
PILOT plan
The Jefferson County Industrial Agency finally has held some public discussions as they attempt to do what the county Legislature told them to do almost a year ago. JCIDA members are talking about changes to the uniform tax exempt policy adopted in 2004.
JCIDA ignored the county's direction to produce a uniform policy for wind power developments in the county and instead negotiated a special deal for the Galloo Island project, which cost county taxpayers substantial lost property tax revenues and left unsaid just exactly what part of the county would host the power line serving the project.
Continue...Watertown Times
Thursday, July 22, 2010
GALLOO ISLAND PSC~RULING ON REVISED SCHEDULE
STATE OF NEW YORK
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Article VII Proceeding
CASE 09-T-0049 - Application of Upstate NY Power Corp. for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for a 50.6 mile 230kV Transmission Facility From Galloo Island in the Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, to the Fitzpatrick-Edic Substation in the Town of Mexico, Oswego County.
(Issued July 22, 2010)
RULING ON REVISED SCHEDULE
KEVIN J. CASUTTO, Administrative Law Judge:
A telephone conference was convened on July 14, 2010, with the Applicant, Department of Public Service (DPS) Staff, and Ms. Roberta French to discuss status of the Applicant’s revised alternatives analysis and further scheduling. The Applicant provided a summary of the telephone conference in its letter dated July 16, 2010, including its request to postpone the September 15, 2010 procedural conference to a status conference on October 13, 2010. In sum, the Applicant explained that completion of the revised alternatives analysis is taking more time than initially anticipated (see Applicant’s July 16th letter for further background). By October 13, the Applicant expects to circulate to the active parties a “tier two” map identifying the location of alternative transmission line routes intended for more detailed consideration in subsequent evidentiary hearings. However, although the Applicant intends to identify the tier two routes by October 13, Applicant’s tier two analysis will not be completed by that date.
Consequently, a telephone conference with the active parties will be held on October 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., during which the Applicant will provide a status report on its alternatives analysis and its outreach efforts with affected towns. During the October 13 telephone conference, we will discuss further scheduling, including a date by which the
CASE 09-T-0049
-2-
Applicant will file its tier two analysis, and a schedule for a procedural conference and public statement hearings.
Therefore, the procedural conference tentatively planned for September 15, 2010 is canceled. Instead, a telephone conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on October 13, 2010. Instructions for participation in the October 13 telephone conference will be circulated to the active parties at a future date.
(SIGNED) KEVIN J. CASUTTO
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Article VII Proceeding
CASE 09-T-0049 - Application of Upstate NY Power Corp. for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for a 50.6 mile 230kV Transmission Facility From Galloo Island in the Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, to the Fitzpatrick-Edic Substation in the Town of Mexico, Oswego County.
(Issued July 22, 2010)
RULING ON REVISED SCHEDULE
KEVIN J. CASUTTO, Administrative Law Judge:
A telephone conference was convened on July 14, 2010, with the Applicant, Department of Public Service (DPS) Staff, and Ms. Roberta French to discuss status of the Applicant’s revised alternatives analysis and further scheduling. The Applicant provided a summary of the telephone conference in its letter dated July 16, 2010, including its request to postpone the September 15, 2010 procedural conference to a status conference on October 13, 2010. In sum, the Applicant explained that completion of the revised alternatives analysis is taking more time than initially anticipated (see Applicant’s July 16th letter for further background). By October 13, the Applicant expects to circulate to the active parties a “tier two” map identifying the location of alternative transmission line routes intended for more detailed consideration in subsequent evidentiary hearings. However, although the Applicant intends to identify the tier two routes by October 13, Applicant’s tier two analysis will not be completed by that date.
Consequently, a telephone conference with the active parties will be held on October 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., during which the Applicant will provide a status report on its alternatives analysis and its outreach efforts with affected towns. During the October 13 telephone conference, we will discuss further scheduling, including a date by which the
CASE 09-T-0049
-2-
Applicant will file its tier two analysis, and a schedule for a procedural conference and public statement hearings.
Therefore, the procedural conference tentatively planned for September 15, 2010 is canceled. Instead, a telephone conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on October 13, 2010. Instructions for participation in the October 13 telephone conference will be circulated to the active parties at a future date.
(SIGNED) KEVIN J. CASUTTO
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Edsall's Questionable Ethics ~ Letter to the Editor ~ WDT
Cape official's conduct requires explanation
Watertown Daily Times~ editorial Section~
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010
The actions of the town of Cape Vincent Planning Board Chairman Richard Edsall should be a concern to everyone in Jefferson County. While he and his family hold wind contracts that could yield them over $54,000, he has voted on important wind issues.
He has also made himself a strong advocate of wind development in Cape Vincent, while declining to request an opinion from the Jefferson County Board of Ethics as to whether he should be voting on or participating in wind-related issues.
Mr. Edsall has stated repeatedly that Cape Vincent needs a wind law and yet
on June 14, 2006, he wrote the town board to let them know that the Planning Board recommends the town board abandon the wind law process. This raises the question as to whether he wants a law or not. Perhaps he feels that, as an advocate of wind power, he can negotiate a project application through the site plan review process that will be friendlier to his personal financial interests.
He was also instrumental in hiring the law firm Whitman Osterman & Hanna of Albany . Their website explains how they have worked for wind developers in the past. The developer-friendly law firm has done nothing to protect the citizens of Cape Vincent and has done everything to promote the developers' agenda.
In June, I was present at a Planning Board meeting. After the regular meeting was finished, the chairman said there will not be another meeting until July. Right after that, to my surprise, I became aware of another meeting that was not announced to the public.
It was in a back room in the town office building. Present at this meeting were four Planning Board members, as well as two town board members, the Planning Board chairman's wife and the zoning officer.
Why would Mr. Edsall hold a private meeting while the town is in a controversy over wind development? He and his family are some of the largest recipients of wind lease money. I feel a public explanation would be in order to set the record straight.
John Byrne
Cape Vincent
Additional link~ Aubertine letter to Cape Vincent ~Town Board RE: conflicted members voting
Watertown Daily Times~ editorial Section~
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010
The actions of the town of Cape Vincent Planning Board Chairman Richard Edsall should be a concern to everyone in Jefferson County. While he and his family hold wind contracts that could yield them over $54,000, he has voted on important wind issues.
He has also made himself a strong advocate of wind development in Cape Vincent, while declining to request an opinion from the Jefferson County Board of Ethics as to whether he should be voting on or participating in wind-related issues.
Mr. Edsall has stated repeatedly that Cape Vincent needs a wind law and yet
on June 14, 2006, he wrote the town board to let them know that the Planning Board recommends the town board abandon the wind law process. This raises the question as to whether he wants a law or not. Perhaps he feels that, as an advocate of wind power, he can negotiate a project application through the site plan review process that will be friendlier to his personal financial interests.
He was also instrumental in hiring the law firm Whitman Osterman & Hanna of Albany . Their website explains how they have worked for wind developers in the past. The developer-friendly law firm has done nothing to protect the citizens of Cape Vincent and has done everything to promote the developers' agenda.
In June, I was present at a Planning Board meeting. After the regular meeting was finished, the chairman said there will not be another meeting until July. Right after that, to my surprise, I became aware of another meeting that was not announced to the public.
It was in a back room in the town office building. Present at this meeting were four Planning Board members, as well as two town board members, the Planning Board chairman's wife and the zoning officer.
Why would Mr. Edsall hold a private meeting while the town is in a controversy over wind development? He and his family are some of the largest recipients of wind lease money. I feel a public explanation would be in order to set the record straight.
John Byrne
Cape Vincent
Additional link~ Aubertine letter to Cape Vincent ~Town Board RE: conflicted members voting
Friday, July 16, 2010
Acciona to submit final impact statement
By Nancy Madsen Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Publication: Watertown Daily Times (New York)
Date: Friday, July 16 2010
July 16--CAPE VINCENT -- St. Lawrence Wind Farm developer Acciona Wind Energy USA is just weeks away from submitting its final environmental impact statement to the town Planning Board.
The Planning Board, during a meeting Wednesday night, set the schedule for handling the statement, the last of three that discuss the effects the wind farm could have on the town's resources, environment and economy. This is the culmination of the state environmental quality review process.
Link here to continue reading
Publication: Watertown Daily Times (New York)
Date: Friday, July 16 2010
July 16--CAPE VINCENT -- St. Lawrence Wind Farm developer Acciona Wind Energy USA is just weeks away from submitting its final environmental impact statement to the town Planning Board.
The Planning Board, during a meeting Wednesday night, set the schedule for handling the statement, the last of three that discuss the effects the wind farm could have on the town's resources, environment and economy. This is the culmination of the state environmental quality review process.
Link here to continue reading
Thursday, July 8, 2010
TRILLIUM WIND ~ CAPE VINCENT PROTEST
Wind Energy Faces Debate ---->link here for video<----
JEFFERSON COUNTY, N.Y. -- Protesters overrun a public informational meeting held by a Canadian wind project developer. The North Country group Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and the Thousand Islands walked into the gathering at the Cape Vincent Elementary School, protesting the Trillium Power Wind Corporation project.
The wind farm would be built in the Canadian waters of Lake Ontario adjacent to Main Duck Island. The protest shows just how debatable the issue of wind energy has become in the North Country.
"We are of the opinion that wind is a good part of our energy future and we want to put them in, what we feel, is the best area to put them, out of sight, out of mind, away from people who may have concerns," said Martin Parker, Chief Development Officer of Trillium Power Wind Corporation.
"We're still opposed to populating the lake, one of our greatest natural resources, with inefficient generation of energy that requires back-up power," said Robert Aliasso, Co-chair of the Golden Crescent Coalition.
The 138 turbines would make this one of the largest offshore projects in the Great Lakes Region
JEFFERSON COUNTY, N.Y. -- Protesters overrun a public informational meeting held by a Canadian wind project developer. The North Country group Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and the Thousand Islands walked into the gathering at the Cape Vincent Elementary School, protesting the Trillium Power Wind Corporation project.
The wind farm would be built in the Canadian waters of Lake Ontario adjacent to Main Duck Island. The protest shows just how debatable the issue of wind energy has become in the North Country.
"We are of the opinion that wind is a good part of our energy future and we want to put them in, what we feel, is the best area to put them, out of sight, out of mind, away from people who may have concerns," said Martin Parker, Chief Development Officer of Trillium Power Wind Corporation.
"We're still opposed to populating the lake, one of our greatest natural resources, with inefficient generation of energy that requires back-up power," said Robert Aliasso, Co-chair of the Golden Crescent Coalition.
The 138 turbines would make this one of the largest offshore projects in the Great Lakes Region
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wind turbine in Cape up to code with land purchase
Wind turbine in Cape up to code with land purchase
By BRIAN KELLY
TIMES STAFF WRITER
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010
A Cape Vincent man's personal wind turbine will be allowed to stay up after he purchased an adjacent lot, a move which enabled him to bring the structure into compliance with town codes.
Roger D. Alexander, of 35157 County Route 7, spent about $80,000 to build the 92-foot structure last summer after obtaining what he believed was a valid "accessory use" permit to do so from Zoning Enforcement Officer Alan N. Wood.
The Zoning Board of Appeals later ruled that the permit was not valid, stating that in order to have an accessory use structure taller than 35 feet on the otherwise vacant parcel, there must also be a "principal use."
Link to original
Watertown Daily Times | Wind turbine in Cape up to code with land purchase
By BRIAN KELLY
TIMES STAFF WRITER
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010
A Cape Vincent man's personal wind turbine will be allowed to stay up after he purchased an adjacent lot, a move which enabled him to bring the structure into compliance with town codes.
Roger D. Alexander, of 35157 County Route 7, spent about $80,000 to build the 92-foot structure last summer after obtaining what he believed was a valid "accessory use" permit to do so from Zoning Enforcement Officer Alan N. Wood.
The Zoning Board of Appeals later ruled that the permit was not valid, stating that in order to have an accessory use structure taller than 35 feet on the otherwise vacant parcel, there must also be a "principal use."
Link to original
Watertown Daily Times | Wind turbine in Cape up to code with land purchase
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