Residents in challenge to wind tower placement
Toolbox
By SANDI SWITZER HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: October 20, 2009
CLARENDON – A temporary wind measurement tower erected on Susie's Peak has local officials crying foul over its placement.
The tower, built by Vermont Community Wind Farm, was not placed at the site approved by the state Public Service Board, according to Clarendon Select Board Chairman Michael Klopchin.
A small group of concerned residents used global positioning satellite equipment to pinpoint the location of the VCWF tower, he said.
"According to one of the guys, who is a surveyor, it's 230 meters south of the location it was permitted to be," Klopchin said. "They put it in a picnic area at the top of Susie's Peak where a lot of friends go to meet."
Klopchin reported those same residents indicated several trees were cut down at the tower site and left strewn atop a popular stone fire pit used by hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.
"I'm going to contact the town's attorney on Monday and have a motion filed to revoke their permit given they took it upon themselves to put it on a whole different site without going through the process," he said.
Clarendon and Vermonters for a Clean Environment had requested the PSB reconsider its decision to issue certificates of public good for the installation of a temporary wind measurement tower on Susie's Peak.
VCE also requested the PSB reconsider its decision regarding a temporary tower on Herrick Mountain in Ira.
On Friday, the public board entered orders denying those requests.
"The Public Service Board is working for the corporations and not working for the people," VCE Executive Director Annette Smith said. "It's disappointing, but it's not a surprise."
Smith said the company's actions raised questions whether the tower was erected on land leased by VCWF or on private property.
VCWF spokesman Jeffrey Wennberg responded to Smith and Klopchin's concerns in a telephone interview Sunday evening and a subsequent interview the following day.
Wennberg said the meteorological tower was installed on Wagner Forest Management Land leased to VCWF.
"Under no circumstance has it been put on any land other than the land for which we have the legal authority to be there through a signed lease," he said. "It is on Wagner Forest land."
Concerns were raised the tower was erected on Richard Anderson's property. Anderson owns 700 acres in the area and has hired a surveyor to investigate. "I have a call in to my surveyor and we're going to look into it," said Bruce Anderson, who manages the property.
"The whole situation is disturbing to all of us up here on the farm. It's a very peaceful serene setting and for this big money to come and devastate the ridgeline like they're planning to do is distressing to all of us," Anderson said. "We will fight them as long as we have to."
Wennberg acknowledged the tower was placed 250 feet from the location identified in the PSB application.
"It's a minor adjustment in order to make sure that we complied with all the other requirements, such as no building of new roads and avoiding all the natural areas," he said.
Wennberg said the tower was shorter than the structure permitted by the PSB. "The one in the order was a 60-meter tower, which is just under 200 feet. The actual tower is 34 meters, so it's a little more than half as tall," he said.
He also said the PSB limited the amount of land to be cleared for the project to an acre. "The actual clearing was about one-quarter of what was authorized," Wennberg said. "So, excellent work has been done to minimize the amount of clearing and intrusion in the area."
Smith said she had fielded numerous calls from individuals about the tower.
"Mostly, people are just really, really sad that this has happened and it doesn't seem like anything the public says gets paid attention to by the Public Service Board," Smith said.
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