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Clarendon wants Douglas to stop ridgeline turbines



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By SANDI SWITZER HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: November 27, 2009

CLARENDON – Municipal officials want the governor to place a moratorium on locating wind towers atop ridgelines around the state until lawmakers address the issue in the next session.

The Clarendon Select Board voted on Monday to send a letter to Gov. James Douglas requesting a face-to-face meeting in order to present a formal request.

"We want the opportunity to meet with the governor and ask for a moratorium on the ridgelines until the Legislature takes up the siting criteria bill that (Rep.) Dave Potter and other legislators are pursuing," Select Board Chairman Michael Klopchin said.

Klopchin indicated the moratorium was needed to give state legislators the opportunity to develop criteria addressing health, safety and aesthetic issues with regard to the placement of wind turbines in the state.

A majority of the board agreed to the request after one member indicated the moratorium should not be site-specific.

"I'd want to see it statewide, not one particular project," Selectman Robert Bixby said.

The town has been battling a proposal by Vermont Community Wind Farm for an 80-megawatt industrial wind operation comprising about 40 turbines each measuring nearly 400 feet high on ridgelines in Clarendon, Ira and other towns.

VCWF has installed two temporary meteorological towers on Susie's Peak in Clarendon to collect weather data for the project.

While the majority of board members voted in favor of requesting a meeting with the governor to pursue a moratorium, one municipal official voted against it.

"We never put it to the voters, so we don't know how they feel," Selectman Robert Sebasky said prior to the board vote.

In a related matter, the board has directed the town's attorney to review state statutes regarding the creation of an airport zoning commission that would be responsible for local regulations addressing height restrictions and other issues related to airport hazards.

"It would create the zoning we want around the airport," Klopchin said.

The board chairman indicated his concern that the VCWF proposal could pose hazards for aircraft approaching and departing the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport located off Route 103 in town.








READER COMMENTS


I am glad to see the Clarendon Select Board looking out for their ridges and the people who live near them. I hope our Governor and legislature will do the same and not put multinational corporations who are here to exploit our land and the people, before the Vermonters who live here. We should not have to suffer property devaluations, light and noise pollution and adverse health effects so these wind corporations can make a profit at our expense!
-- Posted by VT Nature on Sun, Nov 29, 2009, 9:09 am EST

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This is what happens when special interest money plays a larger role in politics then common sense does. Watch how you vote and pay attention to what the one you elected does and why.
-- Posted by Jim Eckhardt on Sat, Nov 28, 2009, 2:52 pm EST

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In a state that won't allow billboards because of aesthetics, building wind turbines almost 400 feet tall, seems ridiculous. Wind energy is quite possibly the most inefficient form of renewable energy ever for this area. Recently, the state of Vermont generated 375 million dollars in tourism alone. These wind developers will not even admit that this technology can cause detrimental effects to people and wildlife. They assume the public is ignorant and naive. A spokesperson for a large wind farm in NH, was asked about the noise from a nearby wind turbine and said it was only from a piece of tape left on the blades during construction! These wind developers do not want any opposition. Why would they oppose a moratorium on this project if they were so concerned about the public? It's a simple question, one that was asked of VCWF spokesman, Jeff Wennberg at an Ira meeting. He replied with a resounding NO, to any moratorium. And because of that quick answer, it immediately exposed their true intentions, which is to get these wind turbines built quickly, before the public realizes that they have been duped into thinking they were doing some thing good. They will exploit our state at the expense of going "green". These moratoriums our for everyone's benefit.
-- Posted by p c on Sat, Nov 28, 2009, 11:28 am EST

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It's good to see the Clarendon select board saying no to this madness.
Does Douglas have the sense and fortitude to listen to them? Doubt it.
-- Posted by rob pforzheimer on Fri, Nov 27, 2009, 7:55 pm EST

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Thank You Clarendon Select Board!!!!! It's rewarding to see that someone has the testicular fortitude to fight this destruction to our state. The only "green" part of this project is the $$$ that will provided by our goverment and end up in the hands of developers and foreign companies.
-- Posted by Andy Farmer on Fri, Nov 27, 2009, 6:37 am EST

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