Tug Hill wind farm generates objections
MARTINSBURG — A conservation group that owns a large Tug Hill tract is concerned about a potential neighbor: the Roaring Brook wind farm project.
"The Nature Conservancy recognizes the importance of wind energy as an alternative to nonrenewable sources of energy," James W. Howe, executive director of the Conservancy's Central and Western New York Chapter, wrote in a six-page testimony to the town Planning Board. "However, wind towers need to be appropriately sited to minimize their adverse impacts on important habitats, species and people."
While supporting the 195-turbine Maple Ridge Wind Farm nearby, the Nature Conservancy opposes Roaring Brook, because of its location in the Tug Hill core forest, Mr. Howe said.
"Any conversion of the Tug Hill core forest to other types of land use has the potential to decrease the amount of habitat available for wildlife, increase fragmentation, create pathways for invasive plants and make the forest more susceptible to large disturbances like diseases and insects," he said.
The Rochester-based regional director, who provided the Times with a copy of his testimony, read it to Planning Board members last week at a public hearing on the wind farm project's supplemental draft environmental impact statement and submitted a written copy to the town.
Atlantic Wind, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, is proposing a 39-turbine wind farm on 5,280 acres of private land in the town of Martinsburg, just to the south of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm. Iberdrola is part owner of the existing wind farm.
While the proposed Roaring Brook farm initially was planned exclusively on land owned by Zeager Partnership Ltd. of Middletown, Pa., the current layout includes turbines on several neighboring parcels as well.
The project is to include about 5.5 miles of buried electrical line and 3 miles of overhead line to connect the proposed wind farm with the 115-kilovolt Taylor-Boonville power line near Lee Road.
The proposed wind farm would be next to 13,000 acres of land purchased by the Nature Conservancy in 2002.
"We have met with and will continue to meet with the Conservancy to look for ways to address their concerns and the interests of the landowners on what is to be done regarding their property," Paul C. Copelman, a communications manager with Iberdrola, said by e-mail. "Environmental protection is integral to how we conduct company business."
He added that his company has released an avian and bat protection plan that is available on its Web site.
Mr. Howe, by phone, said he doesn't really know if Conservancy officials and developers will be able to reach a compromise, since Atlantic Wind's documentation doesn't indicate whether the project would be economically feasible with fewer turbines.
"My hope is that they can come up with a solution that keeps these towers well away from the core forest and well away from the boundaries of the Nature Conservancy property and the state lands," he said.
The Nature Conservancy is asking that the wind developer maintain a one-kilometer "conservation buffer" from the Conservancy's conservation area and the state Tug Hill Wildlife Management Area on which no turbines would be constructed, agree to shut down operations during peak migration periods for migratory birds and bats and develop plans for forest management and invasive species monitoring and control.
Several other people also spoke at the public hearing, Town Attorney Mark G. Gebo said. Written comments on the draft environmental impact statement will be accepted by the town through Feb. 25.
The developer then must address all concerns in its final environmental impact statement, and the town Planning Board will need to first declare it complete, then either approve or deny it, Mr. Gebo said. Atlantic Wind also must submit a site plan for review by the board.
"We've got a few more steps to this process," Mr. Gebo said.
Project completion will be determined based in part on the issuance of final federal, state and local permits, Mr. Copleman said.
