Cape Vincent committee faces task of responding to wind company statement
. By Pamela McDowell,staff writer
Cape Vincent – the article 10 advisory committee of Cape Vincent may have to divide and conquer in order to respond within the requisite time period,to the link the preliminary scoping statement(PSS) submitted to the New York State Power Commission by British Petroleum.
Submission of the statement brings the actual application for the Cape Vincent wind farm closer to fruition. The application can be filed 90 days after the filing of the PSS.
the 124 turbans that according to BP will measure "of words of 500 feet,"will change the landscape of Cape Vincent for the foreseeable future. For that reason, the town board in the article 10 advisory committee are serious about analyzing the report, and responding to portions that warrant retorts.
The 222 – page document explains how BP plans to mitigate negative effects that could be caused by the construction and operation of the $300 million, 200 to 285 Megawatt Watt wind farm.
notable to Cape Vincent officials is a list of what BP calls unreasonably burdensome provisions in local laws that the Corporation is asking the state to essentially overrule. The PSS contains several pages listing sections of Cape Vincent and Lyme zoning laws that BP feels should be preempted.they include such items as limits on height requirements, compliance with local noise standards and noise resolution requirements, lot size and land-use restrictions and the complaint resolution process, to name a few.
BP indicates that many of the local laws should be preempted by national or state guidelines and/or public service general laws.
The PSS includes a summary of the projects potentially significant adverse environmental and health impacts caused by construction and operation of the project relating to all aspects of the environment and ecology.
it addresses impacts associated with transportation, noise and vibration, visual impacts, electrical fields, socioeconomic, recreational, cultural and historical features. It also contains measures proposed to minimize these negative effects the industrial wind project would cause.
The document touches upon project decommissioning and site restoration, in the event the wind farm shuts down.
BP expects the wind project to have positive economic benefits to the town through creating jobs any special payment in lieu– of –taxes deal.
the PS S states that the project will have the positive effect of strengthening the transmission system in the vicinity of the project and enable national grid to expand its "transmission footprint"to serve the local needs.
Article 10 committee member and town Councilman Clif Schneider said that the five member committee plans to refer to a list of negative impacts, the town had provided to BP on January 22, and check if those concerns have been addressed adequately by the Corporation.
Mr. Schneider said some concerns have already been noted, such as: the map used by BP is outdated, some roads have been mislabeled, and some houses and the school were not marked.
Mr. Schneider said, "much of the report was repackaged, stale product from earlier SQRA environmental impact statements. Nothing appears to have been added to bolster the deficiencies in the wildlife studies." he also explained that numerous involved agencies and the towns consulting engineer has stated that a more comprehensive geological assessment needed to be made prior to project approval and the start of the construction. But, he said, only two sentences in the PS S were devoted to the topic.
The current town of Cape Vincent zoning law was enacted in August 2012. Stakeholders have repeatedly urged BP and the state siding board to respect Cape Vincent zoning law and comprehensive plan, which were geared toward providing safety to residence and preserving the historic and rural character of Cape Vincent.
BP states that Cape Vincent laws have the effect of unjustifiably restricting the placement of turbans in agricultural and other districts.
Cape Vincent and other involved parties have only 21 days, beginning from March 29, to submit an official response to the document. That is the date it was filed with the New York State Power Commission.
The article 10 advisory committee will meet Thursday, April 4 at 1 PM at recreation Park to sort through the Preliminary scoping statement and devise responses.
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