What should the people of
Somerset, NY and Yates, NY do?
- nominate and elect 3 anti-wind town board members from both Yates and Somerset this fall - 2015 is a local election year
- If you are a seasonal resident - modify your Voter Registration to vote in Somerset or Yates next time, to be able to elect local anti-wind officials, to protect your property
- read the Public Involvement Plan (PIP) on the internet
- review the Lighthouse Wind project on Apex website
- send a letter to your town supervisor advising him of your opposition to the Lighthouse Wind project
- send letters against the Lighthouse Wind project to your state senator and assemblyman
- see the movie Windfall - about rural Delaware County, NY and how wind split their community and what the people did to prevent wind turbines
- Encourage elected officials to enact a moratorium on wind turbines and NOT to agree to a PILOT with Apex
- If turbines infect your community - sue Apex, town of Somerset and by all means sue the land owner.
- Support the SOS group in the fight against Lighthouse Wind
- Place anti-wind signs on your front lawn
- Send comments opposing the Lighthouse Wind project to the NYSDPS. Register your comments against the Lighthouse Wind project with NYS at: http://www.dps.ny.gov/SitingBoard/ Your must then search by case number which is 14-F-0485 - then pick "Post Comments" and type in your opinion but be specific why you're opposed to the Lighthouse Wind project.
- If you are opposed to Lighthouse Wind and live in either Somerset, NY or Yates, NY - you can be considered to be an Ad Hoc member of the siting board and have a vote in the final decision to allow deny this project. Ad Hoc members are paid a small stipend for their services. First read the NYSDPS/Article 10 rules regarding this position and then send a request to the proper town supervisor indicating your interest that you would like to be considered for the temporary position.
What should the town
boards of Somerset, NY and Yates, NY do?
There
are many things the towns can do right now to help themselves later on.
- read the Apex Lighthouse Wind PIP (Public Involvement Program) on the internet (note - the PIP was 150 days long and ended March 31, 2015)
- review the Lighthouse Wind project on Apex website
- hire a competent, experienced anti-wind attorney
- send comments opposing the Lighthouse Wind project to the NYSDPS
- see the movie Windfall - about rural Delaware County, NY and how wind split their community
- both towns should officially reject this Apex wind factory and then pressure the county legislatures to do likewise and also pressure new state Senator Ortt and Assemblywoman Corwin and Assemblyman Steve Hawley to say NO to this project.
- pass a moratorium on wind energy until the town updates their wind zoning laws and on energy facilities until REV's (Reforming the Energy Vision) impact and regional sustainability are clarified. The town wind ordinances are horribly out of date and very weak - especially noise and setbacks. They should have been given attention the moment Apex began sniffing around this area.
- Require all energy is bundled with REC's (renewable energy certificate)and the REC's go to the community to fulfill potential requirement under new REV
- refuse to sign a PILOT agreement of any kind
- have the town planning boards get to work updating their wind zoning laws and pay particular attention to noise/health issues; property values and decommissioning. The PB should greatly strengthen noise parameters and define a maximum noise limit in decibel that can be measured with instruments. Review noise laws now on file in the towns of Castile, NY and Hammond, NY
- setbacks should be 1/2 mile minimum from 3Mw turbines to either the lot line or nearest non-participating residence and add 1500 feet more for setback for each 1Mw greater than 3Mw for turbine output
- require Apex to leave $1M CASH in the hands of each town for decommissioning for each turbine installed and site cleanup. This requirement would also apply in the event of bankruptcy of the developer
- do not allow wind turbines to operate during darkness
- conflicted TB and PB members should recuse themselves from discussing the Lighthouse Wind project as well as voting on any part of this matter
- zoning should specify that litigation with the town over wind problems will totally be paid for by the wind developer
- the zoning officer should be allowed to turn off turbines that are a health or safety threat and they will not be allowed to be returned to service unless all the problems are corrected
- Public Disclosure of Energy Production from Wind Turbines
- require that the output of each turbine in the project be made available to the public on the internet for every hour, day, week, month and year and this information should be updated hourly
- when energy production from a turbine fails to meet a minimum level the turbine should be declared inoperative, decommissioned and torn down using the money the town received when the turbine was erected
- Public Filing of Lease Documents and Public Disclosure of Terms
- Limiting Land Agreement and Option Time Periods
- Non-severability of Wind Rights from the Land
- The developer must indemnify the landowner against liabilities for injuries or claims caused by the developer’s exercise of rights granted in the lease or easement
- if the NY state siting board grants a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need allowing Apex to build this Lighthouse Wind project - the affected towns should pursue this matter through the NYS court system vigorously. We believe there's a good chance the Power NY Act of 2011 could be declared unconstitutional because our constitutional right to home rule has been stolen from us.
- Work to get the Somerset 675Mw AES Generating Station converted from coal to natural gas
- Demand that Apex sign the NYS Attorney General's wind ethics code
Submitted by Great Lakes Wind Truth
