By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
Cattaraugus County Legislator Brenda Hanson thinks Alle-Catt Wind Energy may have backed itself into a corner by erecting turbines that can’t meet night noise limits.
Last month, Hanson wrote to the New York State Board on Electric Generation and the Environment last month asking the board’s staff to clarify the June 23 ruling that denied Alle-Catt’s request to remove the condition of its certificate to demonstrate through pre-construction noise modeling that turbines conformed to the 40 dBA annual average sound level.
As of last Friday, Hanson hadn’t received a reply from the Siting Board to her June 24 letter — written the day after the decision on nighttime noise levels was issued.
Hanson told the Olean Star she had hoped her position as legislator in District 2, which includes the towns of Freedom and Farmersville where wind turbines are currently being installed, would carry some weight with the Siting Board in getting a reply to her questions.
So was she expecting a reply? “No, not really,” she replied. The questions are the important thing — and that the Siting Board holds Alle-Catt to the night noise standard. She thinks Alle-Catt is caught in a trap.
Among the questions she had for the Siting Board were if the project as currently designed cannot meet the night noise standard of 40 dBA, can Alle-Catt proceed with full construction, and what about the turbines already installed in the Allegany County towns of Rushford and Centerville?
Alle-Catt Wind Energy submitted larger turbines than the ones initially presented in the application to the Siting Board, which enabled it to generate 340 megawatts of electricity with only 83 turbine sites instead of 118. There are 41 sites in Cattaraugus County, 14 in Farmersville and 27 in Freedom. The turbines have blades that measure almost 600 feet from tip to the ground.
In a July 23 filing to the Siting Board, attorney Benjamin Wisniewski submitted a petition for a rehearing on the board’s June 23 declaratory ruling. Wisniewski has represented Cattaraugus County during the Alle-Catt wind farm application and construction process.
He maintained in the letter to the board that it had not ordered Alle-Catt to re-submit a received pre-construction noise impact assessment (PNIA). In addition, he asked the board to confirm that turbines already erected in Centerville, Rushford and Farmersville may not be operated until a PNIA is approved.
Wieniewski also asked that a revised PNIA using conservative methodology be required of Alle-Catt Wind Energy, owned by alternative energy giant Invenergy, and that no turbine may be commissioned or operated until a PNIA is approved by the board.
Wieniewski also cited Legislator Hanson’s letter in his petition to the Siting Board.
Also seeking a rehearing on the night noise issue is Gary Abraham, attorney for Concerned Citizens, with members in all four towns in Cattaraugus County.
“By identifying no less than 20 questions that remain about ACWE’s obligations in light of the June 23 order, and about the Commission’s or the Siting Board’s ability to enforce ACWE’s obligations, Legislator Hanson’s letter establishes that considerable uncertainty remains as to what ACWE’s obligations are and how the Commission or the Board can enforce them following the issuance of the Siting Board’s June 23 order,in ” Abraham said.
In his petition, Abraham stated the Coalition members’ request:
“The Coalition requests (1) a declaratory ruling answering the questions in Legislator Hanson’s June 24 letter, and (2) in the alternative or concurrently, rehearing of the June 23 Order, while fully adopting and incorporating the County’s petition.
The County’s petition sets forth the background and grounds for relief. This Petition supplements the County’s. The Coalition’s members are non-participating residents whose homes, including seasonal homes, are located in all five towns and three counties within the ACWE facility site.”
John W. Dax, a HodgsonRuss attorney representing Alle-Catt Wind Energy, responded to the petitions for a rehearing of the night noise issue said the requests for a rehearing “have simply neglected Public Service Commission (Commission) orders which have approved key pre-construction compliance filings and authorized the issuance of notices to proceed by the Department of Public Service (DPS).”
Dax added: “The petitions are premised on mischaracterizations and an outright failure to account for prior Commission orders and lack sufficient merit to require the convening of a Siting Board meeting. The chair should exercise his authority under Public Service Law § 161 to dismiss the Petitions and avoid setting a precedent for the misuse of Article 10 procedures.”
Discover more from Olean Star
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
