By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County and Alle-Catt Wind Energy LLC have come to an agreement on a road use and repair contract.
On Wednesday, county lawmakers voted unanimously to authorize Chairman Andrew Burr, R-Gowanda, and Public Works Commissioner Kathleen Ellis to sign the road use agreement to permit Alle-Catt to use county roads in Farmersville and Freedom in building a wind farm.
The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment ruled earlier this year in favor of an Alle-Catt proposal to eliminate the need for a road use agreement because the county had unreasonably delayed the project over the issue. The Siting Board also denied a petition by Cattaraugus County for a rehearing on the road use
County officials responded by filing a lawsuit against the Siting Board which is scheduled to be heard by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, Fourth Department.
Burr thanked County Attorney Ashley Smith for her role in resolving the road use issue.
Smith said she was limited in what she could say about the agreement because of the pending litigation.
She did said the agreement provides for a $150,000 escrow account fully funded by the developer.
The resolution authorizing Burr and Ellis to sign the road use repair contract with Alle-Catt was sponsored by Public Works Committee Chairman Richard Helmich and Vice Chairman Don Benson. It calls for the use and repair of county roads damaged by wind turbine construction.
It states: “All material, labor, inspection and equipment costs for any repair of damage caused by the developer shall be paid by the developer.” The agreement will be in effect from the time construction begins next year until “the wind turbine project has been decommissioned.”
Smith emphasized that the county’s goal has always been “to protect county roads and taxpayers.” The agreement calls for the developer to evaluate all roads that will be used prior to construction. Those reports — including road, bridge and culvert inspections and traffic studies – will be made available to the county, she said.
The turbine project is due to get underway next year. However, construction is due to begin on an electric hub center on July 1. Clearing of 621 acres of trees across the 21,500-acre project is set to begin Nov. 1.
Smith said it was important to get a consultant on board at this time due to the preliminary work the developer will be doing soon.
Does this mean the county legislature has given up the fight against Invenergy, the Alle-Catt parent company?
“The county legislature has never taken a position about the (Alle-Catt) project,” Smith replied. “We want to protect our roads if the project is to happen.”
Smith said any damage to county roads “will be constructed to our standards.” She said the county and Alle-Catt were close to an agreement last year when the developer filed its petition to take the county out of the road use agreement equation.
“If we had not brought this lawsuit, we would not have been able to get this agreement (with Alle-Catt).” said Legislator Ginger Schoder, R-Farmersville, a longtime opponent of the wind farm.
Schroder maintains the wind turbine project “is inappropriate and not in the best interests of the residents of Cattaraugus County.” The turbines would measure nearly 600 feet from ground to turbine tip.
She said the road use agreement the county and Alle-Catt have agreed to “is the best one I’ve seen, no question. I wish the other counties and towns had held out and used their leverage. We got the best deal we could.”
Schroder noted that Alle-Catt has not committed to a turbine yet. The latest proposal uses a bigger turbine than initially proposed and cut the number of turbine sites from 117 to 83.
“We’re going to continue to hold their feet to the fire,” she said of Alle-Catt.
Accompanying the resolution on the road use agreement is another sponsored by Burr, Helmich, Benson, Schroder and Vice Chairman Michael Brisky, R-Franklinville, calls for the $150,000 escrow account to be used to hire Bergmann Associates, Buffalo, to provide consulting services associated with the road use agreement and the wind farm project.
