By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
Three public hearings on Alle-Catt Wind Energy’s application for tax benefits from the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency will be held Monday.
The public hearings in Farmersville, Freedom and Yorkshire come at a time when public officials in the affected towns and leaseholders are ratcheting up pressure on the IDA and the Cattaraugus County Legislature.
In 2018, the county legislature, much to the delight of opponents of the wind farm and its 600-foot towers, approved a resolution asking the IDA not to approve tax incentives for large industrial wind farms. Last month, the legislature reversed course and asked the IDA to hold a public hearing on the Alle-Catt’s application for local tax benefits.
The IDA set the hearings for Monday throughout the day at the Farmersville Town Hall, 8963 Lake Ave., Farmersville, at 10 a.m.; the Freedom Town Hall, 1188 Eagle St., Sandusky, at 2:30 p.m., and the Yorkshire Town Hall, 82 S. Main St., Delevan, at 6:30 p.m.
After earlier indicating to the IDA board members that the project would not proceed in Cattaraugus County without a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement, Alle-Catt is now saying it will seek state financing if an agreement with the IDA is not made soon.
That, municipal officials are afraid, might mean an end to not only host community agreements — that were contingent on a PILOT and increase each year — but can affect school, county and town payments.
The town of Farmersville is looking at PILOT payments of about $380,000 a year or $7.6 million over the 20-year PILOT and Freedom would get about $735,000 a year or a total of $14.7 million. The total over 20 years is $20.7 million.
Alle-Catt is emphasizing several hundred jobs that would be created enduring construction. It states up to 10 jobs would be created or retained, suggesting the inspectors/technicians would work on other Invenergy projects in the region.
Alle-Catt has requested a deviation from the IDA’s 15-year wind/solar PILOT which amounts to $5,000 per megawatt. The company is also weekin.
g $6.4 million in sales tax exemptions, a $7.5 million mortgage tax exemption and a PILOT valued at $38.7 million.
The Public Service Commission last week gave approval to a number of Alle-Catt compliance issues, but withheld final noise and flicker approval. Opponents state that Alle-Catt cannot demonstrate an ability to limit nighttime noise to 40dBA.
The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment gave Alle-Catt initial approval with conditions on June 3, 2020, three years after it began its public efforts to site the state’s largest wind farm across northern Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, as well as near Arcade in neighboring Wyoming County.
The Public Service Commission also announced on Dec. 19 that it had approved an environmental management and construction plan for a 10.2-mile 345kV transmission line to connect the wind farm to the grid.
Environmental attorney Gary Abraham of Great Valley, who represents to the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, a group of local residents opposed to the wind farm’s harmful effects, is calling on the IDA not to offer Alle-Catt tax incentives.
Abraham, in an Op-Ed to the Olean Star, said the project is an “environmental disaster” and cited 41 eagles likely to be struck by the turbine blades over 20 years plus thousands of birds and bats that would be killed. The project will require drilling under a large number of streams and wetlands and destroy 1,500 acres of mature trees, he added.
Under state Department of Health standards, the Alle-Catt project would endanger the health of residents living nearby the wind turbines from nighttime noise of the turbines and daytime flicker, or shadow from the turbine blades, Abraham maintains.
It will take a decade of operating the wind farm to offset the carbon that went into mining and building machines and equipment to connect to the grid, the attorney points out. The power isn’t needed in Western New York and there’s no way to get the power downstate where it is needed, Abraham points out.
“Alle-Catt will not advance the goal of reducing greenhouse gas in the world’s atmosphere,” he stated.
The state Department of Health staff recommended a noise limit of 45dBA during daylight hours and 40dBA at night at all non-participating residences that do not have wind leases. The DOH suggested that based on World Health Organization data, the Public Service Commission limit of 42dBA would be highly annoying to about 10% of those impacted, which could cause health impacts.
For residences with wind leases, the limits would be 55dBA during the day and 55dBA at night.
Those unable to attend the public hearings may send written comments to Corey Wiktor, executive director Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency, 9 E. Washington St.,. Ellicottville, N.Y. 14731; telephone (716) 699-2005 or email at corey@cattcoida.com.
