PORTLAND – A local environmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a bid to halt the construction of 11 wind turbines on Sisk Mountain in northern Franklin County.
The Friends of the Boundary Mountains, a conservation advocacy group focusing on the mountains of western Maine, filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland. It specifically names the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and two senior members as the defendants, alleging the construction and operation of an 11-turbine project on the Sisk Mountain range would violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and that the Corps violated the Clean Water Act in approving a permit for the project, which is being developed by TransCanada Maine Wind Development Inc. In addition to asking for the permit to be voided, the suit asks the court to prevent the Corps from issuing any new permits to TransCanada relating to the Sisk Mountain project and reimburse the plaintiff for legal fees.
The Sisk Mountain project was presented as an expansion to the 44-turbine project on nearby Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range, which itself was approved by the then-Land Use Regulation Commission in 2008. In October 2009, TransCanada proposed a 15-turbine expansion on Sisk Mountain. LURC commissioners declined to support that project, specifically due to the locations of roughly half of the turbines. TransCanada redesigned the project, dropping four turbines and some access roads in the southern portion of the Sisk Mountain ridge, which had been deemed more environmentally sensitive and therefore controversial by LURC commissioners.
On Jan. 5, 2011, the LURC board voted to approve the redesigned expansion, running 11 turbines down the Sisk Mountain Ridge. The Friends of the Boundary Mountains, an intervening organization throughout the LURC deliberations, filed a petition for judicial review with the Maine Supreme Court a few weeks after that decision. That appeal was heard on April 5, 2012, at which time the law court sided with the commission’s decision and upheld the permit.
Construction had been slated to begin by January 2013, but TransCanada asked for and received a two-year extension to their permit, citing the extended approval and legal process that the project had undergone. It also cited, as a reason for the extension, that the project had not yet been granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. Friends of the Boundary Mountains opposed the construction permit extension and, following its approval, appealed the decision. That appeal was denied by the commission in October 2012.
On Nov. 26, Friends of the Boundary Mountains filed its complaint against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the U.S. District Court. The suit specifically names as defendants the Corps, Lt. General Thomas Bostick, the commander of the Corps, and Jay Clement, a senior project manager for the New England District of the Corps, who operates out of agency’s state office in Manchester.
The complaint makes three claims for relief from the court: that the Corps’ permit violates the Clean Water Act, that it violates the Migratory Bird Act and that it violates the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The complaint specifically cites the potential impact of the project on Golden Eagles and Bicknell’s thrush, claiming that Corps “failed to request that [the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] conduct an independent biological assessment, merely relying on TransCanada’s Eagle Study.”
The suit notes that while four of the more-controversial turbines were eliminated in the revised project, three are still located on the southern portion of the Sisk Mountain Ridge. That area, the complaint contends, “contains high value breeding Bicknell’s thrush habitat that would be unduly adversely impacted if the project is built.” The Corps failed to have the USFWS conduct a biological assessment on the species, the complaint notes.
The suit also claims that a female golden Eagle, named Virgil Caine, was confirmed in the Sisk area from 2008 through 2012, via telemetric data monitoring, and that there were three “historic nests” within a 10-mile radius of Sisk. As such, the complaint contends, the Corps should have required a USFWS biological assessment, rather than accepting TransCanada’s own study on eagle populations.
The Friends of the Boundary Mountains are asking the court to void the Corps’ permit issued to TransCanada and reimburse the plaintiff for “attorney’s fees, costs and expenses in initiating and prosecuting this proceeding in the public interest…”
When are “The Friends” going to start complaining about Telephone pole and wires?????????????
wait I have a better idea let’s build more nuke plants instead. I read on the internet eagles are immune to the effects of radiation.
who is this group and where do they live ? most likely not in maine . the group should keep its nose out of the business unless it owns the land in which the turbines are being built on , i got a even better idea ,why dont maines biggest landowners post all their land and deny access to their land and then lets see how long it is before these groups GO AWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is good for maine .
if you read it on the internet it hs to be true, right? i grew up being told that wind power and solar power were the wave of the future. now we have wind power and we have all these nay sayers. i guess using no power at all is what they want.
No, let’s keep subsidizing non-profitable wind energy for the benefit of a foreign country.
The maine thing is that Industrial Wind doesn,t work in our western mountains. All it does is put money into investors hands at tax payers expense. Educate yourselves people. Our states future is at stake.
And another example of why global warming, save the snail, teach salmon to swim upstream, and other leftist wacko moronic self serving groups are not taken seriously.
Observer, when I was growing up we were told nuclear power would be
“too cheap to meter”.
It’s about the best way to suppy electricty to the grid for the needs that we have. Just think what it would be like if you took your electric meter off the house and told CMP where go, and tell them ‘your not gonna get another dime from me’.
Actually, this DOES help Maine. Do you know how many taxes they pay? I’m not sure the final figure was that was coming back to Franklin County, but it was substantial. The push has been to green energy, to stop using fossil fuels, and to help the environment. …but “not in my backyard”…
I just love how they feel we should be the ones to pay for their interference. Pay your own court costs, your the one with the problem, not me.
Hydro power is still more effective for producing the volume of output necessary to power Maine! If the environmental groups, fish enthusiasts and government agencies would work cooperatively with hydro-electric producers issues like fish ladders could be solved without tearing out dams!
You people need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and do your homework. I’m guessing most of you haven’t any idea how much of western Maine (and not in the middle of nowhere but in towns) is under siege by wind companies. Woodstock and Roxbury are in place. Canton, Dixfield, Carthage (towering down over Wilton) just to name a few. Back door meetings with town governments before the townspeople know what hit them, promises of tower heights that magically get bigger after they’ve already received their permit, lies–just outright lies–about sound and visual impacts…but really, most of all, they are gigantic industrial complexes on top of rural mountains that do not operate anywhere near the capacity they advertise. They do not get us off foreign oil. They do not heat our homes. They are “job creators” (kind-of–most are temporary). So ruining our natural resources/scenery (which is kind of a big deal in Maine), bringing down property values, driving long-time residents from their homes so some out-of-state (and out of country) companies can make money by fooling the uneducated locals. And by that I mean YOU.
Feeling good about how “green” they are doesn’t make it so.
What’s the Army Corps of Engineers have to with unorganized territory in Franklin County? Just more government intrusion!
The main reason that the “leftist wacko moronic self serving groups” tend to be in favor of all forms of electron movement generation is mainly to provide sufficient light to read by so they can do their own thinking and reach their own conclusion’s
Its just too easy to sit in the dark and be spoon fed by “rightist wacko moronic self serving groups”
Her is some interesting reading for you wind turban fans. Check it out.
http://www.examiner.com/article/deadly-blades-death-toll-mounts-as-wind-farms-massacre-birds-of-prey
windpower is ineffecient, the turbines are visual and audible pollution and they are looooong term in place. Maines unique natural resources are the key to our future. If we can maintain the only semi remote experience on the east coast, our attraction will be enormouce and compounding as time goes by.
Heard it will decrease our foreign oil dependency by 1 percent, is it worth the trade off.
I’ve seen these turbines, and personally I think they’re beautiful. Especially at night. They have a powerful awe-striking quality to them. I’m young and I’ve grown up in the “technology” age, so I’m very possibly biased. But I really don’t think these wind turbines are as big a deal as a lot of people are making them out to be. It’s just change, and you’ve always got people who don’t like it, but I’ve found in my short life, that it’s necessary.. for everything. I understand that it’s not the view you had before.. but you can still appreciate it’s beauty if you look at it with an open mind.
Seems like the local school system is getting us off foreign oil faster than Angus King could…
https://dailybulldog.com/features/school-board-approves-wood-pellet-boiler-system-for-middle-school-cbs/
As to the comment of these wind turbines lowering our property values: Our property values are substancialy lower than they have been appraised at already. If we have more taxable industry locally maybe that will take some of the burden off the local landowners.
To “Interested”, telephone poles and wires do not keep tourists away and devalue property.
These do gooders don’t want us to drill for oil, drill for natural gas, dig for coal, what else is there ?? Back to the horse and wagon I guess !?!?
I bet the NIMBY’s won’t be referencing this report any time soon.
From today’s PPH
Study touts carbon benefits of Maine wind power
The report says the turbines reduce carbon dioxide output by 403,000 metric tons a year, equivalent to the pollution from 79,000 vehicles.
Environment Maine on Wednesday released a report that analyzes data from the U.S. Department of Energy and the wind industry to measure the environmental benefits from wind turbines operating in Maine.
The report says the turbines reduce carbon dioxide output by 403,000 metric tons a year, equivalent to the pollution from 79,000 vehicles. It further says the wind farms also reduce the output of smog- and soot-forming pollutants, while saving 155 million gallons of water annually.
The group released the analysis to support its position in favor of extending federal tax credits for wind energy that are set to expire at the end of the year
And to add to “Thinking” telephone poles and wires dont make the noise wind does. Ive read so many articles of people who live near by complaining about the noise?? The steady hummm…. Guess I would have to do more research myself. I cant agree or disagree. Definetly something we all need to do, EDUCATE OURSELVES.
I would like to suggest you all do a little bit of research into where the so called environmentalist groups are getting their funding from to to pay for their frivolous lawsuits. Lately I have been made crudely aware of the big energy company’s involvement in the back door funding to reputable research establishments for the specific purpose of spreading disinformation. Seems big energy interests are fighting a silent battle against any alternative energy projects,as they feel that they pose a threat to their monopoly.
Hope this helps put it all in the proper perspective for anyone concerned.
Dragonfly,
Try going up to Kimby Mt for yourself. It’s amazing how close you have to get to them before you actually can hear them. We got as close as about 100 yards. To me it was no louder than if my neighbor was running his air conditioner all summer long.
People live next to airports, railroads, highways, factories and the list could go on. What do people do that live next to those noises? They adapt.
I’ve heard the argument about how inefficient they are. After looking for MYSELF not reading some bloggers opinion, I would say they are very efficient. The day I went up there, there was no wind to speak of at the base of them. Yet there they turn slowly but surely, creating electricity … cleanly.
OK Young Tech Savvy Person who knows all about change,,
You say you “have seen” these turbines,,,,ok
But then what,,,YOU went back home.
Try living with these beauties 24/7,,,
Then you can tell me what you “know”.
So, the battle over wind turbines continues.
Several years ago, prior to the Kibby Wind Project getting started, I visited Germany, where there are wind turbines all over. My friend and I were discussing one night, the claims of noise and “ultra-sonic” vibrations purported to be produced by these wind turbines. We happened to be driving past a farmer’s field with about 20 wind turbines all turning. We drove out on the access road, into the middle of this field, got out of the car and listened. It was very quiet. We talked for a few minutes about the slight “swooshing” noise as the blades passed by directly above our heads. Suddenly we heard this tremendously loud noise that broke through the darkness coming from the other side of the field. We turned and saw that the noise was the sound of the tires from a passing car about a quarter-mile away. That tire noise completely drowned out the noise of all 20 wind turbines combined.
When the Kibby Project got up and going, I had the opportunity, a number of times, to go up and see the turbines up close as they operated. The noise from them was the same quiet “swooshing” I remembered from Germany. In fact, the wind blowing through the trees made more noise than the blades of the turbines.
I guess we should stop looking for alternatives to the ever decreasing, non-renewable fossil fuels so that the price of gas and oil, which has already doubled in the past couple of years,(in case you are living under a rock or still ride horse and buggy) can continue to escalate to a point where it completely cripples our economy.
From my home in Weld, I can see the red lights from the turbines in Roxbury. Every time I look at them I think, “Its nice to know we are doing something to produce power without using fossil fuels.” And I am much happier seeing them at night than I am seeing the glow produced from the town of Rumford.
And in regard to the telephone poles, I believe the comment is made because when telephone poles were first erected, people complained about them too, but no one even notices them any more.
Thoughts from my hill-side observatory.
Have a fossil-fuel free day.
David. You mean to tell me that red lights that saturate mountaintops are pretty?? There was nothing more beautiful than the Kibby Range at dusk. The blinking red lights have detracted from that a little, wouldn’t you say??? One more thing….Have a fossil fuel free day??? Does your sherriff’s dept vehicle run on wind power???
I think those red lights are the wind farm in Woodstock David.
like i said i think its time that all major property owners in maine to post no trespassing on all their lands. this will shut down all access to the 2/3 of the northern part of the state and show all these people who want to ruin the atmosphere with gases and promote more global warming and more climate change that the real people who own maine ( not transplants) that we should be able to do as we see pleased with our land .i hope that the wind mill project proposed on saddleback mtn in carthage becomes a reality .wind mills are quiet and dont pollute the water or the air and yes i have been to kibby mtn within touching distance of the towers there while they were operating. i was born in franklin county and have lived here all my life and its finally nice to see some growth begining to come back to franklin county. most people who are complaining about wind towers are not from maine and have not lived here all their lives. so lets close down public access to the north maine woods and see how long it takes before people change their minds !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
OK ‘nut,,,I was born here too so dont think you have the corner on bein’ a true Mainah’.
I think these things are a farce promoted by rich opportunists like Angus.
If you keep freaking out,,you might be a redneck.
Scary,,,,
I’m not just a tech savvy kid… I own and operate a farm with my father, on top of going to college and paying for it myself, and working part time. I’m sorry if my opinion of the wind turbines hurts your feelings, but I plan to put one up on my own property. But I DO live with them 24/7, there’s a wind turbine right next to be dorm and I’ve worked at different farms that also have them, and they just aren’t that loud. The studs on my winter tires cause me more stress than the noise from a wind turbine did. The tourist industry is important to Maine, Yes. The view of Kibby Mountain was beautiful before, Yes. All I was saying, was that I don’t believe this is as “obstructive” as some people view it, it can be an attraction, rather than repulsive.
OK so we’re now gonna advertise,,,Come to Maine and See Our Wind Turbines??
Because they are beautiful??
I hope you’re not majoring in Marketing………….
ANY wind turbine near a college or farm (Farmington or any other town) would be very very small Compared to these babies on Kibby Mtn.
Apples to Oranges,,for sure.
Please be reasonable in your examples if you want to be taken seriously.
Again,,it’s way different IF YOU LIVE NEAR THESE MONSTERS
vs,,taking a drive and “seeing if” then going back where you came from.
Hay,,Maybe YOU should take one home with you next time you “visit the area”.
Windmills,,,the Out of State Entrepreneurs DREAM…
over the weekend i was driving through quebec. it was quite rainy and foggy. at one place i had stopped, the fog was very thick. but it was peaceful, quiet, and beautiful. gradually the fog cleared, and not 500 feet away were several operating wind turbines. i could not hear them, i did not even notice them at first, even after the fog retreated. i call b.s. on the noise issues. most of the “unsightly” arguments i’ve heard come from sugarloaf-bound yuppie out-of-staters. the only other concern i’ve heard is bird deaths, and i’m certain that if we are smart enough to develop a technology to make electricity out of wind, we can figure out how to keep birds from flying into them. and property owners, remember: you don’t own the view.
I’m thinking the fog hasn’t actually “cleared” yet by the irrelevant one.
If we can figure out how to keep birds from flying into things that span 300 feet and go Chop Chop,,
Then why cant we figure a way to keep peoples heads from fogging up like this?
You are correct on 2 points. (we do not own the view),,,
Those rather large Meat Cutters Dominate the landscape and therefore “they” Own it,,,,Chop Chop.
Whump Whump.
Also corect about those out of state yuppies coming and going to Sugarloaf,,(u seem to dislike them?)
Well, They are able to “Afford” their lush accomodations at “The Loaf” because of all the money they make installing the farce called Green Energy (wind Turbines)
Of course they donr care cause you cant see them from Mass or the Loaf,,,
Nice,,,huh?
Look at all that Out of State Money at “Work”.
You continue to degrade everyone’s opinions and experiences, yet you have no “reasonable” examples yourself. Not all of the people who have made very good money on the Kibby Wind Project are from out of state. I know people who have worked on them. This project created jobs within our own state. Your basic defense has been “I live here”. I’m sorry if you find them so distasteful and that you feel they disturb your lifestyle, but please don’t jump down our throats for expressing the fact that we appreciate this effort towards a cleaner energy source.
Well young tech savvy person who grew up in the “Technology Age”,,therefore in your short life you have come to understand “change”..
If your idea of “Reasonable Examples” are the ones you have provided,,,
ie: You “think they’re beautiful. Especially at night. They have a powerful awe-striking quality to them”..
Although charming and romantic sounding,,,I dont see how you can seriously criticize anyone elses “examples if “that” is what you base your support on.
But I couldn’t help but notice you dont mind telling us all what to do,,,
Because you grew up in the technology age,,,and understand these things…..
When you get done with that process,,you wont be so “touchy” about someone elses opinion.
BTW,,,Windmills and the Tech Age have been around a while.
So have manipulative entrepreneurs and starry eyed kids.
.
Since we each have our opinions based on “reasonable examples” I’d like to share one of mine.
Whenever I approach the town of Rumford or Mexico and I see those tall stacks majestically reaching into the blue sky, I am overcome with a sense of awe. Especially at night when the twinkly lites atop these technologically wonderful monarchs shine like a beacon over the towns.
Now I know some of you may not like these stacks but you all need to change.
They just dont smell or look as bad as you people that live there say they do.
Oops,,,hope this isn’t degrading anyones experience because I just love to see these big beautiful stacks in my rear mirror as I drive back to my dorm. I’m sure you could buy noseplugs and keep your curtains down and live with it…right?
I cant wait to tell my professor what I saw !!!
There is really nothing too new about all this fuss, from a historical New England and Maine perspective,
Henry Clews operated a 50 acres homestead on wind power up in East Holden back in the early 70’s and was a sales agent for a number of commercial generating units
Rumor has it that he took all the taxpayer sourced subsidies he schemed and put them in Cayman certificates of deposit (smart move)
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740008675_1974008675.pdf
“Vermont is home to the very first utility wind turbine site in the world. In 1941, the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation installed a 1.25 MW SmithPutnam
turbine on Grandpa’s Knob in southwestern Vermont.”
The Grampa’s Knob for my $ was industrially butt ugly (probably KIMBY), the current units are somewhat poetic
http://www.revermont.org/grandpa_knob.pdf
“Vermont is home to the very first utility wind turbine site in the world. In 1941, the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation installed a 1.25 MW SmithPutnam turbine on Grandpa’s Knob in southwestern Vermont.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith-Putnam_wind_turbine
Interesting how these “things” seem to run in cycles, there is (I think) currently a movement afoot protesting a Grampa’s Knob rebirth
Anyone making both “leftist and rightist wacko moronic serving groups” distraught, or worse, must be doing something right!
What are your exact reasons for not supporting the wind turbines?
If “mickayla” is referring to my post/comment and he/she may not be, I have no objections to wind power and wind turbines and by and large am a supporter to all forms of alternative or non traditional sources of power and energy including cow turd methane generators
Yes Chuck,,,the Turd methane gas method certainly works…
Of course why not use human waste methane gas also(i know lower yield but,,)
Better get OSHA to Certify them Cows before someone gets blown up !!
ie: Idiotproof the “process”.
This is all silliness really,,,I mean we have a wonderful technologically superior option.
why should we all have to look at ugly windmills chopping up the flying storks as they try to do their jobs delivering babies to people,,
why should we be forced to enjoy the aromatic quality of turds to get power from methane gas,,
When we could just build a big beautiful Nuclear Power Plant….(there,,problem solved).
I mean just think we could market the tourists to come (at night) and view the awesomeness of those stacks and the “scrubbed emissions” joyfully wandering off into the starry sky…(wow).
Now “THAT’S Technology.
What are we waiting for?
ok so you’d rather build nuclear power plants and then when some other country wants to invade us they can blow up that nuclear power plant and kill us all ..problem solved !!!!!! windmills are clean energy and they dont make alot of noise either ,no smoke,no polution just a skyline of wind towers big deal. those of you that have filed a lawsuit go back to your own states and let the property owners here do as they are pleased with their lands.
*sudden epiphany* maybe if i constantly mock everything i will never have to offer any valid insight!
ya think,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>????????????????? !!!! ??
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?
Great Job Doing Exactly What You Described,,,irrelevant.
(maybe if i constantly mock everything i will never have to offer any valid insight)
And Woodnuts makes a great point,,
Let the local landowners do what they want with their land.
That Means if they dont want a bunch of choppers,,,let it go.
Thanks Nut.