An eco-friendly governor, an activist attorney general and a willing legislature arrived at the State House this year with plans to make Maryland a testing ground for some of the nation's most ambitious environmental policies. Then the economy tanked, and they found that it's not easy being green. Much of Gov. Martin O'Malley's environmental agenda is headed toward passage in the General Assembly - at least in some form. He has backed new goals for reducing energy consumption, boosting renewable energy and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. ...Some lawmakers and lobbyists have said the environmental and energy proposals would have dire consequences. They have drawn comparisons to the state's effort to deregulate the energy industry, an idea championed by the legislature a decade ago and now lampooned by many of those same lawmakers, who say it only led to higher electrical rates. "No one should think that these bills have been diluted to no effect. They are still big policy shifts," said Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the House minority leader from Southern Maryland. "This has huge ramifications for our lifestyle and our economy."

A month has passed since the end of the comment period on development of a policy for wind turbines on state land, and according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources, no decision has yet been made. A spokeswoman for DNR said the agency hopes to have an event mid-April once a decision has been made on the department's stance on turbines located on state land.

Allegany County government planning staff were directed Wednesday to review ordinances currently in place that might allow or restrict the development of wind turbine farms. Phil Hager, county planner, said "it might be prudent" for staff to review what current regulations do and do not allow. County officials have remained out of the public spotlight in recent years as the potential for wind energy conversion turbines have focused on land in Garrett County. Allegany County last addressed the issue in 2002, Hager said. ...Hager said Wednesday the review would be an effort to "stay ahead of the curve" of the inevitable dialogue bound to take place.

Some residents looking to embrace alternative energy sources have found that Carroll County's zoning laws are still catching up. But things could be changing. A zoning amendment regulating the installation of small windmills or wind turbines will go to public workshop and public hearing after the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted to move forward with the process Thursday.

About 75 local residents attended a Maryland Public Service Commission hearing Thursday evening at Garrett College on a proposed wind power project. PSC chief hearing examiner Bryan Moorehouse heard testimony from 30 residents, with 24 opposing the initiative. The event was nearly 3½ hours long. Clipper Windpower, also known as Criterion Power Partners, plans to construct wind turbines along the Backbone Mountain ridgeline between Allegheny Heights and Wild Turkey Rock. The structures would have a combined generating capacity of up to 70 megawatt (MW) of electricity. "This is not a new project," said Kevin Rackstraw, Clipper's eastern development leader. "It's actually a very old project."

With more than 50 people in attendance, Garrett County residents were given the opportunity Thursday to voice their opinions on the proposed Clipper Windpower project on Backbone Mountain and a possible exemption from the traditional Public Service Commission review processes. ...Originally proposed in 2002 as a 100 megawatt project with 47 turbines, Clipper has downsized that request to 70 megawatts and 28 turbines. The project is seeking an exemption from the review process through legislation passed last year.

When the Maryland Public Service Commission comes to Garrett County on Thursday evening, local residents are hoping that the county commissioners will request that the state not give Clipper Windpower an exemption on the commission's review process. ...Stanton said that he has concerns that the new opportunity for companies to avoid the PSC review process would not account for industrial wind turbines. He said that this is the first wind development to attempt to avoid the traditional PSC processes through the legislation passed last year. In a letter he also gave to the commissioners, he said, "Garrett County cannot rely on an untried exemption process to protect our interests."

State utility regulators extended the public comment period on a proposed Garrett County wind power project that could bypass a lengthy regulatory approval process, an official said Wednesday. The Public Service Commission tacked on 30 days for comments following last Thursday's public hearing in McHenry, said LaWanda Edwards, PSC spokeswoman. "We felt that customers asked for it, and you know from our perspective we like to get as much input from the community as possible," she said. Last month, the Garrett County Commissioners requested that the PSC include a 30-day comment period as concerned citizens voiced their desire for a larger window of time.

Olivia Campbell, media relations manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said, "it's ended and we're going to start reviewing the comments. I would expect a decision shortly. It's not going to be delayed, drawn out." Campbell said that when it comes to the question of whether the turbines should be placed on state forest land, the comments were nearly 80 percent opposed to the idea. She said those comments came from across the state and there were hundreds of comments made between the online comment area and the two public hearings at Garrett College and in Annapolis at the end of January. Frank Maisano, a spokesman for wind developers, said he feels there is still a silent majority of Garrett County residents in favor of wind power.

Though there are claims that representatives of Clipper Windpower could not recall Garrett County trying to get out of a lease between the company and the Garrett County Sanitary District, documents show that the county did make such attempts, Mike Getty, county attorney, said. "We did exactly what the memo (from 2005) said. We looked for the best way possible to remove the county from housing a windpower facility..." Getty said. "We were contacted by (Clipper's attorney) that they weren't interested."

A deal made in 2003 between the Garrett County Sanitary District and Clipper Windpower could result in wind turbines on property now owned by the county. "The county had nothing to do with that," Denny Glotfelty, county commission chairman, said. "The sanitary district at that time was a private entity. ... The county took over the sanitary district and the county tried to see if they could get out of the contract." Glotfelty, who had been on the Garrett County Sanitary District before it became a county-operated entity, said that the proposal was made to the sanitary district in 2002, and the sanitary district presented it to the towns of Loch Lynn and Mountain Lake Park, both of which had water sources in the area in question on Backbone Mountain. When both towns agreed to allow the wind turbines to come in, the sanitary district moved ahead with a lease with Clipper.

The Garrett County government stands to reap more than $840,000 in royalty payments from a 2003 agreement allowing construction of three wind turbines on county land, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The disclosure follows the county commissioners' unanimous vote Feb. 5 to oppose construction of wind turbines on state forest land because they would reduce its recreational value. Dennis Glotfelty, Republican chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, said Friday he saw no reason to reveal the county's stake in the Clipper Windpower Inc. project during heated debate about turbines on public land over the last three months. "The people didn't bring it up and nothing was addressed on it one way or another," Glotfelty said.

With yet another state meeting to be held in Garrett County concerning wind power projects, local citizens voiced their concerns not only about the turbines but the comment period for the Public Service Commission. "The application online (for the Clipper Windpower project) is unusable," Barbara Boone said. "Many people will not know (about the project) until the PSC meeting. Send a letter to the PSC to keep the comment period open for 30 days after the meeting."

The state Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing March 6th in McHenry on the proposed downsizing of a Garrett County wind power project. The change would shrink the project originally proposed by California-based Clipper Windpower from 40 turbines with a maximum output of 101 megawatts to 28 turbines generating up to 70 megawatts.

The state Public Service Commission has scheduled a public hearing March 6 in McHenry on the proposed downsizing of a Garrett County wind-power project. ...John Bambacus, a former Republican state senator from Frostburg, also objected to the filing in an e-mail Monday to PSC Chairman Steven B. Larsen. Unless the agency assigns it a new case number, Bambacus wrote, "the PSC will be engaging in a deceptive arrangement with this limited liability developer while also precluding the possibility of new interveners in this case, which would materially affect any decision made about it."

The only way to restrict the height of structures in Garrett County would be through zoning, Planning and Land Development director John Nelson told the county commissioners this week. Some residents have suggested that local officials could regulate the construction of wind turbines through height restrictions in the county's building ordinance. The commissioners met with Nelson on Tuesday to review the issue further.

It had been suggested at a planning meeting last week that the commissioners approve a moratorium on development of wind turbines and that they pursue legislation to allow the county to have some form of authority over future projects. That suggestion was deemed impossible by the commissioners after consulting with the county attorney. They said that a moratorium would require a halt on all building projects in the county and that without some form of zoning, no legislation would have any authority behind it. The commissioners said they would be open to putting zoning up for a referendum, but only if there is a definite showing of support for the action. This would allow the zoning to be grouped by district as the Sunday alcohol sales have been.

Recommendations made by the Garrett County Planning Commission are not possible, according to the Garrett County commissioners, who say they will not pursue a moratorium on wind turbine development or legislation to provide regulation of the industry. "A moratorium would (have to) be on all building construction, not just wind power," Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator, said. "They have to regulate everything. What the planning commission tried to suggest through some kind of legislation just can't be done outside of countywide zoning." The commissioners sent out a statement saying that they looked into both suggestions made by the planning commission Wednesday, and that they were advised by legal counsel that neither the moratorium nor the legislation on wind turbine projects in the county would be possible.

Questions brought up over wording in the comprehensive plan have led to a decision by the Garrett County Planning Commission to recommend legislation and a moratorium on wind power in the county. The decision for the board to make the suggestion to the county comissioners was made Wednesday in a 6-2 vote, with an additional unanimous vote to remove the wording of county support for wind power from the comprehensive plan draft. "I've listened to arguments about parking places and signage," John Bombacus, a local resident, said. "These things are going to be 400 feet tall." Some of those in attendance were worried that by letting regulations go through their traditional processes, it might be too late to effect new, smaller projects from getting approval at a state level.