CONCORD - Opponents of a proposed wind park in Coos County are looking at their federal options to halt the massive project, even as a state hearing begins today on licensing.

Richard A. Roach, senior project manager in the regulatory division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Concord, Mass., said he has received more than a dozen letters from the public regarding Granite Reliable Power LLC's proposal to build a wind electric facility across 15 miles of remote North Country hilltops.

A comment period for the project ended Feb. 27, but Roach said he will still entertain written comments.

"The notice period has closed, but we will consider any comment until the (state) decision is made," he said.

Roach will decide whether the project requires a lengthy federal environmental impact statement, known as an EIS.

He said he will await the April 6 decision of the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, which may or may not issue a certificate for site and facility use required for the project. The matter would be moot if the state does not approve it.

John Harrigan, a New Hampshire Sunday News columnist who opposes the project, said he knows of several individuals who have written Roach ...

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