Windmill debate churns

TAZEWELL, Va. - Although the official public hearing was delayed until January, area residents still spoke out Tuesday over the controversial topic of wind turbines.

"How are we guaranteed that so many jobs will be created?" Mark Tyson of Tazewell, said. "We have to take the word of BP and Dominion - the same people who funded 50 percent of this study."

"As far as this study is concerned, I know it is an economic impact study, but I pray there will be other studies you all will look at other than economics," Donna Kelly of Bluefield, Va., said. "It's not all just about money. I feel a few will profit from this but the majority will suffer."

"We have a great opportunity for them to come in here and build a responsible project," Alex Payne of Bluefield, Va., said. "BP and Dominion have been wonderful. They've come in here as good neighbors. They have worked with us. They are not a company coming in here trying to take land. They are trying to do right by the citizens."

The Tazewell County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday night to delay an already scheduled Dec. 1 public hearing on a proposed tall structure construction ordinance after the board's vice chairman declared he wouldn't vote on the wind turbine project if it came to a vote before the year's end.

A new public hearing date was set for Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 6:15 p.m. at Tazewell Middle School, or Tazewell High School if Tazewell Middle School is not available on Jan. 12.

"Mr. chairman I move that we postpone the Dec. 1 public hearing considering or to hear the tall structure ordinance to a time after the first of the year when the new board is seated," vice chairman Bill Wimmer said.

Wimmer said the voters of the Northwestern District spoke, and they elected John Absher as their new representative. Wimmer said it would be unfair to Absher and to new Northern District board member Jim Campbell Jr. to make a decision on the wind turbines before the new board is seated. He vowed to abstain from voting if the issue came to a vote before Dec. 31.

"One thing I want to do is I want to go and actually put my eyes and ears on a windmill," Campbell, who participated in his first board meeting Tuesday, said. "I want to do that and I want to make the best decision I can for the citizens of Tazewell County I represent."

"We all up here understand that everybody wants a resolution to this thing as quickly as possible," Seth White, the board's Northwestern District member, said. "I feel like this is a good move. We will get this done in January. Our desire is to get this done as quickly as possible."

Board chairman David Anderson, who abstained from voting on the motion to delay the Dec. 1 hearing, said he didn't want the public to think the board was dragging its feet on a wind turbine decision. Anderson said the wind turbine debate was the "most volatile issue to hit this area in a long time."

"Right or wrong, we have to listen to what the people say," Anderson said. "We don't want to drag our feet."

A number of citizens spoke on the wind turbine issue Tuesday.

Charlie Cole of Bluefield, Va., said he read the Springsted study Monday night, and had two concerns.

"The study was prepared on the basis of what the impact would be to the county in terms of tax revenue," Cole said. "But one thing it doesn't do is look at the citizens and how it affects them."

"Once the ridgelines are leveled, they cannot be recreated," Norman Jean Rupley, of Burkes Garden, said.

"As far as this study goes tonight because BP and Dominion have funded this many people in our county and our group believe this is a biased study that cannot be relied on," Anne Robinson of Falls Mills said.

Anderson said the Springsted company was never told that BP and Dominion had partially funded the study.

"We've done everything possible to make this study unbiased," White said.

Ryan Frazier, a spokesman for Dominion, told the Daily Telegraph Tuesday that Dominion has yet to receive a bill from Tazewell County for the 50 percent cost of the study.

"We offered to pay for a portion of it, and so far we haven't been billed," Frazier said.

The Springsted study concluded that the wind turbine farm proposed for East River Mountain, near Bluefield, Va., would provide $9.2 million in new revenue to Tazewell County over a 20-year period.

The study determined that sales tax revenue and local employment is expected to be significant during the construction phase of the wind turbine farm. However, long term employment was estimated by the company at only 10 to 15 full-time employees who would be charged with maintaining and monitoring the wind turbines. The report also concludes that revenue from the wind turbines will steadily decrease as the assets depreciate.

Springsted officials Tuesday said 10 to 15 full-time workers will be needed to maintain and monitor the turbines and related electrical equipment once the turbines are constructed.

Dominion and BP are planning a $200 million project on East River Mountain that will consist of approximately 30 to 40 wind turbines. The project is expected to create 150 temporary construction jobs during the construction phase.

The Springsted study also concluded that the bulk of sales tax revenues for the turbine project would be received during the construction phase.

The report provides two scenarios as to how a wind turbine farm on East River Mountain could negatively impact tourism and property values. In the first scenario, it predicts that any possible negative tourism impacts would offset the project benefits by approximately $1 million over a 20 year period. That would result in a 11 percent reduction in the expected total benefits of the project, according to the report.

In a second scenario provided by the report - where the negative impacts are doubled - the impact is estimated at 22 percent. If both hypothetical impacts are combined, the project benefits would be reduced from $9.2 million to approximately $7 million, the report said.

The study also includes a hypothetical scenario of a 5 percent impact on residential property values as a result of the wind turbine farm that could lead to a reduction in property tax revenues by $266,000 in the first five years of operation of the wind farm.