Article
Hearings to continue on Hoosac Wind plan
North Adams Transcript|Shaw Israel Izikson|January 17, 2006
Green Berkshires spokeswoman Eleanor Tillinghast said that she and the citizens' group are appealing the DEP decision because it did not meet the requirements of the state's wetlands protection act.
Green Berkshires spokeswoman Eleanor Tillinghast said that she and the citizens' group are appealing the DEP decision because it did not meet the requirements of the state's wetlands protection act.
FLORIDA — More testimony on the long-planned Hoosac Wind power project will be given next week in Boston.
A hearing, which is being held before the state Division of Administrative Law Appeals, is scheduled to continue on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and Wednesday, Jan. 25, and will be heard by Administrative Magistrate Natalie Monroe.
The hearing be-gan in August when the environmental group Green Berkshires, as well as a local Florida citizens' group, appealed a wetlands permit granted by the state Department of Environ-mental Protection to enXco, the California-based company that is developing the project.
According to a company press release, enXco believes that the appeal is running its course. "We hope for a favorable ruling early in the …
FLORIDA — More testimony on the long-planned Hoosac Wind power project will be given next week in Boston.
A hearing, which is being held before the state Division of Administrative Law Appeals, is scheduled to continue on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and Wednesday, Jan. 25, and will be heard by Administrative Magistrate Natalie Monroe.
The hearing be-gan in August when the environmental group Green Berkshires, as well as a local Florida citizens' group, appealed a wetlands permit granted by the state Department of Environ-mental Protection to enXco, the California-based company that is developing the project.
According to a company press release, enXco believes that the appeal is running its course. "We hope for a favorable ruling early in the new year," the release said.
Hoosac wind spokesman Samuel Bittman said he was cautiously optimistic about Monroe's pending decision. "There is no legal guideline for when she needs to make a ruling, but we are hoping that the magistrate remains as sensitive as possible to the testimony," he said. "We haven't been able to launch any construction while the appeal has been going on, so we've been on hold since then."
Green Berkshires spokeswoman Eleanor Tillinghast said that she and the citizens' group are appealing the DEP decision because it did not meet the requirements of the state's wetlands protection act. "They are planning to build nearly four and a half miles of new roads, crossing many streams, clear-cut many parts of both mountains — all just to create huge turbines; yet (enXco) believes that they are going to have minimal environmental impact," she said. "I never want to predict what the judge will do, but I think we built a strong case."
Bittman said that, despite the project being delayed, the developers have not had to make alterations to its construction plan. "The project is as it was," he said. "All we're waiting for is the green light to begin the first phase of construction so we can build the roads to the ridge lines in order to transport equipment there."
If the project goes forward, 20 wind turbines, each 340 feet tall, will be constructed, 11 on top of Bakke Mountain in Florida, and nine on Crum Hill in Monroe. The project has been in the planning stages since 2003.