Turbines need Forest Service approval

SEARSBURG - The Vermont Public Service Board has issued a certificate of public good for the Deerfield Wind Project, but the work must still be approved by the U.S. Forest Service.

"They've cleared a major hurdle, but there's still a good bit of the race left to run," Meg Mitchell, supervisor of the Green Mountain National Forest, said Tuesday.

Mitchell said the agency has released a draft of the Environmental Impact Study and taken public comments. The service will now finish incorporating public comments into the final EIS, and must also take the state service board's decision into account.

Mitchell said the Forest Service had slowed down its work on the EIS pending the state's decision. On average, it takes at least a year to complete an EIS, she said. The fastest Mitchell has seen one completed is 18 months. While the Deerfield Wind Project is not the only wind project on federal land, it's the furthest along, Mitchell said.

One aspect of the service board's decision the Forest Service must work with is the environmental impact mitigation requirements. The proposed project is a geographical extension of the current Searsburg Wind Facility, owned by Green Mountain Power on private land, and if approved in full would extend over federal land on either side of Route 8.

The area is a habitat for black bears. In the state's decision, Deerfield Wind, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, must conserve 144 acres of black bear habitat to offset the acreage it plans to develop. It must also conduct post-construction studies on the impact to bear populations, limit ATV access on its maintenance roads and limit its construction and maintenance activity to certain times of the year.

Mitchell said the impact on bear habitat is the focal point of environmental concerns for all groups involved, including the public. Mitchell said the public has a right to be concerned, and will work to have provisions in whatever permits are issued that ensure promises made by Deerfield Wind are promises kept.

The Forest Service has four project scenarios it can approve. Approving the full project would result in the loss of 540 bear-scarred beech trees. The Forest Service can also restrict construction to the west side, which would require 380 bear-scarred beech trees to be cut. Construction on the east side would see 55 beech trees lost.

Mitchell said there is no corporate connection between Deerfield Wind and Green Mountain Power, but the two will share facilities to some extent. The new towers would need to connect to the transition lines that run from the Green Mountain Power facility.