Local turbine application submitted

A proposal to build wind turbines in central Bedford County took a step forward when the project developer submitted a construction permit application to the state recently.

Iberdrola Renewables, the Portland, Ore., based North American division of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, began planning the Dunning Mountain Wind project in 2005, conducting wind studies and securing leases with private landowners. Based on current plans, the proposed wind farm would consist of 24 405-foot-tall wind turbines placed along the spine of the mountain ridges overlooking Dutch Corner, affecting Bedford, East St. Clair, King and South Woodbury townships. The total project area would cover 543.3 acres, including 96.5 disturbed acres, according to its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit application.

Iberdrola Renewables is hoping to start construction on the turbines in May 2010 with a completion date in December of 2011. An NPDES permit is required for any large construction project because of potential effects on waterways and quality. As part of the permit process, the Bedford County Conservation District will also review the project's erosion and sediment control plan.

The 30-day public comment window for the permit closes at the end of November, but Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Theresa Candori said the agency has already received enough requests for a public meeting to warrant holding one. The meeting hasn't yet been scheduled.

Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman said the Dunning Mountain Wind project would stimulate the local economy and generate 48 megawatts of wind power into the electricity grid. One megawatt can power about 255 to 300 U.S. households for a year.

Copleman said projects similar to the planned Dunning Mountain wind farm typically create a wide range of jobs during the construction process, from equipment operators to concrete pourers. Some hires could be local, while others are outside workers. Even if the workers aren't local, he said, there is still a benefit to the county economy when those workers stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and otherwise spend money at area businesses.

Once constructed, Copleman said the Dunning Mountain plant would probably employ approximately five people on a permanent crew.

But Bedford County resident Laura Jackson believes a small number of jobs aren't worth the potential negative impact of the project, on the environment and the community. Jackson is the chairwoman of environmental advocacy group Save Our Allegheny Ridges, a statewide organization that formed around the issue of wind turbines in Bedford County but has expanded its focus to mountaintop development projects around the state.

"I really don't see five permanent jobs as being a benefit when it's compared to the environmental concerns," Jackson said. "A few landowners are going to benefit and make some money on this, and that's a plus. But it's important to do a cost-benefit analysis and weigh the pros and cons, and I think in the long run we would lose on this project."

As part of the planning and permitting process for this type of development project, several government agencies reviewed the wind farm plans and made recommendations about its potential environmental impact. Preliminary project reviews by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission indicated that some environmental and archaeological damage would likely be done by the construction of wind turbines on Dunning and Evitts mountains.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that golden eagles migrate through the proposed project area in the spring and fall of each year. Eagle tracking data showed golden eagles passing within 550 feet, .25 and .75 miles of three of the proposed turbine locations between fall 2007 and spring 2009. Bat surveys conducted in the project area during the summers of 2007 and 2008 also turned up one small-footed myotis bat, a threatened species in Pennsylvania.

Timber rattlesnake foraging, denning and breeding habitats exist in the proposed project area, according to the findings of a habitat assessment requested by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Timber rattlesnakes, though not endangered in Pennsylvania, are considered a candidate species in the state, meaning they are more likely to become endangered or threatened in the future.

Wind turbines on the mountains overlooking Dutch Corner could also impact that area's integrity as an historic district, according to a review by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The Dutch Corner Rural Historic District is now in the process of applying for the National Register of Historic Places. The presence of wind turbines could "adversely affect the historic and architectural qualities that make the property eligible," wrote PHMC Archaeology and Protection Division Chief Douglas McLearen.

The PHMC also determined that there is a high probability that significant archeological sites are located in the project area and recommended an archeological survey be conducted.

According to PHMC Historic Preservation Specialist Kira Heinrich, Iberdrola submitted a survey report in May which said that their consultant had looked at the project area and found nothing of archaeological significance, but the PHMC returned that report to Iberdrola because it was incomplete.

"The consultant only looked at the areas where they were going to put the concrete pads for the turbines, but they didn't include any of the other areas that we know will be disturbed in these wind projects, such as access roads," Heinrich explained.

The findings of these agencies and other concerns with the project will likely be discussed in the upcoming public meeting. However, it seems unlikely that the agencies' findings would give sufficient cause to halt the Dunning Mountain project.

Heinrich in particular stressed that the PHMC archaeological survey is only a recommendation, not a requirement for the project developer.

"We only give an opinion," Heinrich explained. "It's up to the agencies that grant the permits to make decisions based on those recommendations and other factors."

Public comment on the proposed project can be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through Monday, Nov. 30.