The Wind Project Concerned Citizens is comprised of citizens predominately from Fayette, Rush and Henry counties. However, there is an understanding the project conceivably may impact a much larger geographical area. The proposed Whitewater Valley Wind Project has far-reaching implications for our community and area citizens, the community as a whole and our environment.
These implications could be felt for decades if not centuries into the future. A project of this type may negatively impact the environment, human health, the local economy, specifically, decrease residential property values and drain local resources and infrastructures. Wind projects of this type are largely unregulated by federal and state governments. This results in the burden of planning and regulation being placed on local government.
A project of this type obviously has never been contemplated in our area before.
Local officials have largely relied on and been supplied with information and data by the project developer as they make decisions.
Local governmental entities have not had a chance to develop expertise in planning and regulation of a wind project, nor does local government possess pieces of equipment and training to regulate and respond to issues associated with projects of this type.
Often small rural counties are the host for these projects. It is common for these types of locations to lack a thorough understanding of wind power projects and the infrastructure to properly plan, develop, and regulate these types of projects. Capabilities of this nature would be very expensive for local government entities.
In conversations with local officials, statements such as, "We are learning as we go," are common. Local government officials acknowledge a lack of expertise and a lack of equipment and training if they were to independently verify information or to respond to emergencies associated with the project.
Because of the lack of regulation at the state and federal level, we should develop resources locally to insure proper planning, implementation and regulation of new projects such as the one being proposed in our area. The Wind Project Concerned Citizens feel that clean renewable energy that minimally impacts the environment and local residents can be positive for our communities and our country.
However, if local government is not prepared to deal with the many unknown issues associated with a wind project of this scale, caution and abundant due diligence should be exercised to prevent a fiasco like the one that happened recently when the community rushed to embrace a commerical manufacturing enterprise that ultimately resulted in a negative impact on our community and the perception of a dysfunctional local government.
In addition to the above statements, many of us have subjective concerns about the wind project, such as, emotional ties to the traditional agricultural way of life in our area, long-term family attachment to the land and aesthetic concerns. But these are secondary to the aforementioned issues.
We feel if properly planned and regulated a wind project can exist in our community and be largely supported by all the stakeholders.
For this win-win condition to exist, local officials must be able to answer questions from the community utilizing information that has been independently obtained and verified and be prepared to address concerns such as unnecessarily small setbacks of wind turbines to ensure that each of the citizens is able to have the full enjoyment and use of property that they have so heavily invested in.
The significant questions that have been raised globally, nationally and locally concerning the impact to human health must be addressed prior to moving forward with a project of this nature.
With the current local economic conditions, it is also extremely important that local government officials fully understand the potential negative impact of local resources and budgets.
The developer of the Whitewater Wind Project has indicated that this project will create a minimal number – three – full-time, permanent jobs. There is no guarantee that local citizens will be selected or have the skill set to fill these positions.
For additional information concerning the potential consequences of a wind power project, visit websites such as windwatch.org and windaction.org
Review articles such as "International Review of Policies and Recommendations for Wind Turbine Setbackd from Residences."
