In Tuesday’s elections, a coalition of local organizations
opposed to the 106-square mile Alle-Catt wind farm proposal took majorities on
two host towns and the Supervisor’s position in a third host town. The wind
farm proposal, under review by a state siting board, would install about 116 wind
turbines, each 600 feet high, in the towns of Rushford, Centerville, Freedom
and Farmersville. New transmission lines would be built in the Town of Arcade.
The state siting law, known as Article 10, requires compliance with local laws
governing wind and solar projects. Earlier this year the four principle host
towns adopted new local laws requested by developer Invenergy, but Cattaraugus
County Supreme Court Nullified Freedom’s local law for procedural
irregularities.
As a result of Tuesday night’s vote count, members of project
opponents Freedom United and Farmersville United became the majority on their
town boards, and Cal Champlin of Rushford United was elected Town Supervisor.
Pete Lounsbury, Jr. won the Farmersville Town Supervisor
seat and Farmersville United president Mark Heberling won a seat on the Town
Board. Pam Tilton ran a write-in campaign against Lounsbury but received only
110 votes against her opponent’s 221 votes. Donna Vickman who worked closely
with Heberling’s group won a second seat on the Town Board.
Freedom United member Geoff Milks, whose wife is the group’s
president, won a seat on that town’s board, while Freedom United member John
Hill was reelected to the board. “Considering
that at least 60 voting-age Farmersville Amish did not vote, nor did about 100
non-resident landowners who belong to Farmersville United, this was a powerful expression
of the community’s wishes,” according to Heberling. “In Farmersville, I expect the
agenda will change in January, and we will see a new local law governing big
wind projects.”
“I can say much the same about Freedom,” said Geoff Milks.
“Invenergy pulled out all the stops, offering its supporters dinners and
drinks, campaign support and more, but the problem is they’re selling a bad
product.”
Cal Champlin emphasized the dramatic change in the community
that would occur were Invenergy to build the Alle-Catt project. “People in
Rushford and the other towns targeted by Invenergy live in the community and
stay here for the quiet and natural amenities this project would destroy.”
County Legislature elections also turned the Coalition’s
way. Ginger Schroder of Farmersville won a seat on the Legislature, and several
legislators who earlier this year supported a policy to deny tax breaks for
wind farms by the county Industrial Development Authority were reelected. “I
hope to keep rural Cattaraugus County rural, a principle embodied in the
County’s Comprehensive Plan,” said Schroder. “I’m happy to see the voters saw
through the smear tactics of Invenergy’s supporters.
This project and those like it create a handful of
low-paying part-time jobs, hardly a basis for opening up the public coffers for
them.” George Borello’s clear victory in the campaign to take Cathy Young’s
state Senate seat also bodes well for the Coalition. “The wind industry wants
to eliminate the last vestige of home rule under Article 10, and we need George
to help hold the line,” Heberling said.
Gary Abraham, who represents the Coalition in the state
siting proceeding, said he hopes the election results spawn more discussion
about the trade-offs big wind and solar projects involve for rural towns.
“Information submitted in the Article 10 process indicates each of these
projects reduces power sector emissions (which are one-third of all our
emissions) by a fraction of a percent. If you want to meaningfully address
climate change, you can’t get there from here. Maybe a deeper discussion of this
problem will now take place.”
