Resource Library Category: West Virginia (24 items)

RSSWest Virginia

Documents presented here are not the product of nor are they necessarily endorsed by National Wind Watch. This resource library is provided to assist anyone wishing to research the issue of industrial wind power and the impacts of its development. The information should be evaluated by each reader to come to their own conclusions about the many areas of debate.

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Laurel Mountain Wind Project

Source:  Terry, John

Laurel Mountain Wind Project (Northwest of Elkins, WV)

Photos by John Terry, March 29, 2011
Earth disturbance and habitat fragmentation by AES Corporation (ongoing)

By courtesy of Virginia Wind — click each image for full size

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Senator Jay Rockefeller asked to reconsider his position on industrial wind

Source:  Spiggle, Wayne

Dear Senator Rockefeller,

Please accept my personal warm greetings. We have visited on several occasions, particularly on health care. You may remember me as a physician who yearns for an improved Medicare for All, as embodied in (H.R. 676).

I’ve just read with interest the email response you are making to people actively concerned about your policies on “renewable” energy and I’d like to make the following comments about industrial wind. Personally, I favor subsidies that go to small hydropower development and research on burning coal more cleanly and think they should be increased.

But, on industrial wind:

• Thank you for your steady objection to (H.R. 2454). The Cap and Trade policy has not worked in Europe and will not work in the U.S. Purchasing a permit to pollute and passing the cost to the public just does not make sense.
• Your support of (S. 1462), (S. 3813) and (S. 433) appears to be stated in the affirmative when you say that, in the past, you have supported renewable energy standards and have been the major driving force behind the construction of new wind turbines across the country. This is where I plead for you to re-examine your policy. Please, please educate yourself about the unintended consequences of the proliferation of wind turbines, particularly along Appalachian ridge tops. If you do, you will find:

1. The inefficiency of the turbines related to wind fluctuations will require far more land disruption than does strip mining for coal. First reported by the Nature Conservancy and subsequently documented elsewhere, even by Senator Lamar Alexander you will find it very apparent that if you pass laws that mandate even 15% of electricity be from sources like industrial wind you will be sentencing the majority of our celebrated West Virginia Hills to be pock marked with giant turbines and thousands of miles of new transmission lines to serve them. Tragically, this physical and ecologic transformation of West Virginia’s trademark landscape will have no significant amelioration of green house gasses because of the required co-generation of base load stand by.
2. The federal and state tax subsidies for industrial wind (and solar) are far out of balance for other energy sources, 15 times more. Industrial wind must receive this largess to get started AND to keep going. Explain to me how it is good public policy to provide such a favoritism to an industry that cannot contribute to the global warming problem in a significant way?
3. Imposing renewable standards will drive up electricity costs very significantly. That means the cost of this new energy policy will be disproportionally borne by the middle class and the poor. I feel very confident that is not your intent and will be very sad if it becomes your legacy.

Senator, I belong to The Allegheny Highlands Alliance (AHA), a relatively new grass roots organization with representation in WV, MD, PA, VA, and SC. Our mission is to, in an intellectually honest, scientifically based way; educate the public about the realities of industrial wind and the pending legislation that would further codify its undeserved position. There are several other issues, including impact on migrating song birds and raptors, destruction of habitat for rare terrestrials (both concerns of the USFWS and the WVDNR), negative health impacts from constant low frequency noise inflicted on people living close to an industrial wind facility, water resource disruption, to site a few.

We believe there is a better way to promote alternative energy than to dictate a percentage standard and then to sit back to see what happens. That is getting the cart before the horse. Once again, I implore you, with the assistance of staff to open your mind and investigate the above observations. AHA has extensive expertise on this subject and, if invited, we would appreciate the honor to meet with you for a briefing.

Thank you,

Wayne C. Spiggle, MD
West Virginia

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Allegheny Treasures notes:

Dr. Wayne Spiggle is well known in West Virginia and Maryland as an effective social justice advocate and environmental leader. As a former president of MedChi, the Maryland Medical Society, he pressed for universal health care and he is still involved in that fight. As a Mineral County commissioner, he has promoted quality of life issues and emphasized the importance of developing a welcoming environment to encourage jobs and business development. For his public health initiatives he was recently recognized by the West Virginia State Medical Society with their prestigious Excellence in Medicine Award.

Spiggle has studied industrial wind with the critical eye of a scientist. He has concluded that industrial wind is poor public policy because it requires base load back up from fossil fuel, cannot reduce green house gases, receives public subsidies some 15 times more than other energy sources, is destined to raise electricity bills for homes and businesses and is handicapped by very significant environmental issues sufficient to bring about a transformation of Appalachian ridge tops of geologic proportions while having a disastrous mortality on migrating song birds, raptors and resident bats.

A member of the Allegheny Highlands Alliance (AHA), he has joined their mission to inform the public about industrial wind by adhering to the principals on intellectual honesty and scientific based knowledge.

The Allegheny Highlands Alliance (AHA) is a consortium of citizen/environment organizations with membership in five states along the Allegheny Front. The AHA is in the process of discovering the facts about industrial wind, its potential to reduce green house gases, its economics and the impact of industrial wind energy project installations on the ecology and human health.

The purposes of AHA shall include but not be limited to the following:

1. To advance public knowledge and understanding of the cultural, biological, environmental diversity, uniqueness, and sensitivity of the major ridgelines that comprise the Allegheny Highlands;
2. To preserve and protect areas of particular scenic, geologic, biologic, historic, wilderness, and/or recreational importance in the Allegheny Highlands;
3. To aid in the establishment of responsible policies to protect scientific, educational or aesthetic values;
4. To conduct regional and resource studies as a basis for the wise use of the various resources of the Allegheny Highlands; to develop programs in energy conservation and wise production; and to serve local communities, the region, the people of the Allegheny Highlands as an agency for popular enlightenment, for cultural improvement, and for scientific advancement;
5. To advocate governmental policies for the conservation and wise management of energy and natural resources of the Allegheny Highlands.

AHA Contact Larry Thomas, President, at larryvthomas@aol.com

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Comments on NEPA review for Beech Ridge wind energy project

Source:  Webb, Rick

Ms. Laura Hill, Assistant Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, West Virginia Field Office

September 21, 2010

RE: Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit and Associated Habitat Conservation Plan for the Invenergy Beech Ridge Wind Energy Project, Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, WV

Dear Ms. Hill:

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the content of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review related to the Invenergy Beech Ridge Wind Energy Project.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) NEPA review process provides perhaps the first opportunity for objective and rigorous analysis of the costs and benefits associated with utility-scale ridgeline wind energy development in the central Appalachian region. I was a committee member and co-author of the National Resource Council (NRC) 2007 report, Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects, which focused on the Mid-Atlantic Highlands (www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11935) . I am thus well aware of the limitations of current information, analysis, and regulatory review, and I am deeply concerned about the potential for significant environmental impacts associated with this type of development in this region.

Although a long list of issues and recommendations can and should be compiled related to the Beech Ridge project, my comments here focus on two broadly encompassing issues, evaluation of cumulative impacts and evaluation of benefits. These issues apply to USFWS decisions concerning the individual project and to the consequences of the precedent that will be established for wind energy development in the region.

Evaluation of Cumulative Impacts

As evidenced by multiple letters concerning wind energy projects, the USFWS is fully aware of the need to address the cumulative environmental impacts of wind energy development in the central Appalachian region. These letters, several of which are provided here as attachments, express concerns about cumulative regional impacts associated with direct harm to bats and birds, including endangered and protected species, as well as general habitat degradation due to forest fragmentation resulting from construction of turbines, roads, and transmission corridors.

The 2007 NRC report took a step toward quantifying potential turbine-caused bat and bird mortality associated with central Appalachian region (mountain areas of MD, PA, WV, and VA) wind energy development based both on (1) the record of bird and bat mortality at existing wind projects in the region and (2) on projected additional wind project development in the region.

The NRC committee found (based on projections for development and on projects listed in the grid interconnection queue):

• The number of bats killed per year will be 33, 017 to 119,665.
• The number of birds killed per year will be 5,895 to 44,999.
• There is insufficient information to assess potential population impacts on birds.
• The potential for impacts on bat populations appears significant.
• Additional impacts to wildlife will occur due to habitat alteration.

The estimates for bird and bat mortality should be viewed as conservative, as they were based on projections for future wind development that should now be recognized as low. In addition, the prognosis for sustainability of bat species is now even more dire due to the emergence of white nose syndrome.

It would be contrary to the clear intent of the Endangered Species Act, NEPA, and the mission of the USFWS to ignore the actual harm to bats, birds, and other wildlife by basing decisions about an individual project as if the impacts of that project occur in isolation from the cumulative impact of expected regional-scale development.

Evaluation of Benefits

The NEPA review process requires consideration of alternatives, including the alternative of not building a project. In the Invenergy Beech Ridge case, the USFWS must decide whether the benefits of the project outweigh the environmental costs, or more appropriately, whether the benefits of utility-scale wind energy development in the central Appalachian region outweigh the costs.

The 2007 NRC report again took a step toward this evaluation by estimating the potential benefits of wind energy development in terms electricity supply and air quality improvement.

The NRC committee found (based on U.S. Department of Energy Projections for 2020):

• Wind energy development will equal 2 to 7% of U.S. installed generation capacity, but only 1.2 to 4.5% of actual U.S. generation (less than installed capacity due to the intermittency of wind).
• Wind power development will provide no reduction in nitrogen and sulfur emissions in the eastern U.S. – because these pollutants associated with acid rain and ozone formation are regulated by emissions caps.
• Wind power development will offset emissions of carbon dioxide by 0.5 to 1.8% from the levels of emissions that would otherwise occur from energy use.

Although these findings indicate that projected wind energy development will provide only minimal benefits, it should be noted that the estimated benefits are based on national-scale analysis and projections. As indicated in the 2007 NRC report, the density of the wind resource in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands is substantially less than in most other U.S. wind-development areas, and thus the benefits will be less than for the country as a whole.

Although the 2007 NRC report indicates that benefits of wind energy development will be minimal in terms of air quality improvement, a number of recent reports have suggested that wind energy development will actually have the effect of increasing carbon emissions (e.g., http://www.wind? watch.org/documents/wp?content/uploads/BENTEK?How?Less?Became?More.pdf). The argument is made that due to the intermittency and unpredictability of wind power, especially during peak-demand periods (e.g., late-summer afternoons), the need for readily available backup power requires inefficient operation of fossil-fuel generators, and results in a net increase in carbon emissions. The validity of this argument is difficult to determine. Although wind developers may claim benefits with respect to reduced carbon emissions, they deny access to the information required for objective verification.

In the present Invenergy Beech Ridge case, the USFWS should reasonably expect Invenergy, which operates multiple wind projects in the U.S., to provide the data necessary to support any claims made concerning benefits, including reduction in carbon emissions. This is simply the level of transparency that should be required for any objective regulatory review or scientific analysis. Qualitative arguments or unverified assertions should not be accepted.

Finally, the USFWS needs to ensure that any contractors or consultants it employs to conduct the required NEPA review are fully qualified to perform the needed analysis. Moreover, all data, analysis, and models used by the contractor or USFWS in conducting the NEPA review should be made available, without exception, for public review.

I look forward to your responses to my comments.

Thank you,
Rick Webb

Download original document: “Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit and Associated Habitat Conservation Plan for the Invenergy Beech Ridge Wind Energy Project”

[By courtesy of Allegheny Treasures]

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Scoping comments to FWS on Beech Ridge wind project

Source:  Eubanks, William; and Glitzenstein, Eric

Ms. Laura Hill, Assistant Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, West Virginia Field Office

September 13, 2010

RE: Scoping Comments On The Fish And Wildlife Service’s Consideration Of An Incidental Take Permit And Habitat Conservation Plan For The Beech Ridge Wind Project

We are writing on behalf of the Animal Welfare Institute (“AWI”) and David G. Cowan with regard to the construction and operation of turbines at the Beech Ridge wind energy facility (the “project”) in Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, West Virginia. More specifically, we are writing to submit comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS” or “Service”) on the scoping process that FWS is undertaking in connection with its preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) analyzing the significant environmental impacts of the Beech Ridge project under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4370.

As a preliminary matter, AWI and Mr. Cowan respectfully urge the Service to conduct its review under NEPA with respect to the entire Beech Ridge wind facility’s impacts on wildlife, including any already operating turbines, as well as all aspects of the project including turbines, transmission lines, substations, roads, transformers, and any other related invasive infrastructure that did not exist prior to Beech Ridge Energy’s acquisition of the land on which this project is located. Likewise, alternative means of accomplishing the project purposes with fewer wildlife impacts – a critical part of the NEPA analysis – should be considered for all phases of the project. The alternatives analysis should be based on extensive on-site (and potentially off-site) surveying (mist netting, acoustic monitoring, spring emergence studies, etc.), and should consider, among other things, post-construction monitoring, adaptive management techniques, and alternate turbine locations within the project’s boundaries that would result in less significant wildlife and environmental impacts.

I. NEPA Requires That The Service Consider All Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Impacts of the Beech Ridge Wind Project.

In undertaking its NEPA review, the Service must analyze all direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on wildlife. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(c); TOMAC v. Norton, 433 F.3d 852 (D.C. Cir. 2006). Direct effects “are caused by the action and occur at the same time and place.” 40 C.F.R. § 1508.8(a). Indirect effects “are caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable.” Id. §1508.8(b). Cumulative impacts are “impact[s] on the environment which result[ from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such other actions ... [and] can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time.” Id. §1508.7.

Direct wildlife impacts implicated by the Beech Ridge wind project include significant impacts to various unlisted bat species (Hoary bat, Eastern red bat, Silver-haired bat, Tri-colored bat, Big brown bat, Little brown bat, Eastern small-footed bat, and Northern long-eared bat) because of the well-documented mortality of bats due to turbine collision and barotrauma. In addition to unlisted species, there is particular concern here about direct impacts to federally endangered Indiana bats, whose presence on the project site has been confirmed through acoustic data, see, e.g., 675 F. Supp. 2d 540, and there might be similar impacts to federally endangered Virginia big-eared bats (which could be determined through rigorous on-site monitoring). Special emphasis should be placed on the Beech Ridge project’s effects on cave-dwelling species, including Indiana bats and little brown bats, because of the precipitous decline in their population numbers due to White Nose Syndrome (“WNS”). See, e.g., Frick, et al., An Emerging Disease Causes Regional Population Collapse of a Common North American Bat Species, SCIENCE, Vol. 329, pp. 679-82 (Aug. 6, 2010). It should also be noted that a petition has been submitted to list the Eastern small-footed bat and the Northern long-eared bat under the ESA, which might have some impact on the Service’s analysis of bat impacts here. See Center for Biological Diversity (Jan. 21, 2010), http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/bat_crisis_white-nose_syndrome/pdfs/petition-My otisleibii-Myotisseptentrionalis.pdf.

Further, there is much evidence in the scientific literature indicating that birds, and particularly eagles and other raptors, are killed and otherwise harmed by wind turbines. If surveys or historical FWS or WVDNR records indicate presence of such bird species on this project site, the direct and indirect impacts implicated by the project must be analyzed in the Service’s NEPA documentation. In addition, assuming evidence indicates the presence of bird species on the project site, the Service should analyze in its NEPA review compliance with other environmental statutes under its jurisdiction – including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Not only should direct impacts to all bat (and bird) species residing in this area be considered and analyzed in an EIS, but so too should the impacts to their habitat that is critical to proper ecosystem functioning and species survival by avoiding disruption of essential biological behaviors. Within the project footprint, for example, many acres of forested habitat were cleared to make way for the project’s turbines, roads, and related infrastructure – activities that likely impacted (and still impact) bats and birds in the area through adverse modification and fragmentation.

In addition to direct and indirect effects, there exist significant cumulative impacts with respect to the Beech Ridge wind project that must be evaluated thoroughly in an EIS. Most importantly, the Service should analyze the cumulative impacts of the Beech Ridge wind project on bats and migratory birds when viewed in conjunction with all other existing and planned wind projects in the eastern United States, and particularly in the Appalachian corridor. There are currently hundreds of wind projects operating in this region, and many more planned for construction, but the net effect of the rapid proliferation of wind energy in this region (which undisputedly has the highest turbine-bat mortality in the nation) is manifest in a daunting gauntlet of wind turbines that bats, birds, and other migratory species must traverse each year during spring and fall migration. This ever-more-difficult migration path poses grave risks to bat and bird populations, and such a significant impact must be analyzed and mitigated here – particularly considering that the estimated bat mortality predicted by the developer’s own consultant was the highest estimate for any wind project ever proposed in the United States.

Other cumulative impacts that must necessarily be evaluated as part of the Beech Ridge EIS include non-wind energy projects (e.g., timber projects, strip mines, residential or commercial development, etc.) in the region that impact bats, birds, and other Beech Ridge- affected wildlife, and the effects of those projects on wildlife and species habitat. Additionally, with respect to bats, WNS and its devastating effects must be thoroughly considered in evaluating the level of acceptable take for any listed bat species affected by the disease to ensure that species jeopardy is not likely to occur under the emergency WNS circumstances. This is of particular concern because WNS-affected bats are much more susceptible to turbine collisions and barotrauma due to compromised flying ability and increased fatigue. The effects of WNS, in conjunction with an array of wind turbines throughout the region, could have devastating effects on local and regional bat populations, and thus effective mitigation of these impacts is crucial.

II. Alternatives, Monitoring, and Mitigation Measures

NEPA requires the Service to “rigorously and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives” to the proposed action, and the alternatives analysis is considered the “heart of the environmental impact statement.” 40 C.F.R. § 1502.14. In addition, the EIS should “[i]nclude appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the proposed action or alternatives.” Id. § 1502.14(f).

The Service has indicated that “[t]he alternatives to be considered for analysis in the EIS may include: Variations in the scope of covered activities; variations in curtailment of wind turbine operations; variations in the location, amount, and type of conservation; variations in permit duration; variations in monitoring the effectiveness of permit conditions; or a combination of these elements. We will consider other reasonable project alternatives recommended during this scoping process in order to develop a full range of alternatives.” 75 Fed. Reg. 47267, 47269.

AWI and Mr. Cowan concur with the Service that all of these proposed variations and alternatives should be considered in the EIS. Indeed, AWI and Mr. Cowan provided preliminary comments to the Service on May 19, 2010 related to many of these topics (monitoring, conservation, etc.), and will again include these comments as part of this letter. See Attachment 1. The comments were created in conjunction with leading bat biologists and the comments incorporate the best available science in the field of bat biology and ecology (as of late May 2010). That attachment is hereby incorporated by reference as part of these scoping comments.

Specifically, in addition to the alternatives identified by the Service in the Federal Register notice, AWI and Mr. Cowan urge the Service to analyze the implementation of rigorous and independent bat and bird presence monitoring using technologies including acoustic detection (AnaBat), mist netting, springtime emergence studies, and other tools for detecting presence of bats, birds, and other species on the project site. Such surveys and studies would necessarily inform the Service’s decisionmaking on an ITP/HCP, and would ensure that all environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives are considered in an EIS. Also, pre- construction monitoring is essential for adequately identifying where on the project site the highest levels of bat and bird presence occur in order to minimize risks to wildlife.

Moreover, various adaptive management and post-construction monitoring regimes should be analyzed in the alternatives section of the EIS, and ultimately adopted to minimize and mitigate the impact of expected takes. As our May 19 comments highlight, there are various wildlife-protective mechanisms – including, but not limited to, curtailment of turbines during migration periods, the application of different cut-in speeds than those that would otherwise be used, and the implementation of time-of-year and/or time-of-day turbine operational restrictions (similar to those imposed by Judge Titus), etc. – that must be considered in minimizing the impacts to listed and unlisted bats, birds, and other wildlife species in the area.

Not only are such timing restrictions and other minimization and mitigation measures expressly contemplated in the Congressional mandate for ITPs under the ESA, see 16 U.S.C. §§ 1539(a)(2)(A)(ii), (iv), but they are also an important part of the NEPA process. E.g., 40 C.F.R. § 1505.3 (explaining that “[m]itigation and other conditions established in the [EIS] … shall be implemented by the lead agency … [as] appropriate conditions in grants, permits or other approvals”). Accordingly, the EIS should consider appropriate mitigation measures – based on scientifically defensible and independently created protocols – to minimize the risk of harm to bats, birds, and other wildlife in the region. The Service should also analyze other means of offsetting unavoidable impacts, including but not limited to funding research on WNS and purchasing and protecting important off-site bat habitat.

CONCLUSION

Please let us know if you have any questions about the comments provided herein. We look forward to continuing to work with the Service and the permit applicant in a cooperative and collaborative manner throughout this process.

Sincerely,
William S. Eubanks II
Eric R. Glitzenstein
Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, Washington, DC

Download original document: “Scoping Comments On The Fish And Wildlife Service’s Consideration Of An Incidental Take Permit And Habitat Conservation Plan For The Beech Ridge Wind Project”

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ATTACHMENT 1

May 19, 2010

Re: The Incidental Take Permit Process For The Beech Ridge Wind Project

Dear Mr. Groberg and Ms. Hill:

Pursuant to the parties’ January 26, 2010 Stipulation, which provides that Plaintiffs Animal Welfare Institute (“AWI”) and David Cowan may participate in the Incidental Take Permit/Habitat Conservation Plan process (“ITP process”), and that “they will use best efforts to play a constructive, cooperative role in the [p]rocess by making their views on pertinent issues (e.g., monitoring, adaptive management) known to Defendants and/or the Service as early in the ITP Process as practicable,” Stipulation ¶ 7, we are providing the following initial views on behalf of AWI and Mr. Cowan. These are preliminary comments on primary issues of concern that Plaintiffs believe should be considered by the Service in processing any ITP/HCP application for the Beech Ridge Wind Project. They were developed in consultation with the bat experts who testified at the trial in this case, and are based on the best available science known at this time.

The Following Pre-ITP/HCP Surveys Should Be Conducted To Determine Bat Concentrations On The Project Site.

A minimum of one full year (spring, summer, and fall) of surveys should be conducted on the project site to determine a baseline of bat activity;

• Surveys should incorporate appropriate technologies, including mist netting, acoustic detection, and springtime emergence radiotracking from nearby hibernacula;
• Such technologies should be deployed in all available habitats to analyze habitat use;
• If Indiana bat roost trees are located on the project site, such trees should be monitored for one year to determine the extent of Indiana bat use of those trees;
• Such surveys should be conducted by, or at a minimum should incorporate, independent scientists not retained as full-time environmental consultants.

The Following Monitoring And Carcass Searches Should Be Implemented During The ITP/HCP Process.

Beech Ridge Energy should conduct regular bird and bat carcass searches;

• Searches should be conducted on at least 50% of currently operating turbines to ensure an adequate sample size;
• Searches should be conducted on selected turbines at least every four days, but searches should be conducted at least every two days during the fall migration period when more deaths are known to occur;
• An appropriate carcass removal/predation study should be conducted to determine the number of bird and bat carcasses removed by terrestrial and avian predators;
• If any bat carcasses are found, they should be sent for external identification by Craig Stihler or similar qualified independent bat biologist;
• If any bird carcasses are found, they should be positively identified by a qualified ornithologist or institution (e.g., West Virginia Department of Natural Resources).

If FWS Concludes That The Level Of Take Will Not Jeopardize The Species, The Following Conservation Measures Should Be Implemented To Offset Takes In An HCP.

Beech Ridge Energy should provide adequate funding to qualified scientists and/or academic institutions to research white-nose syndrome (“WNS”) and to study how WNS in combination with wind turbine mortalities impacts bat population health, viability, dynamics, survival, and recovery potential;

Beech Ridge Energy should lease and/or purchase property near local Indiana bat hibernacula and plant potential roost trees to provide bats with alternate habitat that may reduce the use of roost trees at the project site and nearer the operational turbines;

Beech Ridge should purchase existing property that contains appropriate roost trees and, through conservation easements or similar instruments, ensure that such habitat is protected in perpetuity (at least until the project is no longer operational);

Any other conservation measures that may be appropriate and/or that are recommended by the Service and/or independent and qualified bat experts to offset anticipated Indiana bat deaths and injuries should be considered.

If FWS Concludes That The Level Of Take Will Not Jeopardize The Species, The Following Post-ITP Monitoring and Carcass Searches Should Be Implemented.

The ITP should require a minimum of three years of post-ITP monitoring, with the possibility of extending such monitoring, depending on the number of documented bird and bat deaths, and, in particular, Indiana bat deaths;

• Carcass searches should occur on at least 50% of operating turbines;
• In Year 1, carcass searches should occur at least every three days, reduced to daily searches during fall migration, unless the previously conducted carcass removal/predation study indicates that more frequent searches are necessary;
• After Year 1, a searcher efficiency should be established based on Year 1 data, and a per-species mortality estimate should be determined (triggering adaptive management regimes if mortality rates meet or exceed levels set in the ITP);
• Areas immediately adjacent to turbines should either be planted in short grass, or covered with gravel, making carcass identification more feasible;
• Turbines selected in Year 1 should, to the extent practicable, come from different areas and turbine lines within the project;
• Carcass searches will continue in Years 2-3, but the sample size and frequency should be dependent on the findings of Year 1 and on the carcass removal/predation study previously conducted;
• Because bats move frequently, a selected turbine in a given year should be monitored for that entire year because of geographical movement;
• If any bat carcasses are found, they should be sent for external identification by Craig Stihler of the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources or similar qualified independent bat biologist, and if any bird carcasses are found, including birds potentially protected under the ESA or the MBTA, such carcasses should be positively identified by a qualified ornithologist.

If An ITP Is Granted, It Should Contain The Following Post-ITP Operational Constraints.

An appropriate cut-in speed, to be determined based on the best available peer-reviewed scientific evidence, should be implemented in spring, summer, and fall during nighttime hours to minimize bat mortalities.

If An ITP Is Granted, It Should Require The Following Post-ITP Adaptive Management Measures.

In the event that Beech Ridge Energy exceeds the incidental take number authorized by the Service in an ITP, if granted, or in the event of unreasonably high bat or bird mortality in general, Beech Ridge Energy should be required to implement further operational constraints to reduce bat and bird mortality (i.e., curtailing all operation during nighttime hours in the fall migration period, adjusting operational times and turbine speed during bat and bird migrations, or modifying cut-in speed as recommended above).

We look forward to working cooperatively with both Beech Ridge Energy and the Service in creating an ITP/HCP that meets the statutory muster of the Endangered Species Act, while also allowing the production of renewable energy in Greenbrier County to move forward in a sustainable and responsible manner. Please let us know if you would like to discuss these recommendations, or the basis for them, at you convenience.

Sincerely,
William S. Eubanks II
Eric R. Glitzenstein
Counsel for Plaintiffs Animal Welfare Institute and David Cowan

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