Westfield Town Board accepts final scoping doc
The Westfield Town Board adopted a Final Scoping Document for Babcock & Brown’s proposed Ripley-Westfield wind turbine project at its October 1st meeting. The Final Scoping Document was prepared by the Town Board, as co-lead agency with the Ripley Town Board, in conjunction with consultants from Environmental Design & Research. The Ripley Town Board is expected to discuss the document at an upcoming meeting.
Babcock & Brown Renewable Holdings, Inc., as project sponsor, submitted an application for Special Use Permit to the Towns of Westfield and Ripley in April. The proposed project would involve the installation and operation of an approximately 125-megawatt wind energy facility consisting of up to 83 wind turbine generators (WTGs). The project also includes an electrical substation, connection to a nearby electrical transmission line and 20 miles of access roadways.
In accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Act and its implementing regulations, the Final Scoping Document is intended to identify those environmental impacts that the co-lead agency will require Babcock & Brown to study and analyze in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). SEQR also requires that the Final Scoping Document clearly articulate the methods and parameters of study and analysis required for each potentially significant environmental impact identified. The document draws from the Draft Scoping Document submitted by Babcock & Brown on July 8th as well as public comments on the Draft Scoping Document received at two public scoping meetings held July 29th and written comments received from the public and any involved and interested agencies.
Key among the requirements established in the Final Scoping Document for the Ripley-Westfield project is the requirement that Babcock & Brown identify the exact location of the proposed wind turbine generators on the project site in relation to nearby residences and parcel boundaries.
For each potentially significant environmental impact identified, the project sponsor is required by SEQR to include a description of existing conditions, any impacts that may result from the build-out of the project as proposed and, if impacts are identified, proposed mitigation measures.
In accordance with the Final Scoping Document, Babcock & Brown will be required to address the following potentially significant environmental impacts: Topography and Geology, Soils, Agricultural Land Resources, Water Resources, Wetlands, Terrestrial Ecology, Avian and Bat Resources, Climate and Air Quality, Aesthetic/Visual Resources, Sound, Traffic/Transportation, Socioeconomics, Public Health and Safety, Community Facilities and Services, Communication Facilities and Land Use and Zoning.
Regarding avian and bat resources, an issue that came up repeatedly during the scoping process, the lead agency will not require three years of pre-construction avian studies utilizing multiple marine radar units, as proposed by some during the public scoping period. The Board noted in the Final Scoping Document that such a level of study is not required by draft guidelines established by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and is not the standard that has been applied in other wind power projects in the state.
Instead, Babcock & Brown will be required to include in the DEIS one year of pre-construction data and the results of studies conducted by the former Chautauqua Wind Power Project and data available from the Ripley Hawk Watch and other resources.
Groundwater resources was another issue of concern during the scoping process. Babcock & Brown will be required to include in the DEIS a survey of nearby wells accompanied by a general analysis by a geologist of groundwater conditions. But a detailed quantitative groundwater analysis and geotechnical analysis, including a requirement for monitoring, was deemed by the lead agency to be premature. A more detailed geotechnical analysis will be completed, according to the Final Scoping Document, at each turbine site prior to construction.
An on-site sound study that documents ambient sound conditions and calculates the increase in sound level that will result from the operation of the specific turbine model proposed will be required.
Babcock & Brown will be required to conduct a literature review and analysis of peer-reviewed articles and publications concerning [ends]
By Sara Herrmann
9 October 2008
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