Compromise wind energy facility ordinance?
Rumford Falls Times, www.rumfordfallstimes.com 27 May 2011
Rumford Falls Times, www.rumfordfallstimes.com 27 May 2011
The Rumford Board of Selectmen is ready to present their wind power ordinance for public vote this June.
In the course of discussion, wind developer First Wind has frequently been mentioned as has Black Mountain. But this ordinance is not about one project at one location. It opens up the entire town of Rumford, all 69 square miles, to the development of industrial wind turbines.
Once the ordinance is in place, it will be a field day for developers waiting to turn the ridge behind your home into an industrial site. Selectperson Jeremy Volkernick has asked the board to consider initially limiting the amount of turbines that can be erected in town as a way of being cautious. But the board would have none of that. As more and more area towns enact ordinances that restrict wind development, towns that have opened themselves up to wind turbines can be guaranteed that their precious land will be prominently in the scope of eager wind developers.
The selectmen’s ordinance is designed to be fair to wind developers, not to protect the people of Rumford. The people of Rumford are being compromised by this ordinance.
We need to vote “no” to the amended wind energy facility ordinance.
Please attend the public hearing concerning wind development at 6 p.m. Thursday in the town Hall auditorium.
Rita Aromaa,
Rumford
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/27/compromise-wind-energy-facility-ordinance/