Canadians haven’t sought to intervene yet
Robin Smith, Staff Writer, The Orleans Record, orleanscountyrecord.com 11 April 2012
Robin Smith, Staff Writer, The Orleans Record, orleanscountyrecord.com 11 April 2012
DERBY – The developer of two proposed wind turbines in Derby is waiting to see if Canadian property owners on the border want to participate in hearings in Vermont.
So far, Chad Farrell of Encore Redevelopment said Tuesday that he has not seen any requests for intervenor status from those who own land in Canada adjacent to the turbines proposed for border farm fields in Derby.
The hearing officer handling the case for the Vermont Public Service Board, John Cotter, told Farrell and Encore to send formal letters of notification to the abutting landowners in Canada. But he said that did not guarantee that he would grant them party status in the hearing process.
The town of Stanstead has indicated it wants to be an intervenor but so far Farrell has not received a copy of any application for that status.
Neighboring landowners in Canada received letters from Encore two weeks ago about the project – after the public hearing was held in Derby. Several said last week that they did not know about the project before that. The project has been reported on in English and French media in Quebec.
Farrell lamented that there was a postal delay in getting letters to the Canadian property owners. “The issues with respect to timing are somewhat unfortunate,” he said. “There’s no precedent in how to handle cross-border abutters. We need the guidance of the PSB,” Farrell said.
He is waiting for Cotter to determine whether to grant residents of another country the right to intervene. It would likely slow the process even further than has happened because of bad weather in March.
There has been precedent set in another type of hearing in Orleans County. The District 7 Environmental Commission granted party status to a Quebec group called Memphremagog Conservation Inc. during hearings on the expansion of the landfill in Coventry – which is in the watershed of international Lake Memphremagog.
The group was able to press for a long-term monitoring plan among other things.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/11/canadians-havent-sought-to-intervene-yet/