April 25, 2013
Letters, Wisconsin

Lasee’s wind tower siting bill deserves support

Sheboygan Press | April 24, 2013 | www.sheboyganpress.com

The new Wisconsin law PSC 128 ties the hands of local governments and doesn’t allow them to protect the health and safety of the citizens that they represent.

In March, state Sen. Frank Lasee introduced Senate Bill 71. This law would give local governments the ability to adjust industrial wind siting ordinances to protect local residents.The bill has been referred to committee. It’s being held up by committee member Sen. Rick Gudex. He’s leaning against the bill and is standing in the way of moving this bill forward to a vote on the Senate floor.

The proposed Windy Acres project sits between the villages of Adell and Hingham, in a very populated rural area. There are 532 families within one mile of this project. It’s well documented that Industrial Wind Towers (IWTs) adversely affect people when sited too close. Infrasound, low frequency noise and stray voltage, all associated with IWTs, can harm people and affect property values two miles away.

It’s imperative that local governments have to ability to adjust wind siting setbacks to protect their residents. This basic right and responsibility is available in every other state except Wisconsin.

Job creation is a top priority for the state. However, the safety of Wisconsin’s citizens should not be compromised for the sake of a few temporary construction jobs. In fact, ill sited IWTs may actually hamper and stifle growth, creating IWT “wastelands.”

This is a statewide issue, not just a problem for the towns of Holland and Sherman. Other IWT projects are being proposed for the Town of Rhine, the Town of Fredonia in Ozaukee County and the Town of Addison in Washington County. Please contact Sen. Gudex at Sen.Gudex@legis.wisconsin.gov, or call him at (608) 266-5300. Ask him to support SB71. The health and homes of thousands of Wisconsin citizens are at stake.

Mitchell Fisher

Waldo

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/04/25/lasees-wind-tower-siting-bill-deserves-support/