June 7, 2015
Editorials, Maryland

Valid concerns: Other ‘stakeholders’ should have been allowed to attend wind project meeting

Cumberland Times-News | June 7, 2015 | www.times-news.com

At least three citizens and one of our reporters recently were turned away from what was described as a stakeholder advisory group meeting involving a proposed 19-turbine wind farm on Dan’s Mountain.

An official of Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC, which is planning the project, said the meeting was private and limited to those who were invited, including landowners in the affected area.

Our impression was that “stakeholder” is a relatively new buzzword.

However, we have found that it was first used in 1708 to describe “a person who holds the stake or stakes in a bet.” The modern definition is “a person with an interest or concern in something.”

Those who were turned away are entitled to consider themselves stakeholders.

One who lives near an existing wind farm said AM radio reception is disrupted by “these ungodly 500-foot monsters.” She feared that emergency responders would have similar communication problems.

Call us stakeholders too, because our role is to inform the citizens of what they want to know and need to know. For some time, that has included telling our readers about developments in the wind industry, both the pros and the cons.

We have printed many letters to the editor and other comments from those who say the turbines spoil what buzzword afficionados call “the viewshed.” (Unlike “stakeholder,” “viewshed” is relatively new. Merriam-Webster says it was first used in 1981 and defines it as “the natural environment that is visible from one or more viewing points.” The average person refers to this as “the scenery.”)

Others who live near wind farms say they have been driven to distraction and even ill health by the noise and vibrations. (Sooner or later, someone is bound to coin the word “listenshed,” which simply means “what you can hear from where you are.”)

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/06/07/valid-concerns-other-stakeholders-should-have-been-allowed-to-attend-wind-project-meeting/