‘Good neighbors’?
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan | www.yankton.net
Every life, every work is a legacy. Survivors of the Great Depression left a legacy of extreme frugality. The 80s farm crisis impacted not just our farming practices and lifestyle but also our psyche. Survivors fear loss of the farm, the lifestyle, and loss of identity. We hang on to property at great costs to our legacy.
Converting agricultural and wildlife areas to the use of industrial wind turbines irreversibly destroys it. It is a legacy of destruction starting with the removal of soil for the base and depositing 770+ cubic yards of concrete. Industrial wind turbines affect aquifers, water flow, tile lines, soil erosion, soil compaction, air pressure and current. A generation later, your legacy is a piece of rusted steel poking into the sky.
Easement contracts are another debt inadvertently left as a legacy. Easements essentially give away land rights for 30+ years. The companies holding easements use them as collateral, whether they are utilized or not. Construction companies may file a lien against the landowner when the developer does not make payment. If the company is no longer in existence at the end of the easement agreement, the landowner is responsible for removal. A Blattner Energy quote states the cost at $675,000, today. What will it be for your children and grandchildren?
Do not sign an easement or a “good neighbor agreement” with a wind energy or transmission company.
Matt and Kim Brenneman, Parnell, Iowa
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/11/26/good-neighbors/