July 15, 2020
Ohio
Ohio
COLUMBUS – Ohio Power Siting Board has scheduled hearings regarding Firelands Wind LLC’s proposal to construct a wind farm in Erie and Huron counties. The local public and adjudicatory hearings are to be conducted using Cisco Webex, a web-based platform that facilitates participation by telephone or live video on the internet.
The local public hearing is to begin at 3 p.m. Aug. 20. The purpose of the local public hearing is to allow residents in the local community affected by the project, who are not parties to the case, to provide testimony about the project. Testimony will be limited to 5 minutes per witness, and the hearing transcript will become part of the case record considered by the OPSB.
Individuals who wish to provide testimony must register with the OPSB before noon Aug. 19 by completing an online registration form at https://opsb.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/opsb/events/emerson-creek-public-hearing or by calling (800) 686-7826. Individuals will be required to provide their full name and contact information, specify whether they plan to join the Webex event by internet or by telephone, state whether they intend to testify, and select a time block to testify between 3 and 6 p.m. or after 6:30 p.m.
On the day of the local public hearing, people who have registered to testify during the 3-6 p.m. time block should be prepared to speak beginning at 3 p.m., and those registered to testify after 6:30 p.m. should be prepared to speak beginning at 6:30 p.m. Individuals who are testifying by internet will be promoted from Webex “attendee” to “panelist” when it is their turn to testify.
People who are testifying by telephone will be called by an OPSB staff member when it is their turn to testify, and then connected to the public hearing. If access or other issues are experienced during the local public hearing, individuals should immediately use the chat function within Webex or contact the OPSB at (614) 4666843 for assistance.
If people wish to supplement their testimony with an exhibit, a copy of the document along with a reference to case number 18-1607-EL-BGN, must be provided to OPSB no later than Aug. 28. Exhibits may be emailed to contactOPSB@puco.ohio.gov or mailed to Ohio Power Siting Board, 180 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215.
People who wish to attend the public hearing by telephone and not offer testimony may do so by calling (408) 418-9388 at any time during the hearing and entering access code 129 345 1686. The local public hearing also will be live streamed at www.youtube.com/user/PUCOhio.
The adjudicatory hearing is to begin at 10 a.m. Oct. 5. Its purpose is for Firelands Wind, OPSB staff and parties to the case to present evidence regarding the proposed facility. OPSB will provide additional details regarding how to attend the adjudicatory hearing at a later date.
The proposed Emerson Creek Wind Farm would consist of up to 71 wind turbines at 87 possible locations in Groton and Oxford townships in Erie County and Lyme, Norwich, Richmond, Ridgefield and Sherman townships in Huron County. The wind farm would generate a maximum total capacity of 297.66 megawatts.
Additional information is available on the OPSB website at www.OPSB.ohio.gov in case number 18-1607-EL-BGN.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/07/15/opsb-sets-virtual-hearings-for-emerson-creek-wind-farm-project/