Alle-Catt Wind Farm expected to take toll on bald eagles 

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation estimates the proposed Alle-Catt Wind Farm across parts of northern Cattaraugus and Allegany counties will kill 41 bald eagles over a 30-year period.

Another Invenergy wind project in the town of Canisteo in Steuben County will, if built, kill another 41 eagles, DEC estimated in negotiations with representatives from both wind farms over replacement habitat. Bats would also be killed by the turbines, DEC noted.

Instead, Invenergy signed off on a DEC proposal to help fund an expansion of the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital for Bald and Golden Eagle Health and Conservation at Cornell University with a nearly $2 million donation paid over several years.

There are an estimated 425 nesting pairs of bald eagles in New York, according to DEC. The bald eagle has been removed from the state’s endangered list and placed on the DEC’s threatened list.

No components of either Alle-Catt Wind Energy or Canisteo Wind may be located within a quarter mile of an eagle nest.

The expansion of the eagle health and conservation program at Cornell is expected to help treat an additional 15-17 raptors a year, or 75-85 over the first five years.

DEC officials first broached the possibility of a donation to the Cornell wildlife hospital last October after Alle-Catt said it had experienced difficulty in obtaining alternate eagle habitat under a net conservation benefit plan.

In December, Invenergy made a $600,000 donation, with promises to pay $400,000 annually over the next three years, followed by a final $197,000 payment by Dec. 31, 2026.

Invenergy will be required to conduct daily and weekly searches at 54 turbine sites for eagle carcasses, which must be reported to DEC. In addition, the discovery of a new bald eagle nest or a new long-eared bat roost would trigger a modification of approved plans.

“We had been hopeful they would not be able to replace the bald eagle habitat,” said environmental attorney Gary Abraham, who represents the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, individuals and groups fighting Invenergy’s proposal for 600-foot high turbines. “It shows if you’ve got enough money you can kill as many bald eagles as you like.”

Abraham said the bigger story is that the 84 turbines Alle-Catt plans to erect for its 340-megawatt wind farm “are not reducing emissions and not replacing any power plants. They are not designed to be integrated into a grid. They put them up and walk away. There are no jobs left. They will run it from their headquarters in Chicago.”

Meanwhile, a disagreement between Invenergy and Cattaraugus County is also playing out in filings with New York Siting Board over negotiations involving a road-use agreement for haul roads in the towns of Freedom and Farmersville.

Invenergy and the county have been talking about a road-use agreement since late 2020, and the company has accused the county of dragging its feet. The company has asked the siting board to force the county to accept its offer on three items the two parties cannot agree upon.

Through its outside attorney, Benjamin Wisniewski of Webster, Cattaraugus County said Invenergy was wrong to ask the siting board to impose a road-use agreement on the county and that it was not responsible for unreasonable delays.

Alle-Catt Wind Energy, the Invenergy subsidiary undertaking the project in New York, told the siting board it had proposed spending up to $100,000 a mile for paved haul roads and $75,000 a mile for unpaved roads for repairs from overweight vehicles during construction.

The county answered that Class 1 roads could need repairs costing up to $300,000 a mile, while Class 2 roads could need up to $200,000 a mile, while $850,000 could be needed for bridges.

Alle-Catt also objected to the county declaring in a filing with the siting board: “The County retains the sole and exclusive right to make the final decision on the extent and type of road repairs” based on pre-construction and post-construction surveys.

In a March 23 reply to the siting board, Wieniewski said Alle-Catt is asking the board to withdraw its delegation of authority to the county to negotiate a road agreement. “No such delegation is necessary,” he said.

Alle-Catt stated in one recent request to the siting board that, “The County does not have the ability to effectively prevent the siting of a major electrical generating facility by withholding its consent to use local roads.”

In his filing answering Alle-Catt’s road-use agreement charges, and asking the siting board to deny the developer’s petition, Wieniewski suggests a mediator may need to be appointed to resolve the remaining issues. If the siting board wants to intervene, it should hold an evidentiary hearing, he added in his response.

Alle-Catt is also not happy with a county request to “require improvements to deficient road-use agreements forced on Farmersville and Freedom,” Wieniewski said.

Invenergy emhasizes the hundreds of jobs the project would create during construction, the $454.5 million capital investment, $3.2 million in annual property taxes and $2.7 million in landowner payments across the five towns in the project’s footprint: Freedom and Farmersville in Cattaraugus County, Rushford and Centerville in Allegany County and Arcade in Wyoming County.

Farmersville and Freedom residents opposed to the wind farm last week pointed to a March 28 turbine fire at the Eight Point Wind Farm in Canisteo, Steuben County, which led to thick black smoke and burning fiberglass that flew from the turbine.

No injuries were reported from the fire. A spokesman for owners NextGen Energy Resources said the company would clean up the area and remove the turbine components.

Firemen extinguished flaming material that fluttered to the ground. Their firehoses could not reach the flaming turbine. The turbines contain hundreds of gallons of oil.

“It reflects reality,” said Abraham. “It’s not common, but it’s happened four or five times this year in Western and Central New York.”

Alle-Catt Wind Turbine Concerns, the Facebook page managed by Alle-Catt Wind Farm opponents, seized on the Rexville turbine fire. “If Alle-Catt is built, this will be coming to this community,” the caption above a burning turbine read.