Recent Town & BP Art.10 Correspondence

8/13/2019 Recent Town & BP Art.10 Correspondence

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December 4, 2013

Issues Related to Recent Communication by the Town & BP in theArticle 10 Case of the Cape Vincent ind !arm Proposal"

11/12/13 Letter from Town/Curtin:

"That said, the intentions of BP, as we understand them, fly in the

face of not only the Comrehensi!e Plan of the Town of Cae incent

but also its duly adoted land use re#ulations$ %t does not e!en come

close to the !ision that the Town has maintained for a considerable

eriod of time and it should be noted that the substance of the local

re#ulations in &uestion redate any alications that were made by BP

or any other wind initiati!e$"

"%n the e!ent that there is a sale and a new alicant is substituted,

we will re&uest and re&uire that all alications be commenced at the

!ery oint of be#innin# in that there can be no reliance uon theactions underta'en by BP or its associates$ "

11/07/2013 Letter from Town:

"Please understand that our town has been li!in# under a cloud of

uncertainty for ei#ht years, the result of BP(s steadfast commitment

to force their incomatible and illo#ical wind de!eloment lan down

our throats$ )e ha!e fou#ht BP e!ery ste of the way for the ast

ei#ht years and we want BP and any subse&uent buyer of the Cae

ro*ect to reali+e that we will continue our fi#ht with any roosal

that does not consider and comly with our Comrehensi!e Plan and our

+onin# law$ )e are determined and our resol!e is uncomromisin#$"

"%t is imortant for any new buyer of the Cae incent wind ro*ect toalso understand that our difficulty with a wind roosal that is

incomatible with our Comrehensi!e Plan and +onin# law will etend

outside the bounds of the -rticle 10 rocess$ The Town of Cae incent

has the authority to re*ect any re&uest for ta abatement if a

de!eloment ro*ect does not meet and satisfy our !ision, lan and

+onin# laws$

10/25/13 Letter from BP.

"That said, the intentions of BP, as we understand them, fly in the

face of not only the Comrehensi!e Plan of the Town of Cae incent

but also its duly adoted land use re#ulations$ %t does not e!en come

close to the !ision that the Town has maintained for a considerableeriod of time and it should be noted that the substance of the local

re#ulations in &uestion redate any alications that were made by BP

or any other wind initiati!e$"

10/18/13 Letter from Town:

")e wish to brin# to your attention what we must conclude to ha!e been

an o!ersi#ht by those who drafted the -rticle 10 /aw and e#ulations

re#ardin# the tiulation Phase of the rocess$"


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"Because there is no secific time eriod secified for the

tiulation Phase it is oenended and allows an alicant as much

time as they deem necessary to mo!e their alication forward$"

"%n addition, there does not seem to be any interest or effort by BP

in #ettin# the rocess mo!in# and the issues resol!ed, while at the

same time disre#ardin# a secific re&uest by ud#e -#resta at the ay

21 meetin# to ro!ide a ro*ect lan that considers Cae incent(s

local law$"

"5n 5ctober 3, 2013 BP officials tra!eled to Cae incent and met with

comany leaseholders$ 6nconfirmed reorts from some who attended the

meetin# indicated BP discussed abandonin# the Cae incent ro*ect,

amon# other thin#s$"

"-nticiatin# the need to aroriate more money for the -rticle 10

rocess, we then come into direct conflict with ta ca re&uirements

by the tate$ -ll of this is etremely burdensome to small

municialities, such as ours, that ha!e limited resources$"

"adame ecretary, we need some hel and relief in the form of clarityand transarency$ The Town would as' for the same consideration and

same messa#e from BP that it has ro!ided to its leaseholders$ )e

would also re&uest that the itin# Board ro!ide the Town with some

indication of how lon# this hase of the rocess will continue$"

"BP has had our Town twistin# in the winds of uncertainty since 2007$

)hen -rticle 10 was enacted there was local arehension about balance

and fairness in the -rticle 10 rocess$ But it was hoed by many that

the new rocess would re&uire romt resonses by all arties, and

that timeliness would be adhered to by the alicant$ 8owe!er, we seem

to be stuc' a#ain now, awaitin# word from BP about its claimed

cessation of wind ro*ect de!eloment$ )hen9 :nowin# when matters to

us$ Certainly, you can areciate that$"

5/1/13 Letter from Town/Curtin:

"5ur second concern relates to a reference BP used to wai!e ortions

of the Town(s +onin# law as described in their Preliminary coin#

tatement ;P< filed on -ril 1=, " $$$ the Public er!ice /aw

#eneral reemtion of local laws should relie!e C)> of the obli#ation

to comly with this section$" DP in its re!iew of BP(s P ;$47uest that the Siting Boar& )ro$i&e the (on ith somein&ication o ho long this )hase o the )rocess ill continue.

B# has ha& our (on tisting in the in&s o uncertainty since 200@. hen +rticle 10 as

enacte& there as local a))rehension about balance an& airness in the +rticle 10 )rocess. But it

as ho)e& by many that the ne )rocess oul& re>uire )rom)t res)onses by all )arties, an& thattimeliness oul& be a&here& to by the a))licant. Hoe$er, e seem to be stuc" again no,

aaiting or& rom B# about its claime& cessation o in& )ro4ect &e$elo)ment. henA

Knoing hen matters to us. Certainly, you can a))reciate that.

#lease try to )ro$i&e us ith some relie by insisting that an a))licant )resuming to be mo$ing

orar& un&er +rticle 10 not be )ermitte& to circle o$er a ton in&einitely. Our community

&e$elo)ment acti$ity generally an& the )ursuit o a host o im)ortant munici)al initiati$es ha$elong suere& rom the chilling sha&o o uncertainty that B# has cast o$er the ton. #lease

attach some $alue to the nee&s o munici)alities in the +rticle 10 )rocess, Ca)e 5incent inclu&e&.

e ha$e to be about our business as a community an& B#, &emonstrably, &oes not.

es)ectully yours,

7rban Hirschey (on Su)er$isor

Broo"s Bra&gon e)uty Su)er$isor

;ohn Byrne (on Council

Clior& Schnei&er (on Council

ichelle Osal& (on Council


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September 19, 2013

Honorable Jeffrey C. CohenActing Secretary, NYS oar! of "lectric #o$er

%eneration Siting an! "n&ironment

'hree "mpire State #la(a

Albany, Ne$ Yor) 12223*13+0

Re: Case 12-F-0410 Cape Vincent Wind Power, LLC

ear Acting*Secretary Cohen-

'he 'o$n ha a n/mber of concern regar!ing the recent i/al Characteritic S/r&ey that $arecently !itrib/te! to ome of rei!ent of Cape incent by # in con/nction $ith their Cape

incent in! #o$er application.

1. irt, a /r&ey of thi type ho/l! ha&e been for$ar!e! for re&ie$ to interete! partie

4e.g., 'o$n, #S, "C etc5 prior to mailing. 6f that $ere !one then many of theproblem note! belo$ co/l! ha&e been correcte! an!7or a!!ree! beforehan!. a thi

/r&ey &ette! by #S or "C, an! if not, $hy not8

2. 6n # monthly trac)ing report they note! on A/g/t 29 that &i/al aement /r&ey

$ere ent to :all rei!ent of the 'o$n of Cape incent an! the 'o$n of ;yme.: e ha&e

fo/n!, ho$e&er, that the /r&ey $ere not !itrib/te! on the 29th an! that many rei!ent

of the 'o$n of Cape incent !i! not recei&e /r&ey, partic/larly $omen. 6t appear that# may ha&e ent /r&ey to pre!ominantly male hea! of ho/ehol!.

3. 'he 'o$n i alo concerne! abo/t the in&ol&ement of # leaehol!er an! other that are

pai! by # for their /pport.


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=. A maor concern of the 'o$n i $ith pri&acy of repon!ent opinion. 'he firt page of

the /r&ey ha the co&er letter an! repon!ent name an! a!!re on the bac)i!e of the

firt page of >/etion. /rthermore, /r&ey $ill be collecte! at the local office of # inCape incent $here they co/l! be accee! by # leaehol!er an! /pporter $ho

fre>/ent the office.

+. e $o/l! ha&e preferre! # can&aing Cape incent rei!ent a)ing them $hat theytho/ght of the &i/al impact analyi rather than an opinion on the le important

metho!ological approach. iering et. al. 20111reporte! "In some states, a panel of

experts is asked to review the visual impacts of a particular project in addition to anaesthetic impact professional hired by the developer. This approach can provide a more

robust and diverse discussion of the issues than is presented by a single analyst.: 'he

'o$n reer&e the right to ha&e an in!epen!ent con/ltant re&ie$ the /r&ey re/lt an!!ra$ in!epen!ent concl/ion from the !ata. e !o not thin) the 'o$n can be a/re! of

an in!epen!ent, /nbiae! aement from any con/ltant that i pai! by # or any other

applicant for that matter.

?. inally, $e re>/et t$o "@cel file containing the mailing lit an! the final ra$ !ata file

$ith all the repone from each of the >/etion.

Again, all thee concern of the 'o$n co/l! ha&e been a&erte! if the applicant $o/l! ha&e

!itrib/te! the /r&ey prior to it mailing. hat i epecially !it/rbing i that people opinion

are not g/ar!e! an! protecte!, b/t are rea!ily a&ailable for anyone to e@amine. 'he 'o$nbelie&e Article 10 r/le ho/l! be amen!e! to incl/!e ome form of pri&acy protection in p/blic

/r&ey !one in con/nction $ith f/t/re iting application.


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SHULMAN CURTIN GRUNDNER P.C.

C Daniel ShulmanPaul ]. Curtin Jr

Charles H. GrundnerStephen G. Eroll

Christian J Danaher

Honorable Jeffrey C. Cohen

Attorneys at Law250 South Clinton Street, Suite 502

Syracuse, New York 13202-1262(315) 424-8944 FAX: (315) 424-8205www.shulmanlawpc.com

May 1,2013

Acting Secretary, NYS Board of Electric PowerGeneration Siting and EnvironmentThree Empire State PlazaAlbany, New York 12223-1350Re: Case 12-F-0410 Cape Vincent Wind Power, LLC

Dear Acting-Secretary Cohen:Two recent issues came to the attention the Town and we would appreciate an opinionand some guidance.Our first issue concerns intervenor funding. The Town is concerned that special interestgroups, such as Voters for Wind, may request funding for expert opinions, perhaps for thepurpose of denying or limiting funds that might otherwise go to parties that are perceived to becritical of BP s project. We question the legitimacy of distributing BP s intervenor funds to agroup that is already affiliated and funded by BPFor example, the following description of BP s relationship with Voters for Wind wasincluded in BP s initial Public Involvement Plan:In 2007, BP retained the services of Marion Trieste and her team ofpublic outreachexperts to assist with planning events to educate and engage the public. s part of thiseffort, BP assisted a group of ocal wind power supporters in the Towns ofCape Vincentand Lyme to form a group known as oters for Wind

As we near completion of our requests for Pre-Application phase intervenor funds, we areconcerned there will be sufficient funds to engage all of the Town s experts. We bring this matterto your attention at this time so that if a funding request is submitted by an affiliate of theapplicant that there will be sufficient time to examine the issue prior to the scheduled intervenorfunding conference.


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May 1 2013Page 2

SHULMAN CURTIN GRUNDNER P.e.AtTorneys at aw

Our second concern relates to a reference BP used to waive portions of the Town's zoninglaw as described in their Preliminary Scoping Statement (PSS) filed on April 19, ...the PublicService Law general preemption o ocal laws should relieve CVWF o he obligation to complywith this section. DPS in its review of BP's PSS (p.46) also found the general preemptionstatement by BP to be bafiling , The revised PSS should clearly identify what CVWP meanswhen asserting that, the Public Service Law general preemption o ocal laws will relieve theapplicant o ts obligations to comply with a local standard Because the waiver of local laws isthe heart of this case, the Town requests the same clarification and identification as DPS, but theTown would prefer see a clarification sooner rather than later.

Very truly yours,

PJC/jmm

Recent Town & BP Art.10 Correspondence

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