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Garrett to consider wind project easements

15 Fair Wind turbines expected to be spinning next year

Elaine BlaisdellCumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on a memorandum of easement with Fair Wind Power Partners, LLC for the Fair Wind project on Backbone Mountain. The commissioners, acting as Garrett County Sanitary District Inc., will also vote to grant a collection line easement and easement agreement.

During an administrative meeting in December, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved Fair Wind Power Partners’ application to construct up to 15 wind turbines on Backbone Mountain — but with conditions.

Also in December, the Federal Aviation Administration determined that the wind turbines that are part of the Fair Wind project are no hazard to air navigation, but turbines must be marked and lighted with white paint and synchronized red lights.

The project, which would generate 30 megawatts of electricity, is slated to be operational next year.

Other agenda items include a presentation by the board of education on the fiscal 2015 budget, a public hearing on the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Block Grant applicants, a review of Appalachian Regional Commission preliminary project descriptions and a departmental update from the Garrett County Health Department.

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Fourmile Ridge wind project approved, moves forward

Elaine Blaisdell
Cumberland Times-News

— FROSTBURG — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the Fourmile Ridge wind project in eastern Garrett County and site preparation started April 7, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman. The current notice listed on the FAA website for the project is for a small change in turbine location.

The project was hinging on the decommissioning of the Grantsville VOR/DME system, which drew opposition from Ed Kelley, manager of the Garrett County Airport, and the Maryland Aviation Administration. The Grants-ville VOR/DME system will be decommissioned, according to Maisano.

VOR/DME refers to a combined radio navigation station for aircraft consisting of two beacons placed together.

“The decommission of the Grantsville VOR would leave Garrett County and Cumberland airports without a ground-based approach and would eliminate numerous instrument procedures, including six instrumental approach procedures, nine standard arrival routes, four victor airways and one remote communication outlet,” Kelly previously said in a letter to Melinda George of the FAA. “The loss of procedures and services could severely impact the safety of general, commercial, emergency and military aviation within the now served VOR/DME.”

The Fourmile Ridge project started out as a Synergics project with 24 wind turbines and was revised to an Exelon project with 16 wind turbines in the Frostburg Road area.

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved the Fourmile wind project last year.

Construction on the project is slated for completion by early November with testing and plans to begin commercial operations by mid-December 2014, according to Maisano.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Exelon to begin work soon for Fourmile Ridge

Sixteen wind turbines to be constructed

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Exelon will begin moving dirt soon for the Fourmile Ridge project, Mike Koch, executive director of Garrett County’s Department of Community Planning and Development, told the county commissioners during their public meeting Tuesday.

Jim Torrington, assistant director of the Garrett County Permits and Inspection Services Office, met with Exelon and a meeting has occurred with constituents regarding erosion, sediment control and stormwater management.

The Garrett County Engineering Department has been looking at drainage, driveway impacts and a roadway use agreement with Exelon for restoring the road once the Fourmile Ridge project is complete, according to Dwight Emory, P.E., director of the engineering department.

The Fourmile Ridge project started out as a Synergics project with 24 wind turbines and was revised to an Exelon project with 16 wind turbines on Frostburg Road, according to Torrington.

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Hearing set on Garrett County, Md., wind farm proposal by Exelon Corp.’s Fair Wind subsidiary

By Associated Press, Published: November 14

MCHENRY, Md. — The Maryland Public Service Commission is hearing public comments on Exelon Corp.’s plan to place 12 to 15 wind turbines on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County about six miles south of Oakland.

The public hearing Thursday night is at Garrett College in McHenry. The Chicago-based company is pursuing the project through its Fair Wind Power Partners subsidiary.

The 30-megawatt wind farm was originally part of a project proposed by Clipper Windpower Inc. Exelon bought the Fair Wind project from Clipper in February.

Exelon says construction could begin in early 2014, with commercial operation commencing by the end of next year.

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Garrett County Proposes Wind Turbine Setback

OAKLAND, Md. (AP) — The Garrett County Commissioners are proposing rules to put distance between wind turbines and homes.

The formula proposed Tuesday would require turbines to be no closer to an occupied dwelling than five times the device’s height. For a 400-foot turbine, the setback would be 2,000 feet.

The formula is part of a proposed countywide land-use ordinance that is available for public comment through June 15.

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Garrett County leaders agree on formula for wind turbine location

Alternative energy production units reportedly are getting taller

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — On Tuesday, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners came to the consensus of a formula for the setbacks of industrial wind turbines to use in the draft Land Use Management Ordinance.

The setbacks for wind turbines from a occupied dwelling would be five times the height measuring from base to the hub of the wind turbine and from a property line it would be three times the height. The same formula was proposed for domestic wind turbines.

“What we are trying to do (with this draft ordinance) is determine what footprint we want here in the county and what we want this county to look like for our kids, their kids and the future generations beyond that,” said Chairman Jim Raley. “That is what we are really after here.”

Commissioner Robert Gat-to indicated that he wanted discussion on the draft document to continue. Once the changes are made in the draft document, it will be made public and residents will have until June 15 to comment on it. Raley suggested that the public’s comments be published along with the document.

“Most of you in this room have said you believe there should be some regulatory framework in regard to setbacks and those things,” said Raley during Tuesday’s meeting. “The question comes down to how do you do it without some form of zoning or some form of regulatory framework? I think that is the discussion that will be more far-reaching.”

The current formula in the draft ordinance rids the document of the 375-foot height restriction that was previously proposed, according to John Nelson, director of the Department of Planning and Land Development. During the meeting, Kevin Brokish, a project manager for the Fair Wind project, said industrial wind turbines were getting higher and that the Criterion Wind Project wouldn’t have been viable with the height restrictions that were previously proposed.

“My company and I are for reasonable wind setbacks. We think it’s inappropriate for a turbine to be a mere 500 feet from a home that is not signed with the project,” said Brokish, who noted that Clipper Windpower Development, LLC voluntarily places units 1,000 feet from residences. “More recently we have increased that distance to 1,200 feet.”

Commissioner Gregan Crawford questioned why wind turbines are getting taller. He also asked if it had an effect on noise reduction and if wind industries test for sound.

Brokish said there are tests and that in Maryland there is a 55-decibel limit, which translates into a 50-foot setback for wind turbines.

“There are two ways turbines get bigger. One way is with taller towers. I think that would help sound a little bit,” said Brokish. “As you get higher up wind speeds increase.”

After the public comment period, the ordinance will go through additional readings and a public hearing, should the commissioners decide to move forward with the document.

“It also give us time to continue to do research,” said Raley. “I can tell you the people who are worried about living in their homes would like the number to be as high as it possibly could be. Because they want to be guaranteed some type of protection. As I continue to say, I am concerned about roads and infrastructure, as the face of Garrett County is changing.”

Some research was done as to what setbacks other counties have, all of which vary. In neighboring Allegany County, the setbacks are 2,000 feet from a residence, 1,000 feet from any other structure and 5,000 feet from schools or National Register of Historic Places sites, according to data sheet provided by the commissioners. In Somerset and Cambria counties in Pennsylvania the setbacks are five times the height to the hub and is subject to a non-disturbance easement.

At a March meeting to discuss the draft ordinance, the commissioners also discussed the underground disposal of hydraulic fracturing water associated with Marcellus shale drilling. However, during the meeting on Tuesday the discussion centered more on the industrial wind setbacks.

“Everything has centered around a discussion pretty much about the wind industry. There has been little to no discussion about the gas industry,” said Raley. He said the gas industry “will bring something different. It will bring intensity of use to roadways, to trucks meeting legal re-quirements of weight restrictions. What happens when you have roads that weren’t designed for large intensity of use?”

It was stressed Tuesday that nothing in the draft ordinance is set in stone and it still has to go through the public hearing process before the commissioners can vote on it.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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By 2013, Western Md. could have more wind turbines

Company pursues study for tower on St. John’s Rock

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Western Maryland may see more wind turbines pop up along the ridges.

The Garrett County Permits and Inspections Division issued a meteorological tower permit last month to Synergics for a tower on St. John’s Rock at Four Mile Ridge between Avilton and Frostburg, according to Jim Torrington, chief of the division.

Synergics is doing an environmental wind study on Four Mile Ridge and is proposing 20 to 24 wind turbines, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman.

Maisano estimated that at the earliest the project could be completed in 2013, but more likely it would be later.

The Roth Rock project on Backbone Mountain was started by Synergics, but is now owned by Gestamp Wind North America of Houston. Maisano described it as well-done and said there has been minimum invasiveness to the land.

“It’s certainly not obtrusive-looking,” said Maisano. “Once people see the wind projects and get used to them, they will see there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.”

Roth Rock was cited for erosion control violations by the Maryland Department of the Environment during its construction and a resident opposition group, Save Western Maryland, filed letters of intent to sue Synergics unless the developers created a plan to deal with the possibility that endangered wildlife could be harmed by the project.

In October, the county also issued a met tower permit to EDP Renewables North America (Horizon Wind Energy) for the Winding Ridge project near Friendsville.

Met towers measure the amount of wind at a proposed wind turbine site for at least a year, according to a Wind Power: Resource Assessment fact sheet. The towers have different siting requirements than the turbines, and occasionally the met tower is not put in the same place as the proposed wind turbine site.

Before wind turbines can be fully operational, the permits division has to issue a variety of additional permits, such as a grading permit, which can take up to a year, a building permit and certificate of use for each wind turbine, according to Torrington.

The permits division also has to issue a final certification, which requires copies of certification of the man lifts within each tower; all reports concerning concrete testing, grouting, torquing, mechanical and electrical testing and completion; and any Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports that are completed, said Torrington. A man lift is used to take equipment and personnel up to the wind turbine for repair and maintenance.

The county is awaiting final inspection on Roth Rock and the Criterion project, owned by Constellation Energy and also operational on Backbone Mountain, before releasing the stormwater bonds, said Torrington in an email with the Times-News.

Certificates of use were approved with the condition that all stormwater requirements be completed like as-built drawings and final inspections be completed, according to Torrington.

“The county still holds a stormwater bond on both projects,” said Torrington.

In December, County Commissioner Gregan Crawford encouraged his colleagues to support the development of zoning laws that would regulate future wind projects in the county. “We need to start the dialogue on how we can control noise and flicker,” he said in response to an update by the county’s planning director on proposed wind turbine projects.

At that time, the county also had a request from Clipper Windpower Development for a met tower to be installed just north of U.S. Route 50 for the Fair Winds project proposed on Backbone Mountain.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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>Kitzmiller Elementary students tour state’s first operational wind project

>The Cumberland Times-News Sun Apr 17, 2011, 09:47 PM EDT

— OAKLAND — Students from Garrett County’s Kitzmiller Elementary School recently got a firsthand look at how renewable energy is working in Maryland.

Approximately 40 kindergarten through third-grade students and their teachers were the first local school students to tour Constellation Energy’s Criterion Wind Project in Oakland. The first wind energy project to operate in the state, Criterion Wind produces 70 megawatts of emission-free electricity. The wind project is helping Maryland meet its clean energy goals of producing 20 percent of its electricity with renewable resources by 2022.

Teacher Bridgete Corbin requested the tour as part of a unit she’s teaching on green energy. “We’re exposing students to the idea of renewable energy, and we have this great example of how it works right here in our county,” she said. “The students were really excited to see the wind turbines and to talk about how they make clean energy.”

The Kitzmiller students toured two of the 28 Criterion wind turbines, which stand 415 feet tall with the blades turned up. The two towers the students toured were located on the property of Oakland resident Janet Tichnell.

“People are really interested in seeing the windmills,” Tichnell said. “I was more than happy to help coordinate the tour with the schools. It was a good learning experience for the children.”

The Criterion Wind Project is built over an 8-mile stretch along Backbone Mountain east of Oakland. The project began producing commercial power in late December.

Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, is a leading competitive supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the U.S.

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>Beitzel Introduces Turbine, Property Marker Legislation

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Jan. 27, 2011

Del. Wendell Beitzel introduced two more bills for the Maryland General Assembly’s consideration last week in Annapolis. A previously introduced piece of proposed legislation, dubbed the “Buy American” bill, will go under committee review next week.

House Bill 112: “Garrett County – County Commissioners –Commercial Wind Turbines” would give the commissioners the authority to enact ordinances in Garrett County regarding setbacks and decommissioning of wind turbines.

“This is a measure that both Senator Edwards and I have pursued during past sessions,” Beitzel said. “Slowly but surely, I believe that many are beginning to see the need for such commonsense legislation. As turbines continue to be placed on Garrett County’s mountainsides, I believe it is imperative to ensure that those who live, work, and play under these imposing structures are protected.”

Beitzel’s House Bill 113: “Real Property – Interference With Property Markers – Penalty Increase” would increase fines for vandalizing property markers.

“The interference with property markers has been a problem in Garrett County, especially within the Deep Creek Lake area,” Beitzel said. “Monuments marking property lines have been destroyed or moved over the years. As a result, surveying groups have gone to great expense to replace and/or relocate these markers.”

Current law states that interfering with property markers is a misdemeanor subject to a fine up to $500.

“The bill that Senator Edwards and I are proposing will increase the penalty to up to $2,500. This increase in the maximum penalty reflects the considerable costs incurred to replace and relocate these markers.”

Read the full article here.

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State's First Wind Turbine Facility To Officially Start In January 2011

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Sep. 30, 2010

The official start-up date for Constellation Energy’s Backbone Mountain wind energy facility is the first week of January 2011. Dave Wagner, the Baltimore-based company’s local representative, gave the Garrett County commissioners an update on the 70 megawatt (MW) Criterion Wind Project on Tuesday.

“The project is moving along nicely,” Wagner said, about Maryland’s first wind turbine project.

Tree-clearing and construction for the initiative began this March in the Eagle Rock area and now stretches over an eight-mile area along the ridgeline. Each of the 28 Clipper 2.5MW Liberty wind turbines will be approximately 415 feet tall, to the tip of a blade rotated straight up.

“As of two weeks ago, all of the deliveries for the project have been made – that is, all of the large, oversize deliveries have been made,” Wagner told the commissioners. “In all, we had about 560 large trucks go through Garrett County, escorted by the state police.”

He noted that all of the trucks have arrived, all of the loads have been discharged, and many of the loads have been installed.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!