Freeholders won't intervene in windmill proposal
Public comment period open through Nov. 3
BY TOM SHORTELL Staff Writer
The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders has no plans to intervene in a proposal to construct a 380-foot-tall windmill in Union Beach, nor do state legislators, for the time being.

Robert Fischer, executive director of the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority, stands near the site where a 380-foot windmill would be constructed to generate power for the facility.

The project is being proposed by the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority, which wants to construct a 1.5- megawatt, industrial windmill at its Union Beach site. BRSA wants to use stimulus funds to construct the windmill, which it says will save the authority $500,000 a year.

According to BRSA Executive Director Robert Fischer, the projected $500,000 savings per year would amount to more than 8 percent of the authority's operating costs.

The Hazlet Area Quality of Life Alliance is opposing the project and had requested the freeholders place a moratorium on wind turbines until studies are conducted and regulations promulgated at the county level on wind power.

Citing moratoriums that have been created in several states and other countries, HAQLA President John Curran III wrote to the freeholders urging the county to investigate common concerns about safety, flicker (the revolving shadow of the turbine's blades), noise and the effects on bird and bat habitats.

"My contention is that when you see all of the potential and documented negative impacts nationally and worldwide … that if we're going to err, it ought to be in favor of the people's protection. That's their first duty," Curran said last week.

In the letters to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the freeholder board, Curran said the wind tower "would affect the surrounding, densely populated, residential communities and the entire Bayshore Region."

He also asks for increased public outreach, including requiring BRSA to post full disclosure of information on the website and through public meetings.

Union Beach officials and local activists oppose the project, saying BRSA has not provided detailed enough information on the turbine's impact on the community. The windmill would stand in the back of BRSA's Oak Street facility, about 550 feet away homes.

A county official, however, said the matter is a state issue.

William Heine, the county's director of public information, cited several measures taken by the state and the DEP to encourage wind power, including the 2008 New Jersey Energy Master Plan. The plan calls for constructing 3,000 megawatts of off-shore wind generation and 200 megawatts from mainland sites.Heine also pointed out that the DEP is reviewing proposed amendments to state regulations that govern some alternative energy facilities. In one proposal, the application process would become easier for some facilities. Another would make facilities under 200 feet tall easier to permit, Heine said.

The DEP held a public comment session for these amendments Oct. 14.

"The bottom line is that it is not up to the freeholders or the county to decide this issue, and we have a policy of not polling the board on questions outside their realm of authority," Heine said.

The DEP's deadline to pass the regulations is September 2010, said Karen Hershey, a DEP spokeswoman. Written public comment may still be submitted until Nov. 7, she said. State legislatorswere hesitant to intervene as well.

Assemblyman Sam Thompson (R-13th District) rejected the idea of a moratorium.

"It is an established fact that windmills can act without being detrimental," he said. He pointed to the history of foreign countries such as Holland and England constructing windmills as proof.

Thompson admitted he was aware of the project, but he did not have much information on its specifics. Still, he said, the issue was outside his role as an assemblyman.

"This is actually a matter that is not within our purview as legislators," he said.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13th District) said that while she has concerns about the project, she will wait for the DEP to make its findings on the regulation amendments.

"Until we see environmental studies, we can only guess at the quality-of-life and public health impact," she said.

Handlin said that although wind turbines off the coast of Atlantic City have been successful, the BRSA proposal should be carefully reviewed because the proposed project would be significantly closer to the community.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first and only wind project in New Jersey proposed on a site that is less than 1,000 feet from residences," she said. "In a sense, Union Beach is being asked to be the guinea pig."

Curran said he was not surprised that elected officials did not jump behind HAQLA's call for a moratorium.

"It's a matter of political will and preference," he said. "The lobbying is big for the wind industry right now, especially because of the [American Reinvestment and Recovery Act]. There's so much money right now, they just want to grab the green."

The stimulus funds play a large factor in whether the BRSA proposal comes to fruition. About half of the $7.7 million projectwould be covered by ARRA, according to Fischer. In order to qualify for the funds, the project's 240-foot pedestal must be under contract by Feb. 17, 2010, Fischer has said.

Fischer dismissed Curran's concerns over the project, saying he is unaware of any scientific data that shows windmills could cause health hazards.

"You can only chase so many rumors. There's no evidence of this stuff," he said.

Another group weighing in on the proposal is PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is also raising concerns about the wind turbine, which, it states in a press release posted on the website, would be 380 feet tall and have 118-foot blades and would sit on a 240-foothigh pedestal atop a concrete pad over 24 pilings adjacent to Raritan Bay.

In an Oct. 6 press release posted on its website, www.peer.org, PEER claims environmental studies are being shortchanged in favor of federal stimulus funds.

BRSA is waiting for approval to put out bids for the contract. Fischer said he is hoping to receive the authorization for the project within the next week.

Public comments on the DEP's rule amendments regarding CAFRA permitting for energy facilities may be sent to: Gary J. Brower, Office of Legal Affairs, Attn: DEP Docket Number 12-09-08/743, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, 401 East State St., Floor 4, P.O. Box 402, Trenton, NJ 08608.