Laurel Mountain Preservation Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 217

Montrose, WV 26283
August 14, 2010

Carol C. Wampler
629 East Main Street
P.O. Box 1105
Richmond, VA 23218

Subject: Comments on Small Renewable Wind Energy Projects Permit by

Rule [9 VAC 15 - 40]

Dear Ms. Wampler,

As President of the Laurel Mountain Preservation Association, Inc., I am offering

comments on behalf of our membership. The proposed “Small Renewable Wind
Energy Projects Permit by Rule” is deficient in several categories and will only
serve to cause further destruction of the environment. We have experience with
wind projects and have provided expert witnesses at the West Virginia Public
Service Commission regarding the siting certificate for the AES Laurel Mountain
wind project. Additionally, we are very knowledgeable about numerous other
wind projects in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

It was very disturbing to read the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s

(DEQ’s) Comments stating that “Avoiding additional electrical generation from
fossil fuels is a benefit for the environment, because renewable energy projects
do not emit greenhouse gases or other air pollutants. Developing and expanding
new, environmentally-friendly industry in Virginia is also a boost for our economy,
and a significant step in creating energy independence from foreign oil interests.”
These statements by DEQ indicate total ignorance concerning 1) how coal-fired
generation plants must be used as spinning reserve at all times because wind
energy is too unreliable, 2) extra coal (or additional gas peaking units) must be
used to ramp up and down in order to integrate wind energy into the grid, thus
causing more carbon dioxide emissions, 3) carbon dioxide is emitted from the
curing of significant amounts of concrete used to construct the wind turbine
foundations and from transport and erection of the wind turbines and haul roads,
and 4) according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, less than 2% of
oil used in the U.S. is for electricity, whereas more than 92% of oil in the U.S. is
used transportation and industry; therefore, there is no scientific basis supporting
any statement that wind energy could reduce the use of oil in the U.S.

Also flawed is the statement that wind industry could boost the economy.
Concerning jobs, there may be 2 to 3 jobs created for each wind project, but the
bulk of jobs associated with wind turbine construction are only temporary jobs. It
 Comments on Small Renewable Wind Energy Projects Permit by Rule
Submitted by Laurel Mountain Preservation Association, Inc.
Page 2

is the tax money of U.S. citizens that fuel the substantial government subsidies,
grants, and tax credits provided to wind companies.

It is of greatest concern that the DEQ could state that wind energy is
environmentally friendly. It is so well documented that wind turbines kill
hundreds of thousands of bats and birds every year that the mortality rates are
described as the number of deaths per megawatt of the nameplate capacity of
the wind turbine, as established by USFWS and recognized by the USGS.
Destruction of our water resources is currently guaranteed by the deficiencies
allowed in the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
construction stormwater permits being issued. In Highland County, Virginia, the
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) issued a NPDES
permit such that construction on the project began prior to requirements of the
permit being satisfied. The DCR inspector for the Highland New Wind
Development project repeatedly requested that the company provide adequate
delineations in order to properly size sediment erosion controls; however,
construction continued without the company providing the required delineations
or calculations. The regulations in the “Permit by Rule” do not provide any
comment concerning requirements for NPDES permits and do not indicate the
responsibilities of DEQ with regard to site inspection or collaboration with DCR
for guidance in issuing NPDES permits. Further, there is no guidance about the
process for insuring that construction should not occur if NPDES requirements
are not met.

The deforestation of mountain ridges for wind project construction is significantly

not environmentally friendly. Not only does such vast deforestation reduce
carbon dioxide sequestration and regulation of water vapor into the atmosphere,
but also it causes greater stormwater runoff from precipitation, thereby increasing
quantities and velocities of stream water flow in addition to decreasing
groundwater recharge. The haul roads and access roads cover and destroy
headwater areas that are critical to providing organic compounds to aquatic
organisms downstream within the watershed. In fact, because the personnel
issuing NPDES permits are not requiring the sub-watersheds to be delineated,
but only the areas draining to culverts, there is no evaluation of the destruction of
watersheds associated with any wind projects.

The “Permit by Rule” specifies only two categories of wind projects: those less
than 5 MW and those equal to or greater than 5 MW. The category of wind
projects less than 5 MW is intended to make it easier for residential scale wind
turbines to be constructed. However, residential wind turbines mostly produce
100 kilowatts or less, are less than 30 feet tall, and can store excess electricity in
batteries to be used later. Conversely, community and industrial wind turbines
have a nameplate capacity of at least 1.5 megawatts, are greater than 450 feet
tall, and cannot store excess electricity in batteries. The electricity produced by
such large scale wind turbines must be used immediately in the grid, if connected
at the time, causing a ramping up and down by the coal-fired generators and
 Comments on Small Renewable Wind Energy Projects Permit by Rule
Submitted by Laurel Mountain Preservation Association, Inc.
Page 3

thereby using more coal to integrate the wind power. This is similar to the extra
fuel used in an automobile during deceleration and acceleration. It is important
to note that a facility planned to be less than 100 MW could become 300 MW in
the same footprint with a simple change of nacelle components.

The provision in the “Permit by Rule” for there to be only a 30-day comment
period managed and summarized by the wind construction company is totally
deficient and is an insult to the citizens of Virginia. Whereas the wind project
cases which have been ruled by the State Corporation Commission (SCC) have
allowed months for stakeholders to evaluate the evidence, to provide
testimonies, and to supply expert witnesses, the “permit by rule” reduces public
involvement by stakeholders to 30 days, with the guarantee that the wind
companies will have simply satisfied the requirement to have a public comment
hearing. This is not only inadequate, but totally undermines the rule-of-law in
Virginia. It is imperative that the DEQ manage cases in a manner similar to that
of the SCC to maintain the rule of evidence. It is critical that the wind companies
and corporations must not be allowed to control “due process.”

Additionally, in order to facilitate proper evaluation of environmental studies

conducted by the wind companies, all studies should be submitted to reputable
scientific journals for peer review prior to being accepted by DEQ for evaluation.
Currently, because of the inadequate studies presented by the wind companies,
citizens have had to sue the companies. Judicial rulings include that of Judge
Titus in the Beech Ridge Wind Energy Project, in which it was determined that an
adequate study had not been conducted to evaluate the impact on endangered
bat species. There is currently an EIS being developed by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service as a result of this ruling.

It is critical to the welfare of the environment and to the welfare of Virginia

citizens that the “Permit by Rule” be totally discarded and replaced with an
equitable approach that considers all of the deficiencies expressed above. The
environmental destruction that will result from constructing wind projects in
Virginia, compounded with numerous other types of construction in Virginia, will
result in cumulative negative environmental impacts that have the potential to be
irreversible. It is essential that DEQ must become informed about the negative
impacts caused by the construction of wind projects, even if it is not “politically
correct” or “industrially friendly” to protect the environment from industrialization.

Thank you for considering the comments of Laurel Mountain Preservation

Association, Inc.

Sincerely,

Arthur W. Dodds, Jr., President

Laurel Mountain Preservation Association, Inc.