Legalectric

After four years, finally, the Public Utilities Commission has denied an extension of the old, old permit.  Kenyon Wind was first applied for way back in 2006.  To see the full PUC record, go to www.puc.state.mn.us and go to “Search eDockets” and then search for “06-1445.”  Recently, because their permit was expiring, it was granted and then two years was extended for two years, they came back to the PUC for yet another extension.

Here’s the report from the Red Wing Republican Eagle:

Kenyon Wind project in doubt after state denies permit extension

They haven’t built this project, despite being issued a permit on July 18, 2007, nearly a year after they’d applied.  Since that time, much has changed.  Goodhue County passed its Goodhue County Wind Ordinance.   The laws for Community Based Energy Development (C-BED) have changed, amended each year since it was passed.  And the Kenyon Wind Project has changed:

Here’s the CFER’s Comment:

CFERS Comment

Here’s Kenyon Wind’s comments:

Kenyon Wind Response to Comments

And the PUC denied the permit, 3-2.  Commissioners Pugh, O’Brien and Wergin voting to Chair Boyd and Judge Reha were the two voting against denial of Kenyon Wind’s request for extension.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE-HA!!!  It took four years, but this vaporware project is finally dead!

Yes, it’s a roadside black lung testing station:

They accepted our offer… and it’s my birthday present this year, and the garages are Alan’s holiday largess… or should I say large ass?

This is the “artist’s conception” of the PurGen coal gasification plant proposed for Linden, New Jersey.

Last week there was an earthquake just off the cost of New Jersey and New York:

Small earthquakes in N.J. prompt calls to police, but no reported damages

Small earthquake off New Jersey felt on east coast

The US Geological Survey has a site to report earthquakes:

DID YOU FEEL IT?

What does this Linden coal gasification plant have to do with an earthquake?   Well DUH, PurGen wants to pump the earth full of CO2.  They claim that “Carbon dioxide will then be removed from the gas and safely stored offshore in a permanent repository.”

In support of this nonsense, they’re trotting out our friend from the Mesaba Project, Dan Schrag:

Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Offshore Sediments

For information on impact of gas storage on seismic activity, check out “Gas Migration” which is THE source for the real poop.  In short, pumping the earth full of gas, i.e. CO2, triggers seismic activity, CCS = earthquakes.

What’s interesting to me is that this is the second time this year for New Jersey:

Earthquake Jolts New Jersey
By Therese Crowley
2/22/2010

BERNARDSVILLE, NJ – Sunday morning reverie at 8:59 a.m. was punctuated by a big BOOM in Bernardsville- and Basking Ridge- and at least 25 more zip codes, according to the US Geological Survey. Within an hour, an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale was confirmed by the Lamont Doherty cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN). The quake was centered at Peapack and Gladstone, New Jersey, 13 miles WSW of Morristown.

In Bernardsville, the quake was experienced as a ‘boom. BOOM!!! shake.’ In this reporter’s old stone cottage, the shaking rang bells. The quake shook Bernardsville Police headquarters, where Dispatcher 35 was fielding calls from residents, and cautioning that an aftershock may follow. Some 100 residents called in the first hour. No damage was immediately reported, although an earthquake of mild magnitude can cause hairline cracks in structures.

The region sits on the Ramapo Fault Line, and Lamont Doherty estimates the depth of the quake at 3.1 miles, measuring the impact as mild, at ll-lV level intensity. Still, residents were excited and rattled. The first aftershock followed at 12:31pm, measuring 2.3 on the Richter scale. As with the original quake, the first alert of something happening within the earth was a booming rumble, followed by a shaking sensation. The first aftershock was centered just one mile from the morning tremor.

The quake was the talk of the Somerset Hills YMCA; many people felt it, but few had heard confirmation of the event. One Dad reported, ‘We were watching TV with the kids and heard the boom—I made them turn the TV down, and we listened and felt the shake. It was something!’

The Sunday morning earthquake follows a series of tremors that moved the ground in Far Hills and Bernardsville from Friday, February 5th to Sunday, February 7th. One of those quakes measured 1.2, but Sunday morning’s 2.6 is orders of intensity greater.

An aftershock took place around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday measuring 2.3 on the richter scale.

Residents who would like to report their experience can go to the US Geological Survey Website and fill out the ‘Did You Feel It?’ form, at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/

Right now, the Northfield Planning Commission is reviewing the idea of the Spring Creek LLC wind turbine planned for the Northfield Urban Reserve district.  Here’s some on that from Tracy Davis:

Wind Turbines in the “Urban Reserve” around Northfield

In another exciting development, Tom Dunnwald filed for a Writ of Mandamus, to tell Rice County to follow the law, and damned if he didn’t get it!  In this case, the County didn’t provide proper notice for the Conditional Use hearing, and they have to do it over.

This is the same county where I had a laundry list of instances where they had not followed the law and the judge said, “They know they should follow the law so I’m not going to tell them to follow the law” and tossed us out.  So perhaps Mandamus is the way to go rather than a Declaratory Judgment?!?!  Go figure…

Here’s the poop from the Northfield News:

Mandamus trips up wind turbine development

By: JOSHEPH LINDBERG

Posted: Friday, November 26, 2010 9:17 pm

Rice County officials have been ordered to re-notify residents in Northfield Township of a public hearing on the proposal to build two wind turbines in the area.

A county judge ordered a writ of mandamus earlier this month, which could force Rice County officials to re-notify dozens of individuals affected by the proposed construction of wind turbines in Northfield Township — and delay any county action on turbine construction approval.

Relatively rare in the course of legal proceedings, mandamuses are “[I]ssued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly,” according to Black’s Law Dictionary.

Gro Wind LLC is trying to move forward with a pair of 326-foot-tall commercial wind turbines, slated to be built in the southeastern corner of Northfield Township. The approval of conditional use permits for the agriculturally zoned land has been postponed due to legal action taken by several residents.

Similar to an injunction, the mandamus forces Rice County officials to send out individual notices to properties near the proposed site, notices that residents in the area say they did not receive within the legal time frame.

The judge issues a mandamus after a evaluating the “clear intent” of a law that a governmental body needs to uphold, said Tom Dunnwald, an attorney representing one of the residents in Northfield Township. In this case, the issue was the notification of local residents about a public hearing.

The county is required to notify residences of public hearings regarding certain high-impact projects 10 days before they occur. The county put a notification in the paper, but some residents were not notified by mail until three days before the hearing, Dunnwald said.

One individual in the area did not get their notice in time due to improper postage on the notification, said Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha.

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