AWA Goodhue pulled from PUC agenda
January 31st, 2012
T. Boone Pickens’ AWA Goodhue AVIAN AND BAT PROTECTION PLAN was to be on the Public Utilities Commission agenda on Thursday. That’s too soon, they just dumped hundreds of pages of info on us, and on the reviewing agencies, week before last:
And here’s the primary documents that caused the ruckus — the ABPP plan from hell and agency comments on it:
USFWS Comments on AWA Goodhue’s Avian and Bat Protection Plan
Given the specificity and many pages of comments, it’d take a bit more than a week to analyze the Comments (WHICH WERE WITHHELD BY COMMERCE FOR A WEEK AND NOT FILED UNTIL JANUARY 19!) and determine whether AWA Goodhue had properly addressed them.
I was floored by their last minute filings, and filed a Motion with the PUC to take it off the agenda:
And not too long after, day or two, the PUC did indeed pull it off the agenda and didn’t reschedule:
Goodhue Wind Truth appeal dismissed
January 24th, 2012
And now for the bad news today… the Appellate Court has tossed out the Goodhue Wind Truth appeal on a jurisdictional issue, that the Petition for Writ wasn’t served by personal service or Certified Mail. This sucks in a big way…
Order to Dismiss Goodhue Wind Truth Appeal of AWA Goodhue Certificate of Need and Site Permit
It’s based on a Supreme Court decision in 2009, when the rules changed, or rather, interpretation of the rules, making service as specified under the Administrative Procedure Act a jurisdictional issue — if a Petition for Writ is not served personally or by Certified Mail, the Appellate Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
D-I-S-M-I-S-S-E-D.
Solar Flare – Washington Post/AP
AWA Goodhue’s helicopters and ABPP Comments
January 19th, 2012
Double trouble for AWA – taken in the AWA Goodhue wind project footprint:
to be clear, there are lots and lots of bald eagles here, and there are documented golden eagles too. USFWS has said there are no permits available for golden eagles for this project.
ABPP – that’s Avian and Bat Protection Plan:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources have filed comments on the Avian and Bat Protection Plan. These are MUST READ Comments!
And here is the response to my Data Request to the Board of Animal Health asking for copies of AWA Complaints to Board of Animal Health about Eagle Baiting and the reports of their investigations showing no violations found, that there is no basis for enforcement action:
In the AWA Goodhue wind project footprint, T. Boone Pickens is at it again – the helicopters are flying today:
Does that look like 200 feet?? Is it the same one from Brainerd Helicopter Service?
Here they are by the met tower, that’s 197 feet tall, just enough to keep under the lighting requirement, and the helicopter is just above:
Clients got the call from sheriff and utilized their phone tree to spread the word that AWA Goodhue helicopters would be flying today, notice came in at 10:00 a.m. and helicopter sighted at 10:30 a.m. Sheriff did a good job in notifying as soon as notice came in, but come on AWA, how about letting the landowners know reasonably ahead of time, report it when you book the helicopter??? It’s not that hard!
Here it is near a communications tower – the lights are out on that tower, somebody call maintenance!
AWA Goodhue helicopter & eagle
December 17th, 2011
T. Boone Pickens a/k/a Mesa Power a/k/a AWA Goodhue’s helicopter and and an eagle captured on video. This is the N144BH helicopter, which, upon information and belief, is owned by “Brainerd Helicopter Service.”
What on earth do they think they’re doing? Check the video and see for yourself:
Scott Logan caught this on video, way to go!
Complaints — a few things you can do, I’d recommend all of them:
1) Contact the Sheriff, either 911 or (651)385-3155
2) There’s a complaint procedure established by the PUC
Essentially, BOTH email a complaint to DOC.energypermitcompliance@state.mn.us
and mail to:AWA Goodhue, LLC
706 2nd Avenue South, Suite 1200
Minneapolis, MN 554023) Call the FAA’s Flight Stand District Office to make a complaint 612-713-4211 (when I clicked on the contact link, I got a different number, 612-253-4400). Here’s the “email link.“
Info about how to make FAA Complaint:
FAA Low flying Aircraft Complaints
4) File on PUC’s AWA Goodhue Siting Docket – at www.puc.state.mn.us and then to Efiling, then eFile to docket 08-1233.
Meanwhile, AWA Goodhue is alleging in its Avian and Bat Protection Plan that there IS eagle baiting going on, and have made reports to the Board of Animal Health. AVIAN AND BAT PROTECTION PLAN (see p. 10-11)
“To make the blanket statement that this is being done to bait eagles, I’m not ready to make that statement,” Denkinger said.
That’s funny — the ABPP
AWA Goodhue “swiftboating” Belle Creek Township!
December 16th, 2011
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T. Boone Pickens , a/k/a AWA Goodhue Wind, a/k/a Mesa Power, is at it again, and here come the helicopters!
First, let’s take a look-see at the Complaint that AWA Goodhue served on Belle Creek Township, the little township that could, and CAN, and DOES:
Monday, the Township had a meeting where they were to discuss the road agreement that’s in negotiations right now. The Township controls township roads, and AWA’s project would require a lot of road upgrading to support the very heavy trucks and cranes, meaning that the roadbed has to be made a lot deeper, meaning that corners have to be filled in so that trucks can get around the corners, culverts could easily be damaged by the weight, and this is something within the township’s jurisdiction. And the day after the Monday meeting, AWA Goodhue serves the Town Board Chair with a Complaint! Here’s what AWA wants:
How’s that for a punch line?!?! So the Township shouldn’t have any say over the roads, the Township isn’t able to protect its interests? Right… we shall see!
And as that’s happening, I started getting calls about very low flying airplanes, startling cows and horses, and residents too! One scared a calf, which climbed over its stall and ran off — they were able to get it, and were lucky it was not injured as it climbed over. Then today, it’s helicopters, with horses running every which way, windows rattling:
AWA Goodhue’s attorney did admit they were “their” aircraft. We got the number, N144BH, which “upon information and belief” is owned by “Brainerd Helicopter Service.” AWA Goodhue’s attorney says that they’re doing avian work as specified by their (filed yesterday) Avian and Bat Protection Plan (ABPP), which states:
You tell me, does this look like 200 feet? And anyway, exactly how is this the ABPP last word on anything?
Suffice it to say, the Sheriff is on it, and they’ve called in the FAA, apparently the FAA inspector is on it too.