NOTICE – Annual Hearing – Power Plant Siting Act
December 5th, 2016
Here we go again, the Annual Hearing for the Power Plant Siting Act.
The full Notice:
Now’s the time to dig back into the cobwebs of memory of all the dockets over the last year, and the last 20+ years, and let them know how the Power Plant Siting Act is working, and more importantly, how it’s not working.
Comments are open until January 20, 2017. To file in eDockets (highly recommended), go here, and log in. If you don’t have an account, register (it’s simple, and fast) and then file in docket 16-18.
Note something different, this year they’re going to go over pipeline projects:
Recently, I’ve been involved in a project working toward increased meaningful and effective public participation in a pipeline docket, and what’s going through my head as I attend meetings, conference calls, and read very long intense emails, is that this is exactly what we’ve been talking about at these Power Plant Siting Act hearings for TWENTY YEARS! This is exactly what we’ve been working to deal with in the Certificate of Need Minn. Ch. 7849 rulemaking for THREE YEARS! These are exactly the same issues I’ve been raising in docket after docket, gaining a remand in one, some “adjustments” in others, and even to the appellate court a couple of times — MCEA had more success in this (see the EIS decision here). And so little changes.
2006 Report to PUC – Docket 06-1733
2007 Report to PUC – Docket 07-1579
2008 Report to PUC – Docket 08-1426
2009 Report to PUC – Docket 09-1351
2010 Report to PUC – Docket 10-222
2011 Report to PUC – Docket 11-324
2012 Report to PUC – Docket 12-360
2013 Report to PUC – Docket 13-965
2014 Summary Comments– Docket 14-887
OK, folks, time to saddle up for another cattle drive! Let’s get to it!
And on December 20… sigh…
Circular letter from Pollution Control Agency
September 14th, 2016
From the “Circular Logic” department, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency responded to my rulemaking Petition, looking for them to set wind turbine noise standards, specifically infrasound standards:
And here’s the response:
The bottom line… the full letter:
After consulting with colleagues at the Minnesota Departments of Health and Commerce, I have concluded that the current understanding of wind turbine noise and its potential effects is insufficient to support rulemaking at this time. Discussions will continue among the agencies listed above, and we will monitor the science (as resources allow) to inform our decision about rulemaking in the future.
Right… And note there was no consultation with the Environmental Quality Board.
On to the next step. It never ends.
For more info, check the video of testimony of Rick James, INCE, at the Goodhue Wind Project public hearing:
Rick James testimony for Goodhue Wind Truth
And prefiled testimony:
testimony of Richard R. James, INCE, for Wednesday’s hearing over in Goodhue:
A must read:
The “How-To” Guide to Siting Wind Turbines to Prevent Health Risks from Sound
And this was published earlier this month:
HF 3480 – Wind Noise and Rulemaking Bill
March 24th, 2016
Old siting map for Black Oak/Getty Wind Project
Heads up! HF 3480 has been introduced and referred to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Contact committee members with your thoughts about this bill.
We’ve got major problems regarding wind generation: Wind advocates got their legislation through a decade ago (216F ) to allow wind siting with exemption from environmental review, with the false presumption that there are no impacts. Wind project promoters have often presented misleading and false information regarding their company, financing, projects, and impacts, and the industry will do ANYTHING to get wind projects sited. It does not help that one of the primary lobbyists responsible for passage of Minn. Stat. 216F is Bill Grant, now Deputy Commissioner at Commerce in charge of all things “energy,” including siting of wind projects under 216F:
There needs to be legal and administrative recognition and definition of the impacts of wind turbines. If Minnesota wants to increase wind generation, there must be respectful siting of wind. Although solar is ramping up, wind generation is not going to disappear, so project proponents and regulators had best pay attention and address public interest, safety, and protection considerations. It is the Public Utilities Commission’s job to regulate. Get to work! Do your job!
HF 3480 has been introduced to address long problematic wind noise issues, to mandate a rulemaking at MPCA to establish wind noise standards, and to mandate revision of wind setbacks in light of the new MPCA noise standards.
Here’s HF3480.0. Check it out!
Here are my comments on it, very quick review:
Section 1 of the bill is too subjective, with no standards (the basic problem with 216F!) for amendment of an existing project permit. The Commission needs the MPCA noise rules as a basis for a decision.
The one thing that just MUST be changed is the reference at 2.19 to “good cause.” This notion of “good cause” was a big problem in the Goodhue Wind docket, where a hearing was held on whether there was “good cause,” and, well, it was a mess because it’s so arbitrary.
Also, legislatively mandated rulemaking hasn’t worked well. Take a look at the mess with the mandated silica sand mining rulemaking!
Winding up? It’s still languishing…
Silica Sand Rulemaking — Mtg. Thursday 8/28
We need to learn from that mess…
Anyway, HF 3480 has been referred to the House Environment and Natural Resources committee. It’s time to address wind noise problems and require environmental review for wind projects. Contact committee members with your thoughts about this bill.
New Black Oak/Getty wind project maps
February 18th, 2016
More interesting filings today, these from the Black Oak Getty wind project, the construction plans, and a new noise report. There are also “Environmental Supplements” and other new filings. You can find them all at the PUC’s site — go to SEARCH and search for eDockets 10-1240 or 11-831.
Here are the filings of the Construction Plans:
I’ve separated out the noise report to make it easier to send around:
And for reference, here are the Minnesota Noise Rules, found in Minn. R. Ch. 7030 — we’re long overdue for a rulemaking for Noise Rules specifically regulating wind noise:
| 7030.0010 | INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE. |
| 7030.0020 | DEFINITIONS. |
| 7030.0030 | NOISE CONTROL REQUIREMENT. |
| 7030.0040 | NOISE STANDARDS. |
| 7030.0050 | NOISE AREA CLASSIFICATION. |
| 7030.0060 | MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY. |
| 7030.0070 | SOUND ATTENUATION MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY. |
| 7030.0080 | VARIANCE. |
Rick James testimony for Goodhue Wind Truth
February 4th, 2016
It’s about time — I’m cleaning and finding things that should have been posted eons ago. Soooo… here’s one — I’ve uploaded the testimony of Rick James, INCE, of E-Coustics Solutions, regarding wind turbine infrasound, in support of written Direct Testimony filed in the Goodhue Wind proceeding on July 22, 2010. You can find his written testimony and many, many exhibits, by searching HERE for docket 08-1233 and scroll and scroll for “Testimony of Rick James” and the exhibits, using the date on the right side to get close in that voluminous docket.