Neighbors United to Safeguard the
Health, Safety, and Natural Beauty of our Prattsburgh Home
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We Have a Friend in Albany
Due to the persistent efforts of our PPA members who have been reaching out to state representatives, we have gained the support of the Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, NYS Senator Thomas O’Mara.
Senator O’Mara has listened to our concerns about Terra-Gen’s incomplete project compliance that will directly affect our health and safety, including ambiguous turbine placement plan and an unfinished geological study. He is not happy that our Towns are not adequately represented with satisfactory Host Community and Road Use Agreements.
Because Senator O’Mara represents a predominantly agricultural district, he is particularly alarmed by the Terra-Gen plan’s lack of effective compliance to Golden Nematode containment regulations. Golden Nematode is an insidious potato infestation that, if unmitigated, could be spread by negligent construction practices. This could have a dramatic negative effect on our area’s economy.
For all these reasons, the Senator has, in his words, “formally expressed my opposition to the project in its current form and have called on the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to pause any further advancement until these issues are fully resolved.”
Let our Senator know that he is doing a great job representing our interests and concerns. Write to him today and tell him thank you! Snail mail has the greatest impact, but you can also email him at omara@nysenate.gov.
Click on the link below to download a sample letter for ideas of what to write about. Feel free to copy it and sign it as a PPA member, or better yet write your own.
Let’s Stop Terra-Gen Before it’s Too Late
The Trump Administration is moving fast to eliminate federal tax credits for wind energy projects. The clock is ticking on the Prattsburgh Wind Farm project before it is likely that these credits will be withdrawn. Terra-Gen is getting desperate.
As a result, the wind energy company is trying to make it look like they are starting construction before the tax credit deadline. The problem is that there are a number of show-stopping limitations. They have not made local host agreements with the Towns, submitted a decommissioning plan, or addressed our serious concerns about setbacks and land use. Our PPA lawsuit is in process challenging the validity of their siting permit. They are in violation of federal laws that strictly regulate disturbance of soil infested by Golden Nematodes which includes farms throughout the project area.
We need your help now more than ever before. Our best hope is to tell Federal authorities who are not politically motivated to fast-track wind projects about this fraudulent situation and solicit their support.
You can write your own letter or use parts or all of this sample letter and email it to the Federal administrators below, signed with your name. Click on the link above in green font and a copy of the letter will appear in your Downloads folder.
Thank you for your support!
Lee Zeldin
EPA Administrator
Zeldin.Lee@epa.gov
Lynn Evans-Goldner
National Policy Manager | USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine
lynn.evans-goldner@usda.gov
Can You Help with our Legal Challenge?
The PPA has hired an attorney to challenge the terms of the Permit. We have filed a Petition disputing the many waivers to setbacks and noise standards that ORES has granted to the wind energy company. Your support is critical – whatever you can donate toward legal expenses will go directly into action, getting us closer to our goal of $25,000 needed to fight for safer setbacks and protection of our rights.
You can donate with a credit card by clicking the DONATE button provided below. Your gift can be one-time or monthly – both are appreciated. You will get a receipt for your donation in your email.
The money transfer app we use allows us to collect all of the money that is donated. You can tip them if you like, but it isn’t required – either way, click the dropdown by the heart symbol, select ‘Other,’ and indicate any amount or 0.
A check made out to Prattsburgh Preservation Alliance can be mailed to PPA, PO Box 33, Prattsburgh 14873.
Please be aware that the PPA is a 501(c)4 corporation, which means that your gift is not tax-deductible. You are, however, taking advantage of the opportunity to protect our environment and way of life, as well as invest in the continued health and safety of our area.
DonateWe will keep you up-to-date with news and information when the lawsuit is presented to the State and as it progresses.
Spread the Word
Please tell your family, friends and neighbors and urge them to donate if they can. We also need volunteers to make phone calls and post messages on social media to help our cause.
As always, letters have an impact. See below for where to write to our representatives. Let them know about the concerns we have if the wind farm is built:
- negative effects on physical and mental health
- audible and inaudible noise that can cause physical and mental problems
- shadow flicker
- harm to bird/animal species and insects from collision or vibration
- migration of animals away from the area (including deer)
- effect on pollinators
- disturbance to domestic animals, particularly reproductive
- loss of property value
- loss of livelihoods and leisure activities
- strain on roads
- loss of tax revenue as residents move out
- little demonstrated benefit to taxpayers and host communities
- prevention of Mercy Flights to turbine areas
- wind energy companies’ lack of accountability or concern for the local community
- effect on viewshed
- damage to water wells and disturbance of wetlands
- visual disturbance and dangers of overhead transmission lines
- clear cutting of forests
- displacement of soil for underground transmission lines
- inefficiency of wind energy compared to other energy sources
- turbines’ dependence on fossil fuels
- turbines constructed of rare and/or non-recyclable materials
- danger of ice and blade throw
- possibility of fire
Write Emails and Letters
Another way you can help is to send emails, or even better, take the time to write an old-fashioned letter. Tell state officials how you expect living with wind turbines will impact you, your family, and your community. Let them know our basic rights to health and safety are being side-lined. We need their advocacy to preserve and protect our homes and land in rural New York.
Write an email, copying in these ORES officials:
meave.tooher@ores.ny.gov
James McClymonds, Administrative Law Judge
james.mcclymonds@ores.ny.gov
Nathan Stone, Public Information Officer
nathan.stone@ores.ny.gov
Hayley Carlock, Deputy Counsel
hayley.carlock@ores.ny.gov
Dawn MacKillop-Soller, Administrative Law Judge
dawn.mackillop-soller@ores.ny.gov
Christopher McEneney-Chan, Administrative Law Judge
christopher.mceneneychan@ores.ny.gov
For maximum impact, address a letter directly to this ORES attorney:
Meave Tooher
General Counsel, Office of Renewable Energy Siting
c/o: OGS Mailroom
Empire State Plaza
240 State Street
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, N.Y. 12242
Write to Your Local, State, and US Representatives
If you are moved to go to the next level, write to any of your elected representatives. State Senator Thomas O’Mara in particular has expressed opposition to the state’s spending on renewable energy projects. Click here for where to write.
Join PPA and volunteer to help with an email or a phone call to:
prattsburghpreservation@gmail.com
(585) 683-7521
And finally, be sure to browse the extensive selection of articles and documentary videos we offer here to help you learn more about wind turbines and how they affect people’s lives.