Newport Success | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Stan:

    When the Mill Pond project was first publicly announced in October, our number one objective was to see that the two affected communities had laws providing adequate protections to citizens, local businesses, the military, and the environment.

    Last night's Newport meeting was the successful conclusion of months of hard work by a lot of good North Carolinians - as one of those jurisdictions formally passed a high quality ordinance.

    Their citizen-friendly law is based on scientific evidence and legal precedents, and includes the following provisions:

    1) turbine to property-line setbacks of 5000 feet,
    2) low amount of turbine noise allowed (particularly infrasound: 35 dBA),
    3) a maximum turbine height limit of 275 feet,
    4) a quality Property Value Guarantee,
    5) an Escrow Account (developer pays the Town's project-related administrative costs, thru the project's life),
    6) terms and conditions for Decommissioning (including a surety bond of $500,000 per turbine),
    7) the developer will indemnify the Town for any lawsuit related to the wind development, and
    8) the developer must maintain an adequate liability insurance policy.

    These protections came about because of the MANY citizens who took the time out of their busy lives to attend meetings, write their representatives, etc. THANK YOU!

    The system worked very well here because the Town representatives were not only listening to their constituents, but they were genuinely interested in proving adequate protections to the community. They kept their eye on the ball, and did not get distracted by specious enticements. KUDOS TO THEM!

    It was correctly acknowledged that the Newport wind law is a living document. The Town Council agreed to make any improvements necessary, as additional research might indicate. The law should be on their website soon. Let me know any questions about this.

    Our next focus is now on the County to incorporate comparable community protections. We are optimistic that they will also do the right thing.

    Your assistance in bringing that about will be appreciated. The Public Hearing for the County is on the evening of February 26th. (I'll provide more details later.)

    Regards,


    John Droz, jr.
      physicist & environmental advocate