Locals turn out for Naff Ridge wind proposal

Dozens of residents turned out at meetings in Oakesdale and Colfax last week to hear First Wind’s plans for a wind farm on Naff Ridge.

“It’s really great to see the community come out and show interest in what we’re doing,” said Ben Fairbanks, First Wind’s west region business development director, at the company’s barbecue meeting at Oakesdale July 15.

“We want to be a part of this community for a long time, and they are giving us a great reception,” he said.

The Boston-based company July 1 announced its plans to site as many as 40 of the 400-foot wind turbines on the ridge which runs between Rosalia and Cashup east of Highway 195.

Many turned out full of questions about the project.

At Oakesdale, people from all across the region showed up to see the company’s plans and dine on barbecued hamburgers.

Oakesdale Mayor Dennis Palmer said he is excited about the potential influx of new jobs into the town which has seen restaurants, banks and even a cable television company pull out over the past two years.

“When you’re in the shape we’re in, anything that can bring income back into the area is positive,” said Palmer. “I think this will be a good thing.”

Oakesdale councilman Tom Johnson said he was impressed with the response from his neighbors.

“It was very positive,” he said. “People are really excited about this.”

Whitman County Commissioner Greg Partch said he was surprised to hear no negative comments about the project at the session.

“I graduated from Oakesdale. These are mostly people I grew up with,” he said. “Nobody said anything bad about the project. And they would have told me.”

Partch noted, though, many still have questions about the potential pitfalls of a wind farm near their homes.

Roger Whitten and Rick and Carolyn Kiesz live under the shadow of Naff Ridge just outside of Oakesdale. They have regularly submitted letters to the editor expressing their concerns about the effects of low frequency sound waves and have questioned the turbines’ actual economic and ecological value.

“A lot of people had a lot of questions about the whole thing,” said Fairbanks. “If Roger’s done anything good here, it’s getting people to ask important questions.”

The meeting at Colfax July 14 drew mainly government officials who were seeing the company’s proposal for the first time.

“This could mean a lot of things for the county,” said Commissioner Pat O’Neill. “If we get a few more jobs, that means our schools, our businesses are that much better off.”

The meeting was the first step in a lengthy application process.

First Wind must now file an initial conditional use application with the county.

The company plans to prepare a detailed environmental impact statement for the project. Under the State Environmental Policy Act, County Planner Alan Thomson would decide whether or not the wind farm would have a significant environmental impact.

“I’m not going to say this is a determination of nonsignifance, I can tell you that up front,” Thomson chuckled.

From there, the application goes through several periods of review and comment from the public and state agencies before a permit is either issued or denied.

Under a fast-track scenario, the process could be finished as quickly as four months.

Appeals, though, can be made at several points during the process. Those appeals would be heard in county court and could be appealed up to the state Supreme Court.

Columbia County Planner Richard Hendrickson attended the Colfax session. He has permitted wind farms north of Dayton and said no process is alike.

Hendrickson estimated a nine month time table for the permitting, but added appeals could stretch it out for more than a year.

“If you do get an appeal, you’re all of a sudden at the mercy of the courts,” said Hendrickson.