First Wind impact draft available for review

A study of the environmental impacts of First Wind’s proposed wind farm is available today, Thursday.

Boston-based First Wind, through its Palouse Wind offshoot, has applied to build a 55-turbine wind farm on Naff Ridge and Granite Butte northwest of Oakesdale.

Planner Alan Thomson Tuesday told the Gazette that CH2M Hill, the engineering firm hired by First Wind to prepare the statement, will deliver copies of the statement to the planning office Thursday morning.

Among other potential areas of impact, the draft version will address how the project impacts area wildlife, stormwater, sound and traffic.

Several citizens asked that those impacts be addressed by the study during a comment period in September.

Citizens will be able to inspect the statement and submit comments about CH2M Hill’s study. Those comments, if deemed pertinent by planning staff, will be addressed in the final version of the environmental impact statement.

The draft statement will be available in paper format or on DVD and can be picked up at the county planning office.

It will also be posted on the county’s web site.