More than 200 opponents of the proposed wind farm attended a weekly county commissioner meeting Monday, hoping to convince the commissioners to file a moratorium against a company that plans to put in a wind turbine farm.
The commissioners said on advice of counsel they could not file a moratorium.
Clearly displeased by the decision, the opponents spent almost four hours trying to convince the commissioners they could and should file a moratorium.
Unable to convince them to change their minds, three of the opponents went to the courthouse after Monday’s meeting and filed a citizens’ initiative petition, requesting that the issue be voted on by the people.
The petition was filed by Kathy Garrison, Deneisa Calvert and Timothy Stacy.
It requests that the vote be put on the ballot at the next available regular or special election.
The question they want to put on the ballot is: “Shall McIntosh County allow any activity related to commercial windfarms, solar farms, carbon sequestration, hydrogen production, including but not limited to their company’s transmission lines and rights of way?”
Stacy, one of the driving forces behind the anti-wind turbine movement, warned during the meeting that he was prepared to file a lawsuit if the commissioners didn’t take action.
“Things are going to get ugly,” he said, a phrase he used at other meetings.
Stacy didn’t file a lawsuit, but he did file the initiative petition.
Petitions will begin being circulated calling for the election.
It shouldn’t be difficult to get as many signatures as needed, because no one locally has voiced an opinion that wind farms are good.
Anger over the proposed wind farms has been brewing for at least three weeks, ever since area residents learned about the project, they claim will cause irreparable harm to the land, residents, livestock, wildlife and water.
Last week a similar meeting was held at the commissioners’ conference room during the commissioners’ weekly meeting. About 50 people attended, many forced to stand in the hallway on the first floor of the courthouse.
This week’s meeting was held at the new city hall, where the conference room was more spacious.
Still, the room was filled with protestors – about 100, many of them standing against the walls.
More than 100 more spilled out of the conference room and into the parking lot.
They were there to urge the commissioners to file a moratorium in an effort to stop Trans-Alta Corp., a Canadianbased company, to build 121 wind turbines in the western end of McIntosh County.
Protestors say 121 is only the beginning, that the ultimate plan is to build 900 turbines each standing over 700 feet tall that will be built in areas of McIntosh County as well as Pittsburg County and other sites.
Faced with so much opposition, and the number still growing, the commissioners said based upon the advice of Assistant District Attorney Greg Stidham, they could not issue a moratorium.
“The government can’t dictate what people do on their private property,” Stidham said. “The moratorium could not be enforced… “There’s very little we can do. We (the county commissioners) are not the body that controls private property. They only have control over county roadways, county buildings and county property.”
This begs the question of how likely the question is to get on the ballot.
If it is against the state constitution for the county to dictate what a person can do with his or her private property, is it equally not constitutional for people to vote on controlling what someone does with their private property?
Stidham says he is in agreement with the protestors in their dislike of the wind turbines, but he can’t advice commissioners to take action that goes against the constitution.
After much heated discussion at Monday’s meeting, Stidham suggested protestors would have better luck if they took their issues to state and federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
“If they (commissioners) want to pass a moratorium, they can vote to have one but it’s not enforceable,” Stidham said.
He repeated his opinion on the moratorium several times throughout the meeting, but many protestors continued to maintain the commissioners could and should protect the voters and their property.
Stidham said he would be glad to present the issue to the State Attorney General, ask him for his opinion on whether the commissioners can control the use of private property.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t fight,” he said.
He suggested the commissioners could form a planning and zoning committee, which might be one way to slow down or deter development of the wind turbines.
“If the county wants to form a committee, that’s great,” he said. “We just can’t do it today because it’s not on the agenda.”
The audience and the commissioners liked the idea of a planning and zoning committee.
The commissioners agreed to begin work on the proposal.
They called for another meeting Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., probably at the county fairgrounds.
The wind turbine company says it has agreements with 25 landowners to place turbines on their property.
That does not sit well with the hundreds of landowners and other residents of the area who don’t want, citing their danger to the environment, the potential hazard to the health of people, livestock and wildlife, the danger to emergency flights around the area and the unsightly appearance of hundreds of wind turbines in an area whose main source of income is tourism.
As a sign of the continued spread of protests, a representative of the Eufaula-Canadian Tribal town announced a meeting at the Eufaula Indian Community Center that night (Monday, Nov. 4) and a representative of the Muscogee-Creek Nation who was at the commission meeting taking notes said he would report back to the MCN officials.
The McIntosh County GOP is throwing its Nov. 21 meeting open to the turbine protest. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the VFW.
Dozens of protestors signed up to speak for one minute during the commission meeting. Some went over their time limit, some turned their minute over to other speakers.
Several speakers said they were from California and fled that state to get away from the wind turbines that had spoiled it.
Others noted that their land had been in their family for generations and they wanted to hand it down to future generations, but the turbines would make the land worthless.
Still others complained that 25 landowners had agreed to sign deals with the TransAlta Corporation, and those 25 were deciding the fate of the allother landowners not to mention the impact of the turbines on recreation and tourism, the main sources of income in the county.
Speakers
– Deneisa Calvert pointed out that life flites would not be able to fly over the turbines because there is a magnetic force on the turbines that can affect the helicopters and cause them to crash. “Don’t sell us out,” she said.
– Paula Bennett, former Corps of Engineers Park Ranger, said this area is one of the most beautiful in Oklahoma and the wind turbine companies threatened to destroy the beauty. “This is a land grab,” she said. “It’s not going to affect us necessarily right not, but your children and grandchildren, will be affected. It will affect people, animals and property values. We’re fighting for our kids and grandkids.”
– Dusty Allen says the area is losing a valuable resource, the beautiful sunsets and landscapes. “They’re being taken away from us. Only a handful of people benefit.”
– Jeanette Smith, former school superintendent, noted that no one has heard from anyone in favor of the wind turbines. “There should be a vote of the people … I don’t want it to ruin our economy. The crux of our economy is tourism. Why aren’t we putting it to a vote?’
– Leah Todd said “This affects all of us, not just land owners.”
