State Rep. Neil Hays, R-Checotah, is among area residents opposed to the proposed wind farms that seem to be destined for McIntosh County.
“We will fight as much as we can on the state level,” Hays told a gathering of an antiwind turbine group at the VFW last week. “But as was stated, it all depends on the House, Senate and House leadership, if they want to get it across the line and whether the governor wants to sign it.
“Just know, there’s more than one county being represented at the state capitol trying to fight back against this, but some counties are in favor of the wind farms,” he said.
He noted that in his research he found that the companies planning to build the farms have not filed an environmental impact statement with any state or federal agency.
Area resident Derek Liles, who once worked in environmental assessment and environmental impact.
He stepped forward at the meeting, being held during the GOP’s monthly get together, and volunteered to do the assessment.
“My past is environmental assessment, certified by OSU,” he said.
He volunteered his expertise to conduct an assessment, if he could get a few volunteers to help him.
A dozen people quickly signed up for the work.
He said gathering the information isn’t too difficult. Most of the information can be found on-line, in libraries and at universities.
“The (wind farm company) has not submitted an impact study, so I propose we do our own,” Liles said.
He believes he can put a study together in 60 days.
“It needs to be peer reviewed,” he said.
He said he will submit the study to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and any other appropriate state and federal agency, even the company planning on building the wind farms.
“The studies that are being done are slanted,” he said.
He wants to look at the negatives that are being ignored by other studies.
“Every study I’ve looked at only shows the positive side. Not a single thing about what happens if something goes wrong. I want to turn the table on them, to submit it since they haven’t submitted one,” Liles said.
Liles noted that a wind turbine has about 200 gallons of oil in its gear box and when the blades make one revolution, the oil and hydraulic fluid contains heavy metal.
“You can’t remediate heavy metals,” he said.
It’s possible the heavy metals are spraying into the atmosphere and contaminating the ground.
“Cost to remove it could be in the millions of dollars over 100 acres,” he said.
