Goshen Twp. to appeal wind farm project to Ohio Supreme Court 

Another township that previously intervened in the second phase of the Buckeye Wind Farm project will appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Champaign County Prosecutor Kevin Talebi said Wednesday that Goshen Township trustees authorized the Prosecutor’s Office to file an appeal on their behalf. Goshen Township joins Champaign County commissioners and the townships of Union and Urbana in appealing the Ohio Power Siting Board’s (OPSB) decision in the second phase of the wind turbine project.

On Sept. 30, the board rejected applications to rehear in the project after previously approved a certificate allowing for the construction of the project in May.

Talebi told the Daily Citizen earlier this week that the areas of concern the county will bring up are similar to the county’s previous appeal including the issues of bonding, decommissioning, the use of roads and setback concerns.

Christopher A. Walker, attorney for citizens group and project intervenor Union Neighbors United (UNU), previously told the Daily Citizen that the group plans to appeal the OPSB’s decision to the state Supreme Court.

OPSB staff files report in wind amendment

A staff investigation report and recommendation for an amendment in the first phase of the Buckeye Wind project was filed last week.

In March, EverPower submitted an amendment related to the first phase of the project.

The amendment proposes to install power lines under private property of contracted landowners instead of using utility poles in rights of way and to move three staging areas inside the siting boundaries of the project’s second phase.

In the report, the staff recommends the amendment to the board under four conditions. The conditions include that the applicant must adhere to the conditions of the original certificate in the first phase of the project and construct the facility as approved in the first phase of the project and as further modified by the proposed amendment and replies to staff data requests in the project.

One of the proposed staging areas would be moved from the intersection of U.S. Route 36 and state Route 814 to the intersection of U.S. Route 36 and Three Mile Road. The city of Urbana has expressed concern about how this staging area could affect a sewer line extension to Rothschild Berry Farm on East state Route 36.

One of the staff recommendations is that the applicant exercise “reasonable efforts to coordinate activities at the western construction staging area with the city of Urbana in the event that the installation of the city’s planned sewer line extension coincides with the installation of the western construction staging area.”

The last recommended condition is that within six months of completing construction the applicant communicate the location of the buried electric collection lines to the Ohio Utilities Protection Service or become a member of the Ohio Utilities Protection Service.

The amendment is pending before the OPSB. Six entities have intervened the amendment.

In October, EverPower officials informed Champaign County commissioners that they plan to file an application for payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) in the near future. Project manager Jason Dagger said last week there is no timetable for when the company will file an application with the Ohio Developmental Services Agency and the company is working on the application.