Wind opponents seek deadline extensions; Local residents push for broader participation is PSB process 

They did. A host of citizen intervenors filed notifications to that effect on April 19, arguing that 40 of those intervenors are qualified to participate concerning the project’s economic benefit. Those 40 include familiar names like Patty Rainville, who resides near the project’s could-be construction site straddling the Swanton-St. Albans Town border, former Lt. Governor Brian Dubie and former Franklin County House candidate Penny Dubie, who ran on a platform that included better renewable energy legislation, and the Collopys.

Another 14 parties filed a notification stating they qualify to participate regarding water supply, because they “rely on a drilled well or spring for their water service and their property adjoins the project site.”

These notifications come shortly after Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE) filed a motion for reconsideration, appealing the board’s order for VCE to represent any citizen intervenors who are also members of VCE through the board’s review process.

But VCE said in its motion for reconsideration that doing so would violate legal regulations prohibiting 501(c)(3) non-profits from representing private interests rather than public interests. The motion also said that VCE’s representative, Annette Smith, is a public advocate, not an attorney, and therefore “cannot be placed in the position of ‘representing’ individuals with individualized interests.”

The motion also noted that Smith had been the subject of a letter from the state attorney general’s office in Jan. 2016, alleging Smith had practiced law without a license.

The board had ordered the consolidation of interests that could be represented by VCE in the interest of efficiency. VCE promised in its motion to coordinate with other parties in the interest of that efficiency.

VCE also requested a two-week extension of the deadline for discovery questions, which would move the deadline to May 8. Responses to VCE’s motion from Christine and Dustin Lang, residents near the project’s proposed construction site, and the Department of Public Service support VCE’s deadline extension, although the Langs’ response requested an even longer deadline delay.

The deadline for this second round of discovery, which allows participating parties to specifically question Swanton Wind and its representatives, was originally set for early March in a scheduling timeline that ran into October. With the deadline now likely extended into May, and even possibly beyond, the latest in a series of continuous delays could push the review process into December or even the next year – even without what now seems like inevitable future delays.

The Public Service Board has yet to respond to these motions.

The ideal outcome of the board’s review, for Swanton Wind, is a Certificate of Public Good, allowing the project to begin the construction process. The ideal outcome for those opposing the project, of course, is for the board to deny its application.

As of the Messenger’s last count, 69 parties are currently participating in the board’s review of Swanton Wind.