LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Posted November 27, 2019
Dear Editor:
I am writing in opposition to the Alta II Wind Farm project in DeWitt County, Illinois. It is obvious that the proponents of this project have failed to do any in-depth research regarding the issues surrounding these commercial wind turbines. Of those who have written recent letters to the editor, how many sat through all 35 hours of testimony during the February 2019 ZBA hearings? How many have sought out 3rd party independent experts to educate themselves?
How many spent tens of hours of their personal time pouring over scientific articles and speaking to those who currently live in the footprint of a wind farm? How many spent their own money to have a lawyer review sections of these applications to confirm how detrimental the language is to our county and residents? How many can even tell us the exact number of pages in the prior or current special use permit applications and in which sections Tradewind has verbiage stripping our county officials of authority to act on important issues?
What are the proponents thoughts regarding Tradewind’s blatant disregard for our ordinance requirements surrounding the decommissioning plan or the aircraft detection lighting mitigation system? How do they feel about the fact that Tradewind redacted important information from their initial SUP regarding the weather information? Or that they did not perform the initial siting study properly and failed to note that they sited proposed turbines in the mitigation zone for the NWS radar?
Have any of the proponents read the entire special use permit application for this project and do they fully comprehend all the potential legal ramifications for our county? I think it is time that these proponents stop regurgitating what Tradewind is telling them and pay attention to what is happening around them.
Some have noted that the opponents of this project lack common sense. I’d say those that are opposed to agreeing to a legal document that no one in our county fully understands have the most sense of all.
Betsy Shifflet .
Waynesville, Illinois 61778
