Given the Agency of Natural Resources’ recent history under the Douglas administration, I was not happy with the impression I got that developers of the Lowell Wind Project would most likely suffer little in the way of consequences for violations committed by their sub-contrators. This did not seem to bode well for the effectiveness of the newly reorganized ANR of Sec. Markowitz.
It was therefore with some relief that I read in this morning’s paper that the ANR does not intend to let this one slide.
Asked about Green Mountain Power’s expressed hope to begin the construction phase on August 1, ANR Chief Counsel, Jon Groveman had this to say:
“It will take as long as it takes,”
To me, that is the sweet sound of the ANR reminding developers of where its priorities are meant to be.
I realize that, having just emerged from the shadow of long years of bias in favor of developers’ interests under Douglas, the new ANR may not have sufficient legal mechanisms in place to trigger actual dollars-and-cents assessments in the case of violations such as have been committed at Lowell. It is to be hoped that they will work with the legislature to establish such mechanisms, which will enhance the effectiveness of their rules in the future.
In a state where everyone is asked to tighten their belts and the Governor is averse to raising taxes, doesn’t it make sense to assess effective monetary penalties whenever our valuable environmental resources are put in jeopardy?
I believe the answer to your ending question is no. Some violations result in damage to the resource, and then monetary or better yet, criminal penalties, should be assessed, especially if the damage is extensive and done intentionally. But monetary penalties may not be much of a deterrent for deep-pocketed developers. I know you wrote “effective”, but I don’t see how a sliding scale of penalty based on dollar value of project or assets of the landowner could be enacted.
Some violations are unintentional and/or result in no harm to the natural resource. I don’t think this justifies a monetary penalty.
In your case, the fine was effective, as was the warning of points against the license. Now for a wealthy individual, the fine would likely be meaningless, but the points against the license could be an effective deterrent. But that’s backed up by criminal law, as driving with a suspended license is a misdemeanor.
I don’t know what all the repercussions are for repeat violations of permit conditions or water quality laws. I know that the state can issue a 1272 order, which effectively halts construction activities until the violation is resolved. I suspect that an individual with repeat violations on their record wouldn’t be successful in future applications, but I don’t know that as fact.
Sorry to report, Sue, that late Friday ANR, DPS, and GMP all came to a happy agreement to allow the Lowell wind project to move forward, at least in terms of the recent violations that GMP reported to the PSB involving filling wetlands, cutting trees on the access road and logging in mitigation areas.
The process ANR has used is so ridiculous it’s laughable. The only information supplied to the public via the PSB filings comes from GMP and its “expert” Jeffrey Nelson of VHB. Friday’s filing by ANR says that “at the request of ANR, GMP assigned VHB to conduct a comprehensive inventory…”
Huh? No independent evaluation, no evaluation by ANR staff, just a report by the corporation’s paid “expert.” And guess what, he didn’t find any problems, and as a result of his report, ANR says, and GMP promises, that they will make that bad boy Trip Wileman, the landowner, fix all the things he did wrong, and since you can trust them to make sure he does, they can go ahead and none of this should delay the start of the project. And no, we don’t need no hearings, we don’t need no evidence, we don’t need no maps, we don’t need no photos. Yep, that’s right, nobody has submitted a shred of evidence to support anything that’s being said.
And then DPS puts in a one-page letter saying “okey dokey with us, whatever ANR says is fine with us.”
So now what’s left at ANR are two stormwater permits, the 401 Water Quality Certification, the Wetlands permit, and then the Federal Army Corps 404 permit. Want to bet how that’s going to turn out?
The corruption is so blatant, that’s what’s most amazing. There is no attempt to follow the rules, which in the case of the recent findings should require an independent investigation (or at least a report by ANR staff, not reliance on GMP’s “expert”), the case should be sent to enforcement for resolution and until it’s resolved construction should be stayed. That’s how it normally works.
Welcome to the new normal under Governor Shumlin. Did I mention that this project’s stormwater permits involve filling hundreds of feet of headwater streams? Oh, a minor point. Who cares?