Wind farm opponents lose appeal
A group of Lincoln residents has lost its appeal of a Lincoln Planning Board permit that allowed a proposed $130 million wind farm on Rollins Mountain.
In his 26-page decision issued yesterday, Superior Court Justice William R. Anderson said the Lincoln Board of Appeals was justified when it chose not to hear the appeal filed by the Friends of Lincoln Lakes because the group lacked legal standing to oppose the planning board's 2008 approval of the wind farm, according to the Bangor Daily News. Massachusetts-based First Wind is planning a 40-turbine wind farm on ridgelines in Burlington, Lincoln, Lee and Winn.
Anderson chastised the group and its lawyer, attorney Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor, for making vague or irrelevant arguments and failing to establish the group's legal identity in town council and planning board meetings that preceded the Dec. 1, 2008 vote, according to the paper.The group's members argued the identification issue was unfounded because the group had opposed the First Wind project almost from the beginning, according to the newspaper.
Williams told the Bangor Daily News she planned to discuss whether to appeal Anderson's decision to a higher court with group members on Wednesday, when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland hears the group's appeal of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's approval of the project.
Currently, First Wind also operates the 42-megawatt Mars Hill and the 57-megawatt Stetson Mountain wind farms. Construction of the 26-megawatt Stetson II project will be completed this spring, while the DEP approved the proposed 51-megawatt Oakfield project on Jan. 21.
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
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