Monroe County Windmills

[Just Fishin']

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/app ... 0104110353

This article was in the paper this weekend in Rochester. Glad to see that the Genesee Charter Association is proactively dealing with the issue.

As stated in the article there has been little complaint by county residents so far. We all should be concerned that there is so little opposition to this by the public, at this point. I plan on speaking with several members of the County Legislature and hope that others on this site will do the same. At the county level politicians do still listen to their constituents, as our other friends around the lake have prevailed so far.

[YodaMage]

OK, I'll bite.

Why is everyone up in arms about this? As longs as the windmills are marked appropriately I don't see an issue. I know I use electricity and I'm sure a few other people do to. If this means less use of coal and less pollution I don't see an issue. It seems like a 'not in my backyard' argument where the needs of the many are put behind the preferences of the few.

Help me out here, I'm just not getting it.

[Tim Bromund]

well since you asked

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14436

Tim

[Just Fishin']

Sticking just to how it will affect fishing: the structures will attract bait fish, which will attract salmon and we can't go near them. That right there should damage fishing enough to cause us great concern.

[brucehookedup]

There is not ONE positive item that you will ever see from these hunks of broken concrete rusted metal. That is all we will have in years to come. That would definately attract loads of people from all over to see. NOT! Vote NO and let your voice be heard.

[Has Been]

Yoda ,I use to think just like you , till I found out the truth about them. Take the time to find out ( a lot on here about them) and them make a decicion. A lot of scoundrels are using this " GREEN " initiative to fill there pockets with green on the trust & good intentions of the American people. Don't be fooled.

[LongLine]

From: "Leo Roth"

To: "tjbishop

Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:13:48 AM

Subject: RE: WINDFARMS MONROE COUNTY

Thank you Tom.

The thought of disturbing polluted lake sediment and its impact on drinking water is another factor that needs public awareness and debate.

We will be following this story very close. Be sure to be in contact with lead environmental reporter Steve Orr.

Regards

Leo

-----Original Message-----

From: tjbishop

Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 1:24 PM

To: Roth, Leo

Subject: WINDFARMS MONROE COUNTY

Mr. Roth,

Regarding your recent article on windmills offshore of Rochester please be advised that the Rochester Embayment is a USEPA Class 4 Area of Concern. The northern boundary of the Embayment is a line from Bogus point (just west of Braddock's Bay) to Nine Mile point (in Webster). The AoC includes the river and extends from the shoreline out to 145 Ft of water directly off the Genesee River.

http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/rochester.html#pagetop

The NYPA has requested windfarm proposals from developers out to a maximum depth of 150 ft in the Rochester & Monroe County area according to the NYPA sitting requirements. i.e. The same area as the AoC.

http://www.nypa.gov/NYPAwindpower/GLOWs ... ection.htm

The USEPA lists 12 beneficial use impairments for the Embayment. These impairments are predominantly due to sediments that contain bioaccumulative toxic substances such as heavy metals (Iron, Mercury, Phosphorous, etc) and algae. The algae beds, caused by Eutrophication (overload of nutrients i.e. phosphorous) are mainly responsible for the health concerns and the frequent summer closings of our beaches. The area has been improving but only because polluted sediments are becoming buried by a few successive years of cleaner sediments.

Construction of foundations and transmission lines will disturb the polluted sediments and they will be redistributed along the Southern shoreline by the natural lake currents. A vast brown area develops and extends for miles after a small spring rain increases the flow the Genesee River. Sediment depths in some areas of the Embayment have been estimated to be over 50 ft deep therefore wind tower foundations will be massive and dig up a tremendous amount of pollution just to reach solid bottom. This will affect drinking water supplies, including the water drawn from Shoremont.

Wind turbine energy is marketed as an attractive energy source however people don't realize the massive size of these projects nor how much area they'll require. The NYPA request for proposal calls for turbines standing 397 ft above the waterline, or roughly the height of the Xerox Tower downtown. Rotor diameters are upwards of 150 ft (bigger than the entire turbine at Harbec on Rt 104 Webster). Recommended offshore tower spacing is 10 rotor diameters apart and in a minimum 5 x 10 array. Simple math shows that just a small windfarm will encompass approx 40% of Monroe County's shoreline.

The NYPA call for proposals also declares that the determination of exclusion zones will be left to other agencies. With Vestas recommending a 1000 ft safety zone around each turbine, the Coast Guard and Homeland Security will surely put the area off-limits to fishermen and recreational boaters, both sail and power.

Sincerely,

Tom Bishop

ALL fishermen, boaters (sail & power) & residents in Monroe County, Wayne County, Oswego & Jefferson have a big stake in this. If windfarms are put up off Rochester, you'll all feel the effect.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Pike Hunter]

Tom,

I have shared this article with the science teachers in our school. At first this teacher contended that we were wrong about being against this just because we wanted to protect our fishing grounds, however he has changed his position after he read your post.

This is why we must continue to be heard by the folks behind the desk in the government buildings.

Anthony

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Great posts guys, I agree with all of you. The only reason they want to put them in the Lakes is financial. No societal or financial gains whatsoever for US.

It IS about "NOT IN MY BACK YARD". They don't want them in Long Island, so just throw 'em up north where the simpleton rednecks live, you know, the "rust belt". Sorry, but I fish very little in lake Erie, and I don't want them there either. Just plain wrong. Since when did this "Wonders of the world" area become a convenient place for eyesores?

Last time I checked, if you had to much runoff into this watershed, it had to be approved by the DEC. This whole project isn't just "fishy", it's CRIMINAL.

[jkarol24]

I have question... these are proposed to be directly in front of my house on the lake if theyre 2.5 miles out like propposed would i see them from shore/how big would they look??? thanks

[LongLine]

JK - Can you see Downtown when you're out on the lake in your kayak? The shore is roughly 6 miles from that tall square white building. That skyscraper is 412 ft tall. These turbines are 397 ft above the water line. NYPA is talking putting up 200 of them.

Vince - It's a lot more than "In my back yard." That pollution thing is VERY REAL. Shoremont is the Monroe County water supply that backs up Honeoye & the other pond. We all know what the currents are like out there.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[windburn]

Hey JK, believe me they are huge. I have the pleasure(?) of living amongst them here in Wyoming County. I don't want to have to see the da** things when I'm out trolling the Oak! The hills out here are littered with red clearance lights at night. I might as well be living in an urban area.

[LongLine]

Winburn - Can you take a night time photo? A Windfarm in Monroe County would be right in the flight path of the Monroe County airport & would have to really be lit up.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[windburn]

LL, I will attempt to take a night time pic within a day or so. I may need a tutor to post as I haven't posted pics in a while.

[HitorMissIV]

All well said.... And once again why must they screw with the Worlds Third Largest Bodies of Fresh Water? There will always be some type of Catastrophic failure or Disaster with a Project of this Magnatude. Capt Randy / Hit or Miss charters

[jimski2]

Two points.

The Power Authority is using NY's ability to sell bonds that jeapardizes other needed projects to pay for this stuff that is economically not viable.

Nobel Energy this past week stopped building two wind farms in Allegany, NY and Centerville, NY because they are money losers.

Just my 2 cents.

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Was an article in a Watertown paper April 13th, stating that they are building a large windfarm IN the water off Wolfe Island. The Canadian firm that landed the contract gleefully exclaimed how much more the energy would cost. It also stated that Ontario Province is throwing around 8 BILLION dollars for such contracts. There is a meeting coming up in Barker(can you say, SOMERSET plant?) soon. I will post details on its own thread shortly.

[LongLine]

If you go to this site, you can send in comments about windfarms in Monroe County.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/com ... he-horizon

To make a comment, you only have to register. That requires email address & a password. (I have never received “junk†emails from them.)

The more guys comment, the better.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[GAMBLER]

Longline,

I sent you a PM on your one comment about the drinking water. Got the wheels turning.

[LongLine]

So the D&C runs an editorial this morning about "Wait & See":

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/art ... ontroversy

My responses:

I find it interesting that a newspaper should recomend "wait and see." After all they report the news after it's happened. Ben Franklin said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and yet you want us to wait until we're faced with sickness before we do anything.

Your advice should have been to tell people to do their own independent research into the broader area of Offshore windfarms and then be proactive and prepared with reasonable questions.

Obviously NYPA has been doing the whistle-stop thing & wine-ing/dining the policy makers for quite a while selling offshore wdfms based on limited & slanted landbased wdfms "knowledge".

What does the Audibon know about Lake Sturgeon? The USACE obviously can't stop the spread of Asian Carp.

BTW - Great scale on your photo. Problem is that they're shown out too far. NYPA said 150 ft deep maximum in their written call for proposals. That's 1.5 to 2.5 miles offshore. NOT 5 miles offshore.

and

If you want real scale, park in the Monroe county launch site on the North end of Irondequoit Bay & look towards the south. You'll be 1 1/2 miles from the bridge that stands a hair over 100 ft above the water. Next, drive to the south end (Empire blvd) and look at the bridge again. It's now 2 1/2 miles from you.

NYPA is asking for proposals to instal turbines that stand 397 ft above the water.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[LongLine]

Finally, an editorial in support of Restoration:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/art ... a-priority

Don't know much about "earth day" but I see this as a good argument against windmills. The laws, monies, policies, etc have all been directed towards "new" run-off water & new sediments. Nothing has ever been done about the polluted sediments that are burried by just a couple inches of "cleaner" sediments.

The Lake Guardian has been taking water column samples for a long time. They gave up on core samples back in 2002/03 because the degree of pollution there hadn't changed since 1987. (when the Embayment was declared an "Area of Concern." Even back then, they only went down a couple feet.

Turbine foundation & transmission line construction will definitely dig into the polluted stuff.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[LongLine]

----- Original Message -----

From: "Vinnie Esposito"

To: tjbishop

Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 5:03:45 PM

Subject: RE: OffShore windfarm - Monroe County

Mr. Bishop,

Thank you very much for your message in opposition to wind turbines in Lake Ontario.

You are obviously well informed about the potential environmental impact of the NYPA GLOW project. I am learning as much about this issue as I can. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the forum held by NYPA a few weeks ago.

I intend to learn a great deal more about this issue in general and the GLOW project in particular before making any decisions. I greatly appreciate all the issues and questions you raise below and will be sure to look into each of them in great detail.

Thanks again for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future if you have more questions or if I can be of service in any way.

-Vinnie

------------------

Vincent Esposito

Monroe County Legislature

16th District, Irondequoit

If we end up with them in the Rochester Embayment, It'll mess up a lot more.

Tom B.

(LongLine)