“Our elders understood what the Treaty meant
when it reserved inherent rights to fish and gather,” Meninick wrote.
A small community group called Tri-Cities
C.A.R.E.S. (Community Action for Responsible Environmental
Stewardship) argues the project will drive down property values in the
area and pose obstructions to emergency planes or hospitals in the
event of a wildfire on the hills.
Paul Krupin said he and his fellow C.A.R.E.S.
board members recognize the importance of renewable energy in the wake
of climate change.
“This is just a really poor solution,” Krupin
said in an interview. “This project? First, it doesn’t do anything to
climate change at all. And second, it doesn’t produce power when we
need it.”
The Tri-Cities is
among the fastest-growing parts of Washington. Between 2010 and
2020, the region saw the most population growth per capita out of all
of Washington, according to U.S. Census data.
Krupin said building turbines on the valley’s
southern skyline will decrease property values and ruin views for all
the new residential neighborhoods being built less than 10 miles away.
“People will be seeing turbines from their
living rooms, their front doors,” Krupin said. “… People pay for
scenery. People like natural environments, and people are willing to
pay less when energy infrastructure is in their view.”
Another argument cited by people opposed to
the Horse Heaven Wind Farm is that the project will get in the way of
airplanes and helicopters fighting fires.
‘Overhead obstructions’
Across the state in Olympia, conversation
brews about the project.
Last week, Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Pasco,
celebrated that her bill intended to put up guardrails surrounding
renewable energy projects in the state passed out of the House
Environment and Energy Committee.
The idea for the bill came to Barnard while
she was grabbing a meal with Krupin. They began discussing how the
Horse Heaven Hills are a high-fire danger area, Barnard said, and
wondered how first responders would fight fires with planes if
turbines were in the way.
Barnard’s
bill picked up local support from Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane. If
passed, it would require the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
or any local municipality to send notice to the state Department of
Natural Resources any time they receive an application for a renewable
energy project.
The notice would need to include the location
and description of the project, along with contact information for the
proposed developer. This would allow the DNR to identify potential
conflicts between the proposed location and aerial firefighting
capabilities, should a fire occur within or around the energy farm.
Although the bill aims to provide siting
guidelines for renewable energy plants so aerial firefighting
abilities aren’t hindered, these are far from the only obstructions
wildland firefighters must navigate across the state.
Cellphone towers, power lines, housing
developments, shipping areas or any overhead obstruction can also
block firefighting efforts, said DNR Forester George Geissler.
“We have other tactics that we utilize because
things of this sort with aerial obstructions are fairly common
nowadays,” Geissler said in an interview. “We’ve just learned to work
around it.”
In the event of a fire, ground resources –
like fire engines and bulldozers – are always deployed first to get to
the scene as quickly as possible. Aviation comes in later. If air
tankers are necessary, they’re most often used to cool down the fire
so ground crews can build containment lines and make sure the fire
doesn’t spread farther.
When fires spark, Washington’s counties rely
on state and federal agencies when they need air support, including
DNR, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Most
counties don’t own their own emergency plans.
Geissler noted most fires don’t need aerial
support. Less than 1-2% of the fires that DNR responds to in the state
require planes. And the majority of firefighting is done on the
ground.
Yet people tend to hyperfocus on planes when
they think about firefighting, Geissler said. It’s more common to see
a fire engine racing to the scene than a plane dropping water or
retardant on a fire.
Last July, Benton County firefighters
responded to a brush fire that burned more than 400 acres of land and
closed in on multiple wind turbines near the Nine Canyon Wind Project,
home to 63 turbines.
“We (were) successful in fire suppression on
the ground with the fire trucks and bulldozers,” said Benton County
Fire Chief Lonnie Click, adding that the department has used planes in
the past, but not in the case of last July’s fire.
If a similar fire were to break out near a
wind farm, DNR won’t fly planes over or within the turbines no matter
their height or size. Instead, ground crews will work around them.
Flying over the turbines not only poses a
threat to the plane and the pilot, but also to the turbines. Water
weighs 8 pounds a gallon, he said, and can cause significant damage to
the blades if dropped from high above.
“We treat all of that type of infrastructure
with great care because we’re protecting it and don’t want to damage
it,” Geissler said. “… We still have bulldozers, hand crews, engines
and the whole nine yards that can work within the wind generation farm
itself.”
The only time planes would be able to engage
with a wildfire is if the fire burns outside of the wind farm, as
aircraft can fly within roughly a quarter-mile radius of the turbines.
To pass, the bill requiring DNR consultations
for alternative energy infrastructure has until Tuesday to gain
approval from the House Rules Committee. If it passes, it will move to
the House floor for consideration.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
509 995 1879
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Spokane, WA 99212
