From the Wellington Times
Land locked
by Rick Conroy
Rough outline of Skypower’s Bryan Project before the company filed for creditor protection.
Related: Stantec Construction Property Liens list
About 150 properties that make up the Byran wind energy project, part of the failed Skypower Corporation in the northeast corner of Prince Edward County, have had construction liens placed upon their land and registered on title by a creditor to whom Skypower owes a quarter million dollars. Construction liens are legal claims on a project to ensure a builder, tradesperson or consultant gets paid for his or her work.
Worse for the property owners, these construction liens have been perfected through a special court order that was granted last Thursday.
At best this means the property owners will be limited, until the liens are discharged, as to what they can do with their encumbered property. It may be difficult or impossible to refinance mortgages, borrow money using the land as collateral, finance new buildings on the property or even purchase seed and fertilizer for the property as long as the liens remain in place.
At worst the landowners could be on the hook to pay Skypower’s creditor, Jacques Whitford Stantec, the $265,000 it says it is owed by Skypower.
The liens offer a cautionary lesson to those who choose to enter land agreements with developers. But, perhaps the most surprising information to come to light in court docuemnts obtained by the Times is that one of the landowner that appears to be caught up in the bankruptcy of Skypower is the County of Prince Edward. Three properties registered to the municipality are included in the list of properties covered by the construction liens.
The apparent participation of the County in Skypower’s project raises many serious questions: What deal was made between the municipality and Skypower? Why wasn’t this arrangement made public? Who knew about this? When did they know it? What were the financial terms? Are there other deals with other wind energy developers?
And if the municipality is a stakeholder in the Byran project, even in a marginal way, how can it be objective as to the appropriateness of industrial wind energy development in this County? Most County residents believed their municipality to be acting in good faith when it a held a public meeting into wind energy development at the end of September.
Councillor Peter Mertens said he has no knowledge that any municipal property had been optioned, leased or sold to Skypower or to any wind developer. Mayor Leo Finnegan was unavailable for comment. Chief Administrative Officer Dick Shannon did not respond to the Times inquiries by deadline.
THE PROMISE Skypower first came to local prominence in the summer of 2007. They had been busy for months earlier acquiring options and leases on land primarily north of Picton up to Big Island, as well as around Milford. Until then, much of the wind energy interest had been focused in South Marysburgh. But Skypower’s strategy was to attempt to lock up the electricity transmission capacity by locating close to the largest transmission station in the County. Skypower had high-powered partners including an investment arm of Lehman Brothers, a large U.S. investment bank. When Lehman’s collapsed last fall, Skypower had not only lost a critical financial backer. The subsequent freeze on credit worldwide left the Toronto wind energy prospector in the same boat as its competitors—no capital, no credit but burning cash at a rapid rate.
THE FAILURE Pretending otherwise, Skypower continued to contract services from Jacques Whitford, an engineering consultancy that would soon merge with Edmonton-based Stantec, to advance the status of the Byran project in Prince Edward County. It had hoped to get the project to such a state of preparedness that it could either be sold or possibly financed.
So it was that on Aug. 11, Skypower public relations representatives were in Picton pitching their project to the local community. They gave no hint as to the company’s troubles. Meanwhile, back in Toronto, Skypower management was busy preparing documents to file for creditor protection. The next morning a court granted them an initial order putting creditors on hold until the business could be refinanced or sold.
}THE FALLOUT
Since then a sales process has been underway, dismantling the company into bits and pieces. Skypower’s half-share of the Stone Mills solar array north of Napanee has been sold to a real estate developer, CIM Group, based in Los Angeles.
Twenty-two bids were received for various parts of Skypower’s development business including its leases and options that comprise the Byran project. But none of the bids received are for all of Skypower’s development projects.
So in September Jacques Whitford Stantec registered construction liens against Skypower’s interest in 150 properties in Prince Edward County to ensure it will get paid.
Last week those liens were perfected to establish its priority claim. This is required to validate and extend the claim. Aperfected lien is valid against bona fide purchasers of property, and even against a trustee in bankruptcy.
In effect, these manoeuvres make the purchase price for Skypower’s Byran project higher than it might fetch otherwise. This raises the prospect that Jacques Whitford Stantec may end up as owners of the County wind energy prospect.
Most troubling for landowners is that they may not know their land is encumbered with a lien until they try to sell part or all of it, or erect a new building or use it for collateral on a loan. Even renewing a mortgage may be made more complicated by the presence of the lien. At least one landowner with an agreement with Skypower was unaware of the lien on his property until contacted by the Times last week. Planning Commissioner Gerry Murphy was also unaware of the liens placed on County properties.
If you suspect your land may be encumbered by a Jacques Whitford Stantec lien you can check your property title at the Land Registry Office, 1 Pitt Street, Picton. Online you may visit the Wellington Times website www.wellingtontimes.ca for a link to the list of Stantec Construction Lien Properties.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tide Turbine Test in Bedford Basin
Tidal power turbine towed in the Bedford Basin
Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro are in news for testing their tidal technology in Bedford Basin before launching the underwater turbine in the Bay of Fundy.
The 10-metre turbine is to be deployed in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy as part of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) tidal test site. Testing will last up to two years. Operational data will be collected and shared by Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro to determine the environmental performance and future feasibility of tidal power in the Bay of Fundy.
The testing will focus on the robustness of the turbine in the harsh environment of the Bay of Fundy, close monitoring of any environmental impacts of the turbine, and the energy production capabilities of the technology.
The two companies last month unveiled a 1 MW tidal turbine. This followed Nova Scotia’s Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau decision to approve the Fundy tidal power demonstration project. The Canadian province is facilitating the development of a demonstration facility in the Minas Passage. The first turbine will go in the water at this demonstration site in fall 2009.
The Open-Centre Turbine was manufactured in Ireland by OpenHydro. The turbine will rest directly on the ocean floor using a subsea gravity base fabricated in Dartmouth by Cherubini Metal Works.
Nova Scotia Power's involvement with this tidal energy test facility is supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada.
Read more:
OpenHydro: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/OpenHydro
Nova Scotia: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Nova+Scotia
Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro are in news for testing their tidal technology in Bedford Basin before launching the underwater turbine in the Bay of Fundy.
The 10-metre turbine is to be deployed in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy as part of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) tidal test site. Testing will last up to two years. Operational data will be collected and shared by Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro to determine the environmental performance and future feasibility of tidal power in the Bay of Fundy.
The testing will focus on the robustness of the turbine in the harsh environment of the Bay of Fundy, close monitoring of any environmental impacts of the turbine, and the energy production capabilities of the technology.
The two companies last month unveiled a 1 MW tidal turbine. This followed Nova Scotia’s Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau decision to approve the Fundy tidal power demonstration project. The Canadian province is facilitating the development of a demonstration facility in the Minas Passage. The first turbine will go in the water at this demonstration site in fall 2009.
The Open-Centre Turbine was manufactured in Ireland by OpenHydro. The turbine will rest directly on the ocean floor using a subsea gravity base fabricated in Dartmouth by Cherubini Metal Works.
Nova Scotia Power's involvement with this tidal energy test facility is supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada.
Read more:
OpenHydro: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/OpenHydro
Nova Scotia: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Nova+Scotia
Labels:
Tidal turbine Bay of Fundy
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Christmas Craft Market
Event
Title: Christmas Craft Market
When: 05 Dec 09 10.00 AM - 04.00 PM
Where: Annapolis Royal Community Centre & Legion - Annapolis Royal
Category: Market Description
The Annapolis Royal Farmers & Traders Christmas Craft Market will be held this year on Saturday, December 5 at the Annapolis Royal Legion from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
If you are interested in registering as a vendor, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it the charming and talented Jane Fowler, this year's Christmas Market Manager.
Title: Christmas Craft Market
When: 05 Dec 09 10.00 AM - 04.00 PM
Where: Annapolis Royal Community Centre & Legion - Annapolis Royal
Category: Market Description
The Annapolis Royal Farmers & Traders Christmas Craft Market will be held this year on Saturday, December 5 at the Annapolis Royal Legion from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
If you are interested in registering as a vendor, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it the charming and talented Jane Fowler, this year's Christmas Market Manager.
Labels:
Annapolis Digby Craft Market
ADEDA Tourism Meeting
Category: Meeting Description
Attention Businesses in the Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley Region! Destination Southwest Nova Association invites you to a Discussion Session that will involve:
- Visitor Services
- Bed & Breakfast Experience in Southwest Nova Scotia
- Design and Development of the Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley Travel Guide
When: Monday, November 9, 2009 from 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Conference Room of the Canex Mall on Ward Road, Greenwood (same building as Greenwood Military Aviation Museum)
Please RSVP by Monday, November 2, 2009, by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling (902) 634-8844.
Attention Businesses in the Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley Region! Destination Southwest Nova Association invites you to a Discussion Session that will involve:
- Visitor Services
- Bed & Breakfast Experience in Southwest Nova Scotia
- Design and Development of the Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley Travel Guide
When: Monday, November 9, 2009 from 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Conference Room of the Canex Mall on Ward Road, Greenwood (same building as Greenwood Military Aviation Museum)
Please RSVP by Monday, November 2, 2009, by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling (902) 634-8844.
Labels:
Annapolis-Digby ADEDA tourism
As Ocean's Fall ILL...
from www.kansascity.com
As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble
By LES BLUMENTHAL
McClatchy Newspapers
Related:
http://www.noaa.gov
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/interimreport
http://tinyurl.com/3458h3
Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas filled with tiny bits of plastic and other debris.
Every summer a dead zone of oxygen-depleted water the size of Massachusetts forms in the Gulf of Mexico; others have been found off Oregon and in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie, and the Baltic and Black seas. Some studies indicate that North Pole seawater could turn caustic in 10 years, and that the Southern Ocean already may be saturated with carbon dioxide.
A recent bird kill off the coast of Washington state came without warning, said Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There will be more surprises than that," she said.
The danger signals are everywhere, some related to climate change and greenhouse gases and others not:
-Every eight months, 11 million gallons of oil run off the nation's roads and driveways into waters that eventually reach the sea, the Pew Oceans Commission said in 2003. That's the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez-size oil spill.
-Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the oceans have absorbed 525 billion tons of carbon dioxide. They're now absorbing about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide a day. As that happens, the oceans become more acidic, threatening the marine food chain. The acidity could eat away the shells of such animals as the petropod, a nearly microscopic snail with a calcium carbonate covering that's eaten by krill, salmon and whales.
-More than 60 percent of the nation's coastal rivers and bays are moderately to severely degraded by nutrient runoff from products such as fertilizer, creating algae blooms that affect the kelp beds and grasses that are nurseries for many species of fish.
Even that doesn't tell the entire story, as competing uses for the sea multiply. Traditional ones such as fishing and shipping are competing with offshore aquaculture farms. On the energy front, it's no longer just oil and gas drilling. There are plans for deepwater wind farms and tidal and wave power-generating projects.
As the grim news mounts, a storm is brewing in Washington, D.C., over who should oversee oceans policies. A White House task force has recommended creating a National Ocean Council that would develop and implement national ocean policy and include the secretaries of state, defense, agriculture, interior, health and human services, labor, commerce, transportation and homeland security.
It also would include the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, the administrators of NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Plus the president's advisers on national security, homeland security, domestic policy and economic policy. The chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy would head the council.
However, NOAA, the nation's primary ocean agency, which includes the National Ocean Service, the nation's premier science agency for oceans and coasts; the National Marine Fisheries Service, which manages living marine resources; the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which studies climate, weather and air quality; and the National Weather Service - is missing from the task force's list.
Whatever its composition, one challenge for the council will be what's called "marine spatial planning," ocean zoning, or the marine equivalent of urban planning.
"It's going to be a difficult process," Nancy Sutley, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said during the Senate hearing. "We need to do it from the bottom up."
Native American tribes and groups such as those that represent sport fishermen warned that plans have to be developed regionally because a one-size-fits-all approach won't work.
A recent example of marine spatial planning involved the Coast Guard, NOAA and other agencies working to reroute shipping lanes near Cape Cod to minimize the chances of vessels colliding with North Atlantic right whales, but even that came with an unexpected twist.
"We were going to move the lanes into a site where there was an application for an offshore LNG plant," said Adm. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard commandant, referring to liquefied natural gas.
As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble
By LES BLUMENTHAL
McClatchy Newspapers
Related:
http://www.noaa.gov
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/interimreport
http://tinyurl.com/3458h3
Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas filled with tiny bits of plastic and other debris.
Every summer a dead zone of oxygen-depleted water the size of Massachusetts forms in the Gulf of Mexico; others have been found off Oregon and in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie, and the Baltic and Black seas. Some studies indicate that North Pole seawater could turn caustic in 10 years, and that the Southern Ocean already may be saturated with carbon dioxide.
A recent bird kill off the coast of Washington state came without warning, said Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There will be more surprises than that," she said.
The danger signals are everywhere, some related to climate change and greenhouse gases and others not:
-Every eight months, 11 million gallons of oil run off the nation's roads and driveways into waters that eventually reach the sea, the Pew Oceans Commission said in 2003. That's the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez-size oil spill.
-Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the oceans have absorbed 525 billion tons of carbon dioxide. They're now absorbing about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide a day. As that happens, the oceans become more acidic, threatening the marine food chain. The acidity could eat away the shells of such animals as the petropod, a nearly microscopic snail with a calcium carbonate covering that's eaten by krill, salmon and whales.
-More than 60 percent of the nation's coastal rivers and bays are moderately to severely degraded by nutrient runoff from products such as fertilizer, creating algae blooms that affect the kelp beds and grasses that are nurseries for many species of fish.
Even that doesn't tell the entire story, as competing uses for the sea multiply. Traditional ones such as fishing and shipping are competing with offshore aquaculture farms. On the energy front, it's no longer just oil and gas drilling. There are plans for deepwater wind farms and tidal and wave power-generating projects.
As the grim news mounts, a storm is brewing in Washington, D.C., over who should oversee oceans policies. A White House task force has recommended creating a National Ocean Council that would develop and implement national ocean policy and include the secretaries of state, defense, agriculture, interior, health and human services, labor, commerce, transportation and homeland security.
It also would include the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, the administrators of NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Plus the president's advisers on national security, homeland security, domestic policy and economic policy. The chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy would head the council.
However, NOAA, the nation's primary ocean agency, which includes the National Ocean Service, the nation's premier science agency for oceans and coasts; the National Marine Fisheries Service, which manages living marine resources; the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which studies climate, weather and air quality; and the National Weather Service - is missing from the task force's list.
Whatever its composition, one challenge for the council will be what's called "marine spatial planning," ocean zoning, or the marine equivalent of urban planning.
"It's going to be a difficult process," Nancy Sutley, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said during the Senate hearing. "We need to do it from the bottom up."
Native American tribes and groups such as those that represent sport fishermen warned that plans have to be developed regionally because a one-size-fits-all approach won't work.
A recent example of marine spatial planning involved the Coast Guard, NOAA and other agencies working to reroute shipping lanes near Cape Cod to minimize the chances of vessels colliding with North Atlantic right whales, but even that came with an unexpected twist.
"We were going to move the lanes into a site where there was an application for an offshore LNG plant," said Adm. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard commandant, referring to liquefied natural gas.
Turbines and Birds
From TDN.com articles
Will wind farm project fly?
Sunday, November 8, 2009 11:49 PM PST
By Don Jenkins
A proposal to build the first wind farm in Western Washington may stall, and may even be doomed, because of concern that turbine blades would kill members of an endangered bird species, a state lawmaker says.
“I’m just not feeling real confident that this is going to grab hold and move forward very fast,” Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, said last week. “There are key players who aren’t very supportive, and I think it’s going to hold this up. Is it going to kill it? I don’t know.”
Public-power developer Energy Northwest and four utility districts in Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam and Mason counties propose installing as many as 32 wind turbines on Radar Ridge in Pacific County. The wind farm would generate enough electricity for 18,000 homes and help the utilities meet a voter-approved mandate to invest in renewable energy. The towers, however, would be in the flight path of the federally protected marbled murrelet.
Consultants hired by Energy Northwest concluded recently that in a worst-case scenario a marbled murrelet would collide with a rotor about once every 18 months. Deaths could be further reduced by shutting down the towers during the breeding season, according to the report, which prompted the utilities to declare that their project would cause minor or insignificant harm to the species.
Another study commissioned by the state Department of Natural Resources made no attempt to pinpoint how many birds would be killed, but warned that some 87 marbled murrelets a year would fly through the wind farm and that the likelihood for deaths was high.
Spokesmen for the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the Endangered Species Act, said their agencies will hire outside experts to review Energy Northwest’s study.
In the meantime, the utilities will host a series of public meetings this month on the project. The utilities say they want to collect comments and get ready to apply for a federal permit that would allow them to operate a wind farm that might occasionally kill a marbled murrelet.
The utilities also will need permission from the DNR, which owns Radar Ridge and would collect potentially lucrative lease payments from the utilities.
Takko and the area’s other two state legislators back the wind farm, but Takko said federal and state regulators are cool to the project and that the PUDs may have to “pull the plug” rather than continuing to spend money on what could be a dead-end. “I don’t think it’s time quite yet, but we’re getting close,” he said.
Grays Harbor PUD, the largest utility involved in the project, has no plans to pull out, utility spokeswoman Liz Anderson said. “We’re proceeding forward and hope to complete the project,” she said.
Although state and federal agencies haven’t rejected the project, they’ve warned the utilities that pursuing the wind farm won’t be quick, easy or cheap.
“We’ve never said Radar Ridge can’t be permitted. What we’ve said is, it’s going to be a real challenge,” Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Doug Zimmer said.
State Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, said the PUDs should press ahead. “I think it’s worth it until they get some ‘hell, no,’ at some point,” he said.
Hatfield said the agencies would “look ridiculous” to the public if they stopped the project.
“I’m still pretty confident they’ll be able to move forward,” Hatfield said. “I have to be confident because I think commonsense will win out.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, has met with utility and government officials about the proposal, but he has neither endorsed nor opposed the project.
Baird said he would like to see the wind farm built, but not if it turns out to be “the world’s largest marbled murrelet blender.”
“From a wind-energy standpoint, the site has a lot of appeal,” Baird said Wednesday. “The challenge is that there is really a substantial difference in opinions about the potential risk to marbled murrelets.”
Hatfield criticized the DNR for deciding recently not to consider leasing state land for a wind farm in Skamania County because the project might harm spotted owls. The senator said the decision suggested the department will resist a wind farm on Radar Ridge. “I’m very disappointed with the new lands commissioner (Peter Goldmark) so far,” Hatfield said.
Goldmark “is committed to renewable energy, but the challenge is the Endangered Species Act,” DNR spokesman Aaron Toso said. “We need to be pragmatic about it, and it comes down to making sure we do no harm.”
The public meetings hosted by the utilities on the project will be Tuesday at Grays Harbor PUD in Hoquiam, Nov. 17 at Naselle High School, and Nov. 18 at Raymond High School. All of the meetings will be from 6 to 9 p.m.
Will wind farm project fly?
Sunday, November 8, 2009 11:49 PM PST
By Don Jenkins
A proposal to build the first wind farm in Western Washington may stall, and may even be doomed, because of concern that turbine blades would kill members of an endangered bird species, a state lawmaker says.
“I’m just not feeling real confident that this is going to grab hold and move forward very fast,” Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, said last week. “There are key players who aren’t very supportive, and I think it’s going to hold this up. Is it going to kill it? I don’t know.”
Public-power developer Energy Northwest and four utility districts in Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam and Mason counties propose installing as many as 32 wind turbines on Radar Ridge in Pacific County. The wind farm would generate enough electricity for 18,000 homes and help the utilities meet a voter-approved mandate to invest in renewable energy. The towers, however, would be in the flight path of the federally protected marbled murrelet.
Consultants hired by Energy Northwest concluded recently that in a worst-case scenario a marbled murrelet would collide with a rotor about once every 18 months. Deaths could be further reduced by shutting down the towers during the breeding season, according to the report, which prompted the utilities to declare that their project would cause minor or insignificant harm to the species.
Another study commissioned by the state Department of Natural Resources made no attempt to pinpoint how many birds would be killed, but warned that some 87 marbled murrelets a year would fly through the wind farm and that the likelihood for deaths was high.
Spokesmen for the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the Endangered Species Act, said their agencies will hire outside experts to review Energy Northwest’s study.
In the meantime, the utilities will host a series of public meetings this month on the project. The utilities say they want to collect comments and get ready to apply for a federal permit that would allow them to operate a wind farm that might occasionally kill a marbled murrelet.
The utilities also will need permission from the DNR, which owns Radar Ridge and would collect potentially lucrative lease payments from the utilities.
Takko and the area’s other two state legislators back the wind farm, but Takko said federal and state regulators are cool to the project and that the PUDs may have to “pull the plug” rather than continuing to spend money on what could be a dead-end. “I don’t think it’s time quite yet, but we’re getting close,” he said.
Grays Harbor PUD, the largest utility involved in the project, has no plans to pull out, utility spokeswoman Liz Anderson said. “We’re proceeding forward and hope to complete the project,” she said.
Although state and federal agencies haven’t rejected the project, they’ve warned the utilities that pursuing the wind farm won’t be quick, easy or cheap.
“We’ve never said Radar Ridge can’t be permitted. What we’ve said is, it’s going to be a real challenge,” Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Doug Zimmer said.
State Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, said the PUDs should press ahead. “I think it’s worth it until they get some ‘hell, no,’ at some point,” he said.
Hatfield said the agencies would “look ridiculous” to the public if they stopped the project.
“I’m still pretty confident they’ll be able to move forward,” Hatfield said. “I have to be confident because I think commonsense will win out.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, has met with utility and government officials about the proposal, but he has neither endorsed nor opposed the project.
Baird said he would like to see the wind farm built, but not if it turns out to be “the world’s largest marbled murrelet blender.”
“From a wind-energy standpoint, the site has a lot of appeal,” Baird said Wednesday. “The challenge is that there is really a substantial difference in opinions about the potential risk to marbled murrelets.”
Hatfield criticized the DNR for deciding recently not to consider leasing state land for a wind farm in Skamania County because the project might harm spotted owls. The senator said the decision suggested the department will resist a wind farm on Radar Ridge. “I’m very disappointed with the new lands commissioner (Peter Goldmark) so far,” Hatfield said.
Goldmark “is committed to renewable energy, but the challenge is the Endangered Species Act,” DNR spokesman Aaron Toso said. “We need to be pragmatic about it, and it comes down to making sure we do no harm.”
The public meetings hosted by the utilities on the project will be Tuesday at Grays Harbor PUD in Hoquiam, Nov. 17 at Naselle High School, and Nov. 18 at Raymond High School. All of the meetings will be from 6 to 9 p.m.
Health Ministry Accounting Irregularity
JOINT STATEMENT
For immediate release
November 9, 2009 – Annapolis Valley Health, South Shore Health and South West Health have recently detected a significant accounting irregularity within their shared financial services impacting all three Districts.
The matter was reported to the Kentville Town Police Department and an investigation is ongoing. Criminal Charges are possible. The three Health Authorities are also together conducting their own forensic audit.
As a result of its own internal investigation, an employee based at Annapolis Valley Health has been dismissed for cause.
The full extent of these circumstances will not be known until the police investigation and audit are complete.
The three Health Authorities are cooperating fully with the police investigation and are unable to release any further detail pending completion of the investigation.
-30-
For clarification please call,
Tamara Gilley, AVH
(902) 538-3468
Theresa Hawkesworth, SSH
(902) 527-2266
Fraser Mooney, SWH
(902) 749-
For immediate release
November 9, 2009 – Annapolis Valley Health, South Shore Health and South West Health have recently detected a significant accounting irregularity within their shared financial services impacting all three Districts.
The matter was reported to the Kentville Town Police Department and an investigation is ongoing. Criminal Charges are possible. The three Health Authorities are also together conducting their own forensic audit.
As a result of its own internal investigation, an employee based at Annapolis Valley Health has been dismissed for cause.
The full extent of these circumstances will not be known until the police investigation and audit are complete.
The three Health Authorities are cooperating fully with the police investigation and are unable to release any further detail pending completion of the investigation.
-30-
For clarification please call,
Tamara Gilley, AVH
(902) 538-3468
Theresa Hawkesworth, SSH
(902) 527-2266
Fraser Mooney, SWH
(902) 749-
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