CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

South Bristol, N.Y. — State and federal authorities have largely ignored the needs of rural communities faced with pressure from industrial wind turbine developers.

That was the message delivered Tuesday during a more than three-hour forum at Bristol Harbour Resort sponsored by Citizen Power Alliance. Town supervisors from as far away as Wyoming County spoke on the panel that included an environmental attorney and Naples Town Supervisor Frank Duserick.

The panelists said their repeated calls for inquiries into the practices of wind turbine companies have fallen, for the most part, on deaf ears.

A number of communities are in legal battles with wind developers, including Italy in Yates County and the neighboring town of Prattsburgh in Steuben County. Concerns center on health and safety issues associated with noise from turbines close to homes, as well as government subsidies for the wind projects.

“It was a real eye-opener,” said Prattsburgh Town Board member Steve Kula, adding he supported wind turbines until he visited a home near one. He said he “heard the windows rattle and felt the rumble,” an experience you don’t have “when you are outside looking at them on a sunny day.”

Duserick said when his town complained last year to state authorities about the siting of wind turbines in neighboring Cohocton that were too close to the Naples town line, it got little response.

But Mary Wilmot, a representative from Gov. David Paterson who attended the forum, objected to criticism, saying she has been in contact with event organizer James Hall since September and has not been informed of any complaints.

Though dozens of state and federal lawmakers were invited to the forum, few sent representatives. However, U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning, sent two.

Massa had a letter read, that he has sent to President Barack Obama, calling for “responsible funding” of wind projects. Charles Bliss, an engineer with the state Department of State, attended the forum and answered questions about local laws.

Hall said he believes the event succeeded in getting the attention of those in power. The alliance is now planning a meeting with the top federal official with the Department of Energy advising Obama, he said.

“It’s been a long fight,” said Italy Town Supervisor Brad Jones.

The town spent some $65,000 in December alone on legal fees in fighting a lawsuit against wind farm developer Ecogen Wind LLC, he said, a cost the town can ill afford.

“Industrial wind has changed our lives,” he said.