Welcome to Indiana Wind Watch
Our Mission
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We are a self-funded grassroots organization of volunteers in Indiana concerned about the health, safety, and wellness of Hoosiers forced to live near industrial wind turbines. It is our mission to protect every Hoosier from the unfortunate fate of living near irresponsibly-sited industrial wind turbines.
If you live in Indiana and are concerned about an industrial wind turbine project being planned for your community, please join us in protecting rural Hoosiers. |
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"Destruction of our natural heritage masquerades as the pursuit of green energy." Helen Douglas
Residents Oppose Wind Projects in These Counties
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Citizens Request Protective Ordinance in these Counties:
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Bans on Industrial Wind Turbines or Protective Ordinances:
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Current News
Cass County
A RES rep and Commissioners have said the Harvest Wind project is "on hold" for now.
Cass County Commissioners' request that the court dismiss citizens lawsuit was DENIED! The matter will move forward. Citizens are suing for setbacks from industrial wind turbines to property lines rather than to homes. Setbacks to homes constitutes the taking of property and rights as landowners will be unable to build on their own property between their home and an industrial wind turbine.
Cass County continues its opposition to the RES project. “Susan Selim, Logansport, shared a 2016 report on thriving rural and medium-sized Indiana towns at Monday's commissioners meeting. She said it addressed three qualities thriving rural communities share: quality of relationships among residents, trust in public officials and natural resources. Bringing industrial wind turbines to Cass County would violate all three of those qualities, she continued. Selim also said a petition calling for Cass County's wind turbine setbacks to be a half-mile from nonparticipating property lines exceeds 1,800 signatures.”
Clinton County
Clinton County Commissioners enacted a moratorium on wind development. E.ON is interested in a project there but Commissioners seem to be holding the line on their moratorium.
Fulton County
In Fulton County, a local citizens group opposing a proposed commercial wind farm chalked up another win. “Two of three Fulton County Commissioners, Bryan Lewis and Rick Ranstead, signed a pledge stating that as long as they hold public office they will not allow commercial wind turbines in the county. Commissioner Steve Metzger refused to sign, saying he wasn’t interested.”
Henry County
Henry County citizens are fighting off three wind companies while election season heats up fast. Their No Wind Henry County group is putting forth strong candidates for some key seats in their county. We wish these candidates the best of luck: Ed Tarantino - Commissioner, Kenon Gray - County Council, Susan Huhn - County Council, and Peg Stefandel - County Council. Susan Huhn traveled to the Statehouse to speak in favor of House Bill 1338, representing her county well. We need more citizens across the state who care about the wind issue to take this important step and run for office and local change. Henry County was also well represented at the Statehouse in October 2017 where the Summer Study Session on wind issues was discussed. Also of note in Henry County, the ordinance is being contested with a petition for judicial review, and the Commissioners are now in the process of amending another ordinance.
Jasper County
Jasper County has an extremely important meeting at the Jasper County Fairgrounds on June 25 at 7:00 p.m. central time. It is the first time the Jasper County Plan Commissioner will officially discuss wind energy and possible changes to the wind ordinance, which is the typical White/Benton County copied ordinance. Opposition is mounting against another RES wind turbine project. Citizens groups, made up largely of landowners with a significant amount of land, are opposing the project. According to locals, aeronautical studies have been filed with the FAA on landowners' property who did not sign up for wind turbines on their ground. It is unclear why the wind company would be doing this. It is our understanding that the American taxpayers may be the ones footing the bill for these studies, many of which are for bogus locations for wind turbines. Landowners in Fulton, Cass, and Miami are noticing the same thing. Jasper County Landowners have indicated NextEra is also in their area getting contracts signed.
Miami County
Commissioner Larry West indicated after the 6/18 Commissioner meeting to a few in the crowd that the wind project is "dead" but Economic Development Director Tidd said it is only on hold, and Cass County Commissioners confirmed "on hold" at their meeting the same day for the Harvest Wind project.
A lawsuit filed against Miami County Commissioners by Miami County landowners alleging the taking of property and rights with setbacks to homes rather than property lines has been moved from Miami County Courts to Fulton County's Christopher Lee's Court (the Miami County judge recused himself because he works with the Commissioners) in July. It is anticipated that the new ordinance described below will become law on July 11th.
On Wed April 11th, the Miami Co Planning Commission voted 6-3 to amend the WECS ordinance! The changes include: 2000 ft setback to property line, 2000 ft setback from public roads, 2000 ft setback from public utility easements, 1/2 mile setback from rivers, as well as setbacks from conservation lands and wetlands.
Montgomery County - Montgomery County's No Wind group is at least 1,100 - and growing strong. Their challenges are unique in that their county does not have wind in its ordinance and they are working diligently to get protections in place for residents.
Pulaski County -
"Arbitrary" is the best word to describe the Pulaski Plan Commission meeting on 6/12/18, and it was an exercise in frustration for those watching it all unfold. Not one person in attedance was in support of wind turbines except for apparently five people on the board. Early on when Plan Commission president Jim Thompson tried to take a vote on setback numbers, the board was advised by Advisor to the Board Nathan Origer to come to a consensus on each issue and NOT take a vote. Then the negotiations ensued based not on research for what is safe and will protect citizens' property rights, health and safety, but arbitrary numbers as those that were concerned about health, safety and wellness had to negotiate with the officials who want wind turbines and to heck with the consequences of what it will do to this county and the people living near the monstrosities that will be erected. Commissioner Jerry Locke said if people want wind turbines they should be able to have them - remember that, voters! Later, AFTER setbacks and noise levels (not protective enough) were decided upon, the county lawyer warned the board that they needed to have facts and data to support their reasoning in case there would ever be a lawsuit and they would have to explain the evidence for how they decided on what they are putting in the ordinance. At that point they should have started over and gone back and looked at research and evidence for noise and setbacks. It appeared some board members had brought research with them (because they had discussed some of it in previous meetings) and they had folders of information they had brought with them, and Jim Thompson had even tried in the beginning when he said things like, "From everything I've read..." as he was defending 3/4 mile setbacks and 4X height of the tower in the beginning of the meeting. Lawrence Loehmer continued with diatribes throughout the night about the unfairness of people who can't get turbines on their land if they want them, there were people in attendance "protesting" who he didn't think should be there who had been at meetings in another county, and how we need green energy and that wind energy is the cheapest energy (not true). When they finally got to the flicker issue, Mike Tiede said, ""If you don't want the windmill, I don't think you should have to live with the flicker!" He went on to say, "I'm the guy that didn't want the big setback but I think people should have the right to their own land. You also got the guy that doesn't want them [windmills], so he should also have the right to his own land." And then the board decided to ALLOW flicker on neighboring properties for 30 min. a day for 30 days but admitted they have no way to police that. The Plan Commission will vote on these changes at their June 21 meeting. When they officially approve these changes, we hope the Commissioners REJECT these recommendations and send it back to the Plan Commission with more restrictive noise limits and greater setbacks to property lines. As of last night, this is what they are recommending for commercial wind:
51 decibels noise during the day, 40 decibels at night
Setbacks 3.5 X height of tower or 1,320 feet from property lines, whichever is greater
1.5 X the height of the tower to a road right-of-way
6 mile setback for wind turbines to Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area
1 mile setback from each bank of the Tippecanoe River
Private airport 2 3/4 mile setback
Setback from incorporated municipal village limits 1/2 mile
30 min. of shadow flicker allowed for 30 days
They will allow a bond for decommissioning money or Commissioners can decide if they want decommissioning money to be put in escrow.
Plan Commission members include: Jerry Locke, Mike Tiede, Phil Woolery, Rick Stone, Lawrence Loehmer, Matt Rausch, Abby Shidler-Dickey, Doug McKinley and Jim Thompson.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PULASKI PLAN COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLNESS OF THEIR COMMUNITY:
Abby Shidler-Dickey, Matt Rausch, Doug McKinley, and Jim Thompson. Please call the others listed above with your concerns
Several Residents Share Disapproval Of Wind Turbines
BY: AMBER L. TOMLINSON, Pulaski News Journal 4/13/18
The last couple rows of seating were filled at the commissioners’ meeting with locals who voiced their contempt for wind turbines.
Several Federal Aviation Administration filings and phasing maps have come to the attention of residents as a company is looking at potential development of a wind farm on the west side of the county. None of the filings have been approved, but county commissioners have received several questions and comments about the wind turbines.
Pulaski County Community Development Commission (CDC) Executive Director Nathan Origer proposed, during a regular commissioners’ meeting Monday morning, that an informational session be held for the public. Origer said the idea is to hold a session without a wind turbine company but with people who live next to wind turbines. He would like to bring elected officials and residents who are living with wind turbines to the session so they can give the pros and cons of it. He does not want to invite those counties or residents that are currently fighting about the issue. Origer would also like to discuss what zoning can be permitted regarding wind turbines.
He hopes the session will inform not only property owners but also town and county officials.
Commissioner Kenny Becker said he would like to see the information session happen as soon as possible.
This is not the first time the county has been approached about wind turbines. A company was once interested in coming to the county with a wind farm but because local residents said they were not in favor of them, they left.
Zoning for wind turbines is addressed in the unified development ordinance. The language pertaining to the wind turbines remained largely unchanged from the previous zoning ordinance that was written before Origer was hired and was adopted shortly after he started working.
If the wind turbines are to be built in Pulaski County, whether in the county zoning or Francesville zoning, there will be a public hearing to discuss a change to the zoning or a special exception. If a zoning change is sought then the county commissioners would have the final say on it.
If the wind turbines crossed through Pulaski and Jasper counties then the companies would have to follow different sets of guidelines. Of the potential 34 wind turbines, there are about 18 that would fall under the county zoning jurisdiction and 16 are in Francesville’s jurisdiction.
Becker suggested that those who were in the crowd also talk with the Francesville Town Council.
Building inspector Doug Hoover said several phone calls have been made to the department but nothing has been filed with his office regarding wind turbines.
Tipton County Council
The Auditor of Tipton County, Gregg Townsend, appears on a billboard in Montgomery County with a quote saying that Tipton County Supports Wind.
At the Tipton Co. Council meeting this week, Mr. Townsend was questioned on this public statement appearing on the billboard. The message is being taken as a blanket statement representing the position of the entire County, which members of Council, Commissioner Mullins, and citizens of Tipton County find unacceptable.
Don’t miss this.
Meeting link appears here. Go to the 1 hour 55 minute mark:
https://livestream.com/accounts/21146465/events/8114286
Last October, Mr. Townsend spoke openly FOR WIND at the Summer Study Hearing at the Statehouse. He spoke as Tipton County AUDITOR, as an OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE of his county. After the hearing, one bystander mentioned to Mr. Townsend that he failed to share with the Summer Study Members that Tipton County INCREASED their setbacks AFTER that first phase of turbines was erected.that Tipton County, by and large, does NOT support Wind or further development in the county. Now, Mr. Townsend continues to tout support for Wind Energy, portraying that the entire County enthusiastically supports wind energy, and is encouraging other Indiana counties to do the same.
We say: TAKE DOWN THE BILLBOARD, MR. TOWNSEND.
IURC Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
NEXTERA EVIDENTIARY HEARING AT THE STATEHOUSE
NEXTERA EVIDENTIARY HEARING AT THE STATEHOUSE ON OCTOBER 22, 2018.
The Presiding Officers, having reviewed the Motion, hereby GRANT the Motion. The procedural schedule in this Cause is revised as follows: 1. Petitioner shall file its supplemental case-in-chief filing on or before August 28, 2018. 2. The OUCC shall file its reply to Petitioner's supplemental filing on or before September 20, 2018. 3. Petitioner shall file its rebuttal on or before October 5, 2018. 4. The evidentiary hearing previously scheduled for April 19, 2018 has been moved to October 22, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 224 of the PNC Center, 101 West Washington Street, 101 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. 5. Proposed orders and supporting briefs shall be filed on or before November 2, 2018. 6. The Commission shall issue an order in this Cause on or before December 31, 2018.
A RES rep and Commissioners have said the Harvest Wind project is "on hold" for now.
Cass County Commissioners' request that the court dismiss citizens lawsuit was DENIED! The matter will move forward. Citizens are suing for setbacks from industrial wind turbines to property lines rather than to homes. Setbacks to homes constitutes the taking of property and rights as landowners will be unable to build on their own property between their home and an industrial wind turbine.
Cass County continues its opposition to the RES project. “Susan Selim, Logansport, shared a 2016 report on thriving rural and medium-sized Indiana towns at Monday's commissioners meeting. She said it addressed three qualities thriving rural communities share: quality of relationships among residents, trust in public officials and natural resources. Bringing industrial wind turbines to Cass County would violate all three of those qualities, she continued. Selim also said a petition calling for Cass County's wind turbine setbacks to be a half-mile from nonparticipating property lines exceeds 1,800 signatures.”
Clinton County
Clinton County Commissioners enacted a moratorium on wind development. E.ON is interested in a project there but Commissioners seem to be holding the line on their moratorium.
Fulton County
In Fulton County, a local citizens group opposing a proposed commercial wind farm chalked up another win. “Two of three Fulton County Commissioners, Bryan Lewis and Rick Ranstead, signed a pledge stating that as long as they hold public office they will not allow commercial wind turbines in the county. Commissioner Steve Metzger refused to sign, saying he wasn’t interested.”
Henry County
Henry County citizens are fighting off three wind companies while election season heats up fast. Their No Wind Henry County group is putting forth strong candidates for some key seats in their county. We wish these candidates the best of luck: Ed Tarantino - Commissioner, Kenon Gray - County Council, Susan Huhn - County Council, and Peg Stefandel - County Council. Susan Huhn traveled to the Statehouse to speak in favor of House Bill 1338, representing her county well. We need more citizens across the state who care about the wind issue to take this important step and run for office and local change. Henry County was also well represented at the Statehouse in October 2017 where the Summer Study Session on wind issues was discussed. Also of note in Henry County, the ordinance is being contested with a petition for judicial review, and the Commissioners are now in the process of amending another ordinance.
Jasper County
Jasper County has an extremely important meeting at the Jasper County Fairgrounds on June 25 at 7:00 p.m. central time. It is the first time the Jasper County Plan Commissioner will officially discuss wind energy and possible changes to the wind ordinance, which is the typical White/Benton County copied ordinance. Opposition is mounting against another RES wind turbine project. Citizens groups, made up largely of landowners with a significant amount of land, are opposing the project. According to locals, aeronautical studies have been filed with the FAA on landowners' property who did not sign up for wind turbines on their ground. It is unclear why the wind company would be doing this. It is our understanding that the American taxpayers may be the ones footing the bill for these studies, many of which are for bogus locations for wind turbines. Landowners in Fulton, Cass, and Miami are noticing the same thing. Jasper County Landowners have indicated NextEra is also in their area getting contracts signed.
Miami County
Commissioner Larry West indicated after the 6/18 Commissioner meeting to a few in the crowd that the wind project is "dead" but Economic Development Director Tidd said it is only on hold, and Cass County Commissioners confirmed "on hold" at their meeting the same day for the Harvest Wind project.
A lawsuit filed against Miami County Commissioners by Miami County landowners alleging the taking of property and rights with setbacks to homes rather than property lines has been moved from Miami County Courts to Fulton County's Christopher Lee's Court (the Miami County judge recused himself because he works with the Commissioners) in July. It is anticipated that the new ordinance described below will become law on July 11th.
On Wed April 11th, the Miami Co Planning Commission voted 6-3 to amend the WECS ordinance! The changes include: 2000 ft setback to property line, 2000 ft setback from public roads, 2000 ft setback from public utility easements, 1/2 mile setback from rivers, as well as setbacks from conservation lands and wetlands.
Montgomery County - Montgomery County's No Wind group is at least 1,100 - and growing strong. Their challenges are unique in that their county does not have wind in its ordinance and they are working diligently to get protections in place for residents.
Pulaski County -
"Arbitrary" is the best word to describe the Pulaski Plan Commission meeting on 6/12/18, and it was an exercise in frustration for those watching it all unfold. Not one person in attedance was in support of wind turbines except for apparently five people on the board. Early on when Plan Commission president Jim Thompson tried to take a vote on setback numbers, the board was advised by Advisor to the Board Nathan Origer to come to a consensus on each issue and NOT take a vote. Then the negotiations ensued based not on research for what is safe and will protect citizens' property rights, health and safety, but arbitrary numbers as those that were concerned about health, safety and wellness had to negotiate with the officials who want wind turbines and to heck with the consequences of what it will do to this county and the people living near the monstrosities that will be erected. Commissioner Jerry Locke said if people want wind turbines they should be able to have them - remember that, voters! Later, AFTER setbacks and noise levels (not protective enough) were decided upon, the county lawyer warned the board that they needed to have facts and data to support their reasoning in case there would ever be a lawsuit and they would have to explain the evidence for how they decided on what they are putting in the ordinance. At that point they should have started over and gone back and looked at research and evidence for noise and setbacks. It appeared some board members had brought research with them (because they had discussed some of it in previous meetings) and they had folders of information they had brought with them, and Jim Thompson had even tried in the beginning when he said things like, "From everything I've read..." as he was defending 3/4 mile setbacks and 4X height of the tower in the beginning of the meeting. Lawrence Loehmer continued with diatribes throughout the night about the unfairness of people who can't get turbines on their land if they want them, there were people in attendance "protesting" who he didn't think should be there who had been at meetings in another county, and how we need green energy and that wind energy is the cheapest energy (not true). When they finally got to the flicker issue, Mike Tiede said, ""If you don't want the windmill, I don't think you should have to live with the flicker!" He went on to say, "I'm the guy that didn't want the big setback but I think people should have the right to their own land. You also got the guy that doesn't want them [windmills], so he should also have the right to his own land." And then the board decided to ALLOW flicker on neighboring properties for 30 min. a day for 30 days but admitted they have no way to police that. The Plan Commission will vote on these changes at their June 21 meeting. When they officially approve these changes, we hope the Commissioners REJECT these recommendations and send it back to the Plan Commission with more restrictive noise limits and greater setbacks to property lines. As of last night, this is what they are recommending for commercial wind:
51 decibels noise during the day, 40 decibels at night
Setbacks 3.5 X height of tower or 1,320 feet from property lines, whichever is greater
1.5 X the height of the tower to a road right-of-way
6 mile setback for wind turbines to Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area
1 mile setback from each bank of the Tippecanoe River
Private airport 2 3/4 mile setback
Setback from incorporated municipal village limits 1/2 mile
30 min. of shadow flicker allowed for 30 days
They will allow a bond for decommissioning money or Commissioners can decide if they want decommissioning money to be put in escrow.
Plan Commission members include: Jerry Locke, Mike Tiede, Phil Woolery, Rick Stone, Lawrence Loehmer, Matt Rausch, Abby Shidler-Dickey, Doug McKinley and Jim Thompson.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PULASKI PLAN COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLNESS OF THEIR COMMUNITY:
Abby Shidler-Dickey, Matt Rausch, Doug McKinley, and Jim Thompson. Please call the others listed above with your concerns
Several Residents Share Disapproval Of Wind Turbines
BY: AMBER L. TOMLINSON, Pulaski News Journal 4/13/18
The last couple rows of seating were filled at the commissioners’ meeting with locals who voiced their contempt for wind turbines.
Several Federal Aviation Administration filings and phasing maps have come to the attention of residents as a company is looking at potential development of a wind farm on the west side of the county. None of the filings have been approved, but county commissioners have received several questions and comments about the wind turbines.
Pulaski County Community Development Commission (CDC) Executive Director Nathan Origer proposed, during a regular commissioners’ meeting Monday morning, that an informational session be held for the public. Origer said the idea is to hold a session without a wind turbine company but with people who live next to wind turbines. He would like to bring elected officials and residents who are living with wind turbines to the session so they can give the pros and cons of it. He does not want to invite those counties or residents that are currently fighting about the issue. Origer would also like to discuss what zoning can be permitted regarding wind turbines.
He hopes the session will inform not only property owners but also town and county officials.
Commissioner Kenny Becker said he would like to see the information session happen as soon as possible.
This is not the first time the county has been approached about wind turbines. A company was once interested in coming to the county with a wind farm but because local residents said they were not in favor of them, they left.
Zoning for wind turbines is addressed in the unified development ordinance. The language pertaining to the wind turbines remained largely unchanged from the previous zoning ordinance that was written before Origer was hired and was adopted shortly after he started working.
If the wind turbines are to be built in Pulaski County, whether in the county zoning or Francesville zoning, there will be a public hearing to discuss a change to the zoning or a special exception. If a zoning change is sought then the county commissioners would have the final say on it.
If the wind turbines crossed through Pulaski and Jasper counties then the companies would have to follow different sets of guidelines. Of the potential 34 wind turbines, there are about 18 that would fall under the county zoning jurisdiction and 16 are in Francesville’s jurisdiction.
Becker suggested that those who were in the crowd also talk with the Francesville Town Council.
Building inspector Doug Hoover said several phone calls have been made to the department but nothing has been filed with his office regarding wind turbines.
Tipton County Council
The Auditor of Tipton County, Gregg Townsend, appears on a billboard in Montgomery County with a quote saying that Tipton County Supports Wind.
At the Tipton Co. Council meeting this week, Mr. Townsend was questioned on this public statement appearing on the billboard. The message is being taken as a blanket statement representing the position of the entire County, which members of Council, Commissioner Mullins, and citizens of Tipton County find unacceptable.
Don’t miss this.
Meeting link appears here. Go to the 1 hour 55 minute mark:
https://livestream.com/accounts/21146465/events/8114286
Last October, Mr. Townsend spoke openly FOR WIND at the Summer Study Hearing at the Statehouse. He spoke as Tipton County AUDITOR, as an OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE of his county. After the hearing, one bystander mentioned to Mr. Townsend that he failed to share with the Summer Study Members that Tipton County INCREASED their setbacks AFTER that first phase of turbines was erected.that Tipton County, by and large, does NOT support Wind or further development in the county. Now, Mr. Townsend continues to tout support for Wind Energy, portraying that the entire County enthusiastically supports wind energy, and is encouraging other Indiana counties to do the same.
We say: TAKE DOWN THE BILLBOARD, MR. TOWNSEND.
IURC Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
NEXTERA EVIDENTIARY HEARING AT THE STATEHOUSE
NEXTERA EVIDENTIARY HEARING AT THE STATEHOUSE ON OCTOBER 22, 2018.
The Presiding Officers, having reviewed the Motion, hereby GRANT the Motion. The procedural schedule in this Cause is revised as follows: 1. Petitioner shall file its supplemental case-in-chief filing on or before August 28, 2018. 2. The OUCC shall file its reply to Petitioner's supplemental filing on or before September 20, 2018. 3. Petitioner shall file its rebuttal on or before October 5, 2018. 4. The evidentiary hearing previously scheduled for April 19, 2018 has been moved to October 22, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 224 of the PNC Center, 101 West Washington Street, 101 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. 5. Proposed orders and supporting briefs shall be filed on or before November 2, 2018. 6. The Commission shall issue an order in this Cause on or before December 31, 2018.
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