Opponents of a proposed $300-million Nimbus Wind Facility next to County Road 905 near Green Forest are concerned about the lack of public notice for the facility. A meeting, closed to the public and press, is scheduled March 14 between a representative of the proposed facility’s developer, Scout Clean Energy; County Judge David Writer, Justice of the Peace John Howerton, who presents the area that would be impacted, and an attorney representing the county.
Former County Judge Richard Williams lives on a ranch near the path of the project that calls for 43 turbines to be installed near CR 905. Williams said while it is legal for a county judge to meet with one JP and a representative of the company, he doesn’t think it is right.
“Why all the secrecy?” Williams asks. “What do they not want the public to know? What would the county have to do with a private project and private landowners? Where is our transparency in government that everyone always talks about? If it has to do with widening and filling in of CR 905, the judge can’t go off signing contracts for everyone. There are limitations to what the county judge can do.”
Writer said the purpose of the meeting is for him to learn more about the proposed project by meeting with Dave Iadarola, senior project manager at Scout Clean Energy.
“This is a preliminary meeting as far as I’m concerned,” Writer said. “I will urge him to hold a public meeting, a town hall meeting, sometime fairly quickly. That way the citizens in Carroll County can get their questions answered. I’m not able to answer those questions because I don’t have that information. We will go over the roads, I will tell him my concerns and I will get a few answers, also.”
Former County Judge Sam Barr said he met with company officials regarding the wind project a long time ago and gave the company permission to apply for a grant from the federal government to place the facility in Carroll County.
“I didn’t see no need to have approval from the quorum court,” Barr said. “The quorum court couldn’t approve it anyhow. Only the county judge could approve it.”
District 11 Justice of the Peace John Howerton said the purpose of the meeting March 14 is for Scout to discuss their use of CR 905 and ask permission to make improvements to the road.
“I was asked to sit in on the meeting because most of it is happening in the area I represent,” Howerton said. “We are going to ask Scout to hold a public meeting sometime in the future. All this is preliminary. I know a couple of landowners who have been under contract with Scout for a number of years. Scout has told them they are moving ahead with the project. What that entails as far as what Scout is proposing near CR 905 is up in the air. All that is private information, really. I’m confident Scout would like the public to know its true intentions.”
Iadarola said the company has been holding on-going meetings with county officials to discuss a road-use agreement. He said this agreement would ensure that the project is responsible for any damage to the roads during construction.
“There has been a lot of misinformation spread about the project and we are hoping to provide accurate and factual information to the local community,” Iadarola said. “That’s why we are planning to host a series of open house information sessions to allow the community to learn more about this exciting economic opportunity for Carroll County.”
Howerton has asked for Caroline Rogers, a resident of CR 905 who opposes having wind turbines near her, to be allowed ten minutes to speak at the quorum court meeting March 21 at 5 p.m. Howerton said he also plans to ask for Scout Clean Energy to be allowed ten minutes to speak at the meeting.
Iadarola said Scout has signed lease agreements with all the private landowners needed for the Nimbus Wind Facility that would generate 180 megawatts of power. The company has also said that it doesn’t need any permits from the Arkansas Public Service Commission, which normally evaluates the need for the project and environmental impacts. Scout said it has leases from private landowners to build a nearly four-mile transmission line to connect into the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. lines and then flow into the regional transmission organization MISO. Iadarola said several customers have expressed interest in purchasing the power generated, which would diversify their sources of power.
Opponents have been organizing to get people to attend the quorum court meeting March 21 to make presentations during public comments. Williams said they are expecting a packed courthouse, and he has heard that the number of people allowed to speak against it will be limited. Public comments are limited to three minutes per person unless a speaker has been put on the agenda.
“They don’t want to be there all night long listening to the public,” Williams said. “The company doesn’t want the public’s input. If they wanted the public’s input, they wouldn’t have gone this far without having a public meeting.”