Re-inventing History

A few days ago I put a post here called  “A Dangerous Premise” (see below).   This fantasy is promoted by the Cape Vincent JLL blogger Rick Wiley.  Here is a prime example of his premise.  A quote from his recent blog post.

“So, Article 10 did not go well for bp. And yes it worked for our community because fellow optimists made the law work for them. The threat of that law charged us up. This optimist and optimistic friends didn’t ignore the opportunity. Then,  frustrated by too many Article 10 hoops set up in a public arena,  bp announced that they were selling their American industrial wind interests and at the same time abandoning Cape Vincent "because the community didn’t want it".

This belief by Wiley he has been spreading around for some time and may be directly responsible for seasonal people changing their vote back to their home communities believing it’s all over and we won and there is no more threat. Wiley told us” wind was dead”.   I believe this was a direct reason for some pro wind people to get elected back to the CV town board leaving us vulnerable to another industrial wind attack in the future.  The season votes were lacking!  Even Wiley complained about it.

As you can see the bulk of the premise is that we “defeated” BP through participation in the Art. 10 process and writing a “good” wind law.  The Art 10 process “worked” he claims.

Well let’s take this fantasy apart shall we.

First go look at the NYPSC Art 10 website regarding the BP/CV matter.  

http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterSeq=40867  

Look at the actual “record” you will see in much the official correspondence from the town to the PSC and many of the public comments that they were mostly complaints about BP and how they were acting in the process.  You will see complaint after complaint about the process and the frustration by the town and their lawyer.

The bottom line is...this WAS NOT GOING WELL FOR THE TOWN as BP manipulated and controlled the process and left the town twisting in the wind!. 

Additional evidence is this comment from one of those letters where the town after months in this process doesn’t think the “opposition” is having any meaningful input. Below is the quote...

“The community of Cape Vincent has spoken in near harmony. We have listened to BP representatives for several years, but a steady series of non-answers leaves us with many unaddressed concerns about the project's impact on their health, safety and welfare. When does this opposition actually have a "meaningful" impact in the certification process?”

So for Wiley to somehow conclude that this all went well in CV is pure unadulterated nonsense and heavy PR spin...with NO facts, mind you, to back it up!  It’s nothing more than a desperate attempt to validate what he thinks supposedly was the right approach to fight wind.  And because the Art 10 process was NEVER COMPLTED in CV he now has the luxury to reinvent history to his whims!

It would be just like playing a game where the opposing team calls the game and was actually ahead and you make up a story that somehow you won.  It’s a delusion and a dangerous one at that!

Wiley quotes some obscure British business source as proof we defeated BP.  The source says BP left CV after lots of opposition.  It DOES NOT say they left BECAUSE of the opposition. It is a statement of sequential events...not necessarily correlating those events...more PR spin! 

The fact is BP left due to financial reasons and they were getting out of the wind business world wide...not just in CV.  AND several other local wind projects lagged as well at the same time due to the possible end to federal tax breaks and financial considerations.

And it cracks me up that Wiley concludes the Art 10 process didn’t go well for BP.  Not sure what planet he was on, but in some ways it went very well for BP.  Like at the end where to assist BP in attempting to sell their CV project the Art 10 judge extended the time for BP with  no solid deadline in the process to see if they could get a sale.  Then he would not even guarantee that if a sale occurred the new owner would have to start over.  This left the town waiting and “twisting in the wind” and the town and their lawyer complained about the process and how BP was manipulating it.

And Wiley continues to think that  participating in the Art 10 process and writing a good wind law is THE path to take.  But he has NO proof to back this claim ZERO!  The Art 10 process was never completed in CV so we don’t have a clue what the result would have been...and there hasn’t been one siting under Art 10 as of yet so we don’t know how those will come out either...NO PROOF.

But the real kicker against Wiley and his Art 10/ wind law  fantasy is Dennis Vacco an attorney now involved in NYS wind battles and who was a former NYS attorney general saying the Art 10 system is “UNTESTED as of yet.  Exactly what I have been saying for a long time.  At least Vacco is living in reality and exposes Wiley’s delusion!!!

These are the FACTS you can look up yourself in the NYPSC record I linked above.

Wiley and some of his flock in CV are living under a dangerous delusion of fantasy, rewriting history, and spin to make them look good...when the facts simply don’t back up this delusion.

STAY WITHIN THE LINES!!!!

A quote from Rick Wiley's Cape Vincent JLL blog regarding the state Art. 10 power plant siting process that removed your community's home rule.


"JLL Comment:  The Town of Somerset and the fierce opposition to the sacrifice of Western Lake Ontario Shores have taken on Article 10 by entering hundreds of comments and filed documents into the public record. They have voiced their   objections to the project as well as to the  law itself.

  It is NOT fierce opposition by participating, enabling, and validating a corporate lobbyist and government designed script  that already removed your rights and tightly defines where, when, and how you can object!

That's right...we have to keep our crayons within the lines so we can get our gold star on our forehead like we did in kindergarten!!!!

An interesting article regarding fighting against the state's Article 10 power plant sighting law.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/lyme-town-council-resolves-to-register-for-wind-project-party-status--20160811

This is something myself and Cape Vincent citizen Dave LaMora have been advocating since the Art. 10 law came about and removed local community home rule rights in 2011.

Mr. Wiley on the other hand at the CV JLL blog and his flock have  been calling us nut cases, lunatic, irrational, and handing out wooden nickels for supporting a wind ban and fighting Art 10 directly.  Looks like he and his flock may be becoming more and more a minority.

I noted that there isn't much on Wiley's blog about this today nor as of yet 8/11/16 11am he has been in the WDT comment section either.  Wanna make sure you keep the message tightly controlled!

Mr. Wiley on the other hand has been advocating for enabling and participating in the state's heavily  rigged Art. 10 process.

I guess, like the state, he and his blog flock have no problem that the state has determined that large multi-national / foreign wind developers should have more rights in your very own community THAN YOU DO, and you should just play along!

That is what you are supporting by participating in and enabling and validating the  state Art. 10 process!   And against this inordinately powerful and rigged system, he thinks a few letters will solve the problem!

I'm glad to see that some town officials are FINALLY getting it as to what the real problem is behind big wind in NYS.

A Dangerous Premise - Zero Facts to Back it Up!

There is what I consider a dangerous premise floating around in the NNY wind energy battle.

There are some, particularly from Cape Vincent (CV), that desperately want you to believe wind developer BP was defeated in CV by participating in the state Art. 10 power plant siting process, and writing restrictive wind regulations into the CV zoning.

Rick Wiley at his CV JLL blog is the leader of this flock.  As a result of this fantasy people feel that wind was defeated in CV and feel everything is just fine now and the town is protected and other towns should follow this lead.  

With the state pressing an aggressive renewable energy scheme, and CV still sitting near a good wind resource, and the state’s ability to override local zoning...this is a dangerous chute Wiley and others are leading the sheep into! 

So let’s look at reality. Because there is actual evidence to take apart this fantasy!

BP decided around 2013 to sell off its wind business around the globe.  Not just in CV.  Not long before they exited the solar business as well.   In large part this was due to financial issues brought on by their Gulf oil spill and the possibility the federal tax breaks for wind would expire soon.

As evidence that this premise of defeating BP in CV  is a lot of nonsense, it is important to note that at approximately the same time BP was exiting CV, Iberdrola abandoned  their wind project in Hammond, NY, and  they also shelved their Horse Creek project in Clayton, NY. And the Galloo Island project went on hold.  Again most likely due to the uncertainty surrounding federal tax breaks.

It was NOT just CV...it was a trend in the whole industry as wind projects across the country lagged.  BP was NOT defeated in CV by any zoning law or participation the the state Art 10 siting process! 

Although with an extension of the tax credits the Clayton and Galloo projects have  gained life again.  More evidence this was a major factor...not a zoning law.   

Now ... knowing the REALITY of what occurred with wind energy locally and around the US, and BP’s particular financial issues read what The Watertown Daily Times says about some CV officials who were in the Art 10 and wind law process.

“They argue that Cape Vincent’s decade-long wind battle with BP, which abandoned its effort in 2014, illustrates that the development of a strong zoning law is the most effective ammunition against wind projects."

That is a great fantasy...but the FACTS simply DO NOT support that claim!  Besides, Clayton has a relatively strong wind law, and guess what...Iberdrola is right back reviving its Horse Creek project in the Art. 10 process now the federal tax breaks are in play again and the hopes of a Clinton presidency, and they are confident they can get the state to override Clayton’s zoning law.  The Lighthouse wind project in W. NY is facing tough wind laws and they are still plugging forward.

Then you have this fairy tale from the chairman of the committee who drafted the CV wind zoning.

“Although BP challenged Cape Vincent’s zoning law during the Article 10 review, he said, the PSC decided not to override it.

“BP asked them to throw it aside early in the process, and they didn’t do it. The assumption is they decided it was valid,” said Mr. Brown...” 

Well you assumed wrong Mr. Brown, and there are ZERO FACTS to back your claim.  I have been through the official Art 10 record many times on the CV/BP matter and there is NOTHING in the documentation that supports this nonsense.

Yes... in the Art. 10 process there was discussion at the official level of the CV zoning, but the NYPSC never made any official declaration of any kind that it was upholding the CV law against BP...NONE!

Why is this so inaccurate?  Simply because Brown and some people in CV, so overly committed to their approach, want to desperately believeand want YOU to believe  this actually happened and they defeated BP in this manner attempting  to validate what they did.  It is a dangerous and false message to pad some big egos.

Here are the FACTS.  The Art 10 process was NEVER COMPLETED in CV since BP walked away from their project for financial reasons.  They were NOT defeated by local laws!  The process NEVER reached the point at the end in a public hearing where CV could defend their law and the siting board would either waive the law or uphold all or parts of it.  Brown is badly misrepresenting the facts.

The NYPSC may not have over turned the zoning at a request from BP up front, but that was because it would have been inappropriate at that time and they weren’t at the proper point in the process to address that matter, plus the town had not had the opportunity to defend its law  in an official manner before a public hearing before the Art 10 siting board.

The NYPSC essentially did NOTHING...and we have ZERO clue whether they would have upheld OR overturned the CV zoning as BP requested.  We NEVER reached that point in the Art 10 process, and the process was never even finished.  There is no way to know how it would have turned out.

I challenge anyone, particularly Mr. Wiley, Mr. Brown, or anyone perpetuating this fantasy, to find any OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION in the NYPSC CV/BP record that the Art 10 siting board officially made a statement upholding the CV zoning law and post in here or on Wiley's blog.

Besides if that had occurred, it would have been a HUGE news story given the controversial nature of the NYS and local wind issue!

It is a bit frightening that the people who wrote the CV zoning and participated in the Art. 10 process for months, and their supporters like Wiley, are so far askew of the facts and then advising other people how to handle the wind issue.  

Of course if you consider this in context, that about a year after Brown led the CV zoning law effort, he and other zoning officials screwed up reading, interpreting, and applying simple provisions in the new CV zoning THEY WROTE, that it was a huge embarrassment that even made front page news in the WDT paper.  

And of course Mr. Wiley never reported those facts on his blog!

Apparently he and the CV zoning officials didn’t have a grasp on the issue even back then!

Yet these people are now running around suggesting we should follow CV’s zoning and Art 10 process example...when they don’t even understand the FACTS of what happened and later screwed up their own zoning and they have NO CLUE how the process would have concluded because it never finished!

The game was called... there was no score... actually the score was against them, and they are trying to convince  you they won and should bet on their team’s approach!  It is just plain NUTS!!!