DISMISSED!

The judge granted the Motion to Dismiss charges against the two Sterling College students, Trevor and Dave, who were arrested on the Nelsons’ property for violating the Temporary Restraining Order.

Read the Judge’s Dismissal Decision

  • The Court observes that under the Preliminary Injunction Green Mountain Power Corporation was ordered to ”. . .warn the public of any blasting.” Also, Green Mountain Power was ordered to ”. . .provide law enforcement with notice of blasting sufficient to allow for execution of this order. There was no evidence presented at the hearing from which the Court is able to find that Green Mountain Power Corporation complied with these Orders. In fact, the evidence received on this topic was that Green Mountain Power did not provide law enforcement with notice of the time that blasting would begin.

 

 

Thursday’s ‘Ridges Are Not Renewable Day’: Film, Experts Call For Pause in Big Wind Development

Thursday’s ‘Ridges Are Not Renewable Day’: Film, Experts Call For Pause in Big Wind Development 
Experts to Testify, “Impacts Need to be Assessed Before Development Continues”

On Thursday February 2nd utility-scale wind opponents from communities across Vermont will head to the State House for “Ridges Are Not Renewable Day.”  They will call on lawmakers to call a “time out” on further utility-scale wind development in the state to give regulators, communities, and experts time to assess impacts from recently constructed projects.

As part of the day’s events, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources Committee are expected to hear testimony from wildlife and water quality experts on the severity of the current impacts, and importance of protecting our resources to preserve our ability to adapt to climate change.

Later, community scale renewable energy advocacy non-profit Energize Vermont plans to debut a new documentary film examining the role of utility-scale wind development in Vermont’s energy mix, and calling for an end to the State’s ad-hoc approach to wind energy development.

After the film, experts from the film, and earlier testimony, will appear on a panel to answer questions from lawmakers and interested citizens. All are encouraged to attend ‘Ridges Are Not Renewable Day’ at the State House and learn more about why we must protect our ridgelines from unnecessary development.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

  • 11AM: Press Conference in Cedar Creek Room Hosted By Energize Vermont
  • 11:30AM: Expert Testimony in Senate Energy & Natural Resources
  • TBD: Expert Testimony in House Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources
  • 1PM: Energize Vermont Screens Documentary, “Wind in VT: Energy Vs. Our Mountains” in Meeting Room 10
  • 1:30PM: Panel of Experts Explains Their Position on Big Wind in Vermont
    • Charles Johnson, Former State Naturalist
    • Sue Morse, Wildlife Biologist
    • Geoff Goll, Hydrologist, Princeton Hydro
    • Annette Smith, Vermonters for a Clean Environment
    • Steve Wright, Former Commissioner of Fish & Wildlife Department
    • Ben Luce, Ph.D., Professor of Sustainability, Lyndon State College
    • Moderator: Lukas B. Snelling, Executive Director, Energize Vermont

Sunday Open House

30 hikers braved the 2 - 3 feet of snow on the mountain today. The first 2 hikers had the chore of breaking trail, building a fire and preparing hot chocolate for the ones that followed!  I was at the end of the pack so had a pretty easy climb following the footsteps and frozen steps of the ones before me. Gone were the days of wallowing in the mud from early fall to early winter.

As you can see the last of us had it pretty easy staying on top of the packed snow.  I also realized that under all this snow was a mud slide from the fall and early winter and knew that what we had caused was nothing compared to what the heavy equipment caused on the top. How much mud on the 30 to 50 foot slopes of new road was covered by the snow up there? What was it all going to look like this spring? Just how muddy were the brooks going to look  in April? Will the Public Service Board care about the brooks in Albany & Lowell? Will they fix it? Will the politicians in Montpelier fight for the environment here? Do they even care ?  At least 2 came to look today, Lucy Leriche on the mountain and Vicky Strong at the question, answer & slide show at The Albany School after the hike. Vicky had been to the mountain before but this was Lucy’s first visit.  The security guard kept us from seeing all of the destruction. We can only hope that Lucy could see what was happening under the cover of the pretty fresh fallen snow.

At The Top...

The people at this open house seemed to have a different mind set than at the other open houses that we have hosted. It was a more sullen group. Not alot of chatter and questions. More like… lets go see what it looks like now.  There were alot of people who had been up before and a few new comers including Lucy. The cold and the snow have a way of muting the destruction. I bet it doesn’t mute it for the animals & environment. It must intesify it. And today GMP workers weren’t working. The only noise came from the security guard’s truck running (which never gets turned off), the fire crackling, our voices and a few barking dogs.

Huddling Around The Fire On PrivateProperty!

After the hike we all assembled at the Albany Elementary School with lots of cookies, cider and a great slide show from a fellow hiker. The slides showed all the tower sites, blasting, road building and new views created by GMP!

Kestrel's Rope Course Near the Top

Trudging Through The Snow

Orleans Superior Court Hearings Jan. 26, 2012

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Listen to ChrisBraithwaite Motion to Dismiss Hearing

Listen to Sterling College Students Arrest Hearing Jan. 26, 2012

Video

Open House On Lowell Mountain Tomorrow!

Don’t forget there is another open house on the mountain tomorrow!  Go back to a few posts to get the details! Hope to see you there!

The Lowell Mountains now as seen from Craftsbury....

...as seen from Lowell

In the mean time here is what Mike Nelson had to say at Judge Maley’s Confirmation Hearing! Go Mike!

On October 14, 2011 the state’s largest utility, Green Mountain Power appeared before Judge Martin Maley in Superior Court waving a stack of paper and claiming that they would be sorely harmed if the judge did not grant an immediate temporary restraining to prevent landowners adjacent to their wind power construction site in Lowell, Vermont from using their own property during the hours of 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. This order expired on December 2, 2011.

Judge Maley bowed to the pressure of the large corporation and issued the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) without hearing from the property owner’s Donald and Shirley Nelson. The order effectively removed the land owners from a significant portion of their property – a border area that is 1000 feet wide and nearly 1.5 miles long (7200 ft). The land in question constitutes approximately 160 acres bordering the GMP Project on the northwest side of the Nelson property or, approximately 1/4 of their 600 acre farm. This order prevented the Nelson’s from using the property during this time period. The order violated the Nelson’s right to due process and long established rules were ignored.

Rule 65 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure (the Rule that governs the issuance of Temporary Restraining Orders), states in pertinent part:

“A temporary restraining order may be granted without … notice to the adverse party … only if  it clearly appears from specific facts shown by affidavit or by the verified complaint that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the applicant before the adverse party … can be heard in opposition.”

The Rule goes on to state:

“Every temporary restraining order granted without notice shall … state why the order was granted without notice.”

The petition for the TRO failed to meet the requirement of the Rule for issuance of an ex parte TRO. In this matter, the request for the temporary restraining order was made without notice to the Nelsons. The petition for the issuance of the temporary restraining order did not set forth “specific facts” to show that irreparable injury would result before the adverse party could be heard in opposition. In truth, had GMP notified the Nelsons on the Friday that GMP applied for the TRO, the Nelsons could have appeared before the judge in opposition on that same Friday. The injunctive relief was not requested to begin until the following Monday. This would have given the Nelsons the opportunity to appear would not have affected the timing for the issuance of the order, but would have allowed the Nelsons to state their position in opposition before the order became active.

Perhaps more importantly, the Rule requires that every TRO issued by the court without notice must state, in the order “why the order was granted without notice.” The TRO issued by the court gave no reasons why the order was granted without notice, in violation of the requirement of the Rule. The judge is required by Rule to state the reasons why a TRO is issued without notice. That was not done here. As a result, the injunction went into effect before the Nelsons had an opportunity to address the court. By the time the Nelsons had an opportunity to be heard, the order was in effect and the court was committed to the order that it issued.

Judge Maley is also hearing the case regarding a disputed property line between the Nelsons and GMP. No ruling has been issued and no date has been set for issuing the ruling. This further lack of due process afforded the Nelsons has allowed GMP to cut, blast, and irrevocably alter the Nelson property.

  • Are these examples of the type of flawed rulings that citizens of Vermont can expect from Judge Maley if this Committee confirms his nomination?
  • Can we expect that Judge Maley will continue to be bullied by large corporations and money interests into denying Vermont citizens their right to due process?
  • How will the Committee ensure that Judge Maley will follow the established rules of civil procedures and protect the rights of Vermont citizens under the law?

Seeing both sides. Photo of blast as seen from the east. Video of blast as seen from the north. Blowing the top off the mountain.

 

Sunday Ridgerunners

View of 2nd Met Tower From Nelson's Road

The Met Tower looked so much closer and taller this morning. It had only warmed up to 5 above. The frost on the mountain and the tower made everything look almost surreal. After seeing the movie  “ Windfall”  last night I realized what those close towers really meant for the Nelsons.  I knew now what it meant to be 1 mile or closer to those monstrosities.  How hard it must be for these people to leave such a beautiful place. A place they have called home for so many years. Where they raised their children and felt at home with the landscape and wild animals that were their neighbors. The land that they took care of.  It was such a pretty day and yet this doom seemed to hover in the air.

Three of us headed up to the Lowell Ridge Line. There was more snow than I expected. It’s just on the edge of needing snowshoes.  The climb up was pleasantly warm with the sun beating through the hardwoods. We had 3 dogs with us who sometimes chose to let us lead the way to pack the trail.

Looking Up!

As we made it to the top one of us had to leave with 2 of the dogs. The cold snow & ice was too much for one of the dogs feet. We said our goodbyes with regrets of splitting up. Myself and another went to the base of the Crane Path and listened….We thought we could hear a snowmobile but it was actually a plow truck.  The truck went South so we hopped onto the road and went North.

I hadn’t been past the 1st Met Tower since they cut the trees and built the road past it. The sun was still shining but it was colder with the wind. As we rounded the corner past the # 5 Tower site, heading North we saw the cut in the road and thought here we go again, mass destruction on the mountain. How could they do it? The  “Windfall”  movie came back to mind and I thought,  ” Oh yea, I keep forgetting it’s about money not the environment!”

The slide show at the end will take you with us as we traveled North and then dropped down on the Bailey Hazen Road to go back to our cars. There will be views looking in all directions. The pictures don’t do the beauty or the destruction justice. We met another lone Ridgerunner at the Northern end. We had seen his tracks on past hikes and he had seen ours. We exchanged pleasantries and thoughts about the project. He went South and we went East.

Everytime I leave the Mountain now I appreciate it more. It won’t be the same next time I hike up there. Those machines and that money are really doing a number on it…

Slide show is here.