Best interest in mind

In last week’s Whitman County Gazette, Vestas/Steelhead Americas/Harvest Hills Wind claimed their “goal is to be responsible to community” and “to partner with the communities”. This is disingenuous PR messaging and we’re not fooled. They do not have our best interest in mind.

If Harvest Hills Wind truly wanted support for their project, they would have been transparent from the day they entered the county. A true partner would have initiated an early dialog with the residents of Whitman County on site selection, protecting land/home values, preserving our treasured scenic landscapes and recreation areas, and would have addressed the serious potential health concerns from their practice of placing these massive wind turbines dangerously close to homes. But they did not.

Harvest Hills Wind also referenced the “economic impact” of their commercial wind project, but the truth is that placing 45 massive wind turbines in the heart of the Palouse will be devastating to our local economy given the lost tourism revenue that keeps our small town motels, restaurants, and mom and pop shops afloat. The County needs to address the concerns of the residents and immediately place a temporary moratorium on permit applications while they work to shore up the outdated and industrial wind code to serve residents, not private corporations.

Jack Lien,

Palouse