Published: November 21, 2009 08:46 pm      

Property owners speak out on windmills

BLUEFIELD, Va. — Some land owners on East River Mountain are beginning to question the need for a proposed tall structure ordinance in Tazewell County.

If the land owners wish to allow energy companies to erect wind turbines on their property, that should be the right of the land owners as long as the project meets all state and federal requirements, according to Ron Chambers, who owns about 160 acres of land on East River Mountain.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” Chambers said of the large-scale wind farm proposed by Dominion and BP. “If they are going to put this kind of money in it it is going to be a pretty large undertaking. It will benefit the area. The stores and the motels. It’s a very positive thing as far as money coming into the county.”

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Chambers expressed concerns about the ability of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors to pass a tall structure ordinance without prior zoning being already in place.

Alex Payne, another property owner on East River Mountain who addressed the supervisors last week, said BP and Dominion want to be good corporate neighbors in the region.

“They’ve been very good,” Payne said of the two energy companies. “They have come in and answered all of the questions we’ve asked.”

Payne, who owns a family farm that goes to the top of East River Mountain, said Dominion and BP aren’t planning on blasting or destroying the ridgeline.

“We’ve been to the top of East River Mountain several times,” Payne said. “It’s a big wide area. There is no blasting that will be going on. They want to leave it intact. They don’t want to spend money to blast it or level it.”

However, opponents of the wind farm, including members of the Mountain Preservation Association, argue the project will negatively impact the environment, property values and tourism. The group is urging the Board of Supervisors to adopt the tall structure, or ridgeline protection ordinance. The ordinance — if approved by the supervisors — would regulate the development of tall structures along certain protected mountain ridges, including East River Mountain.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com