Union Beach and the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority are currently awaiting the decision of the Appellate Court, which will determine the right of the BRSA to erect its 38-story noisy wind turbine, with blades that span more than an acre, just a little over 1,000 feet from homes.
I attended the oral arguments, and I can tell you odds are that Conti Construction (wind turbine vendor and contractor) and the BRSAare in trouble and may lose their case. In their arrogance, they are trying to transport the turbine prior to the outcome of the appeal. They wrongly believe that once all that money and effort is spent, no court will make them remove their wind turbine if and when they lose. However, on June 23, 2010, the BRSA was warned in a lower court judge’s decision that, “The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority proceeds at its own risk of removal and remedy, should it not ultimately succeed on the merits of this case.”
If the turbine parts are trucked to the BRSAfacility and they lose their case, Aberdeen, Hazlet, Keyport, Matawan, Marlboro, Union Beach and Monmouth County will likely have to go through the whole rigmarole again— engineering studies, documenting infrastructure, bonding, business interruption, etc. — when the turbine parts are trucked back out. In other words, the towns and county will be put at risk a second time as overweight and oversized loads weighing as much as 168,000 pounds roll through their streets.
This need not occur, but the BRSA and Conti are determined to roll the dice at the expense of we the ratepayers. The six towns and county need to consider this carefully as they move forward.
Bill Heller
President
The Union Beach
Environmental Trust
Union Beach