From Root River Energy's Spring 2010 Newsletter....
Conducting an environmental impact analysis of our wind project site is critical to identifying the key issues that may require further investigation due to any ecological concerns and/or regulatory drivers.
We want to make sure our project fits in well with the environment and complies with regulatory and permitting requirements. In April 2008, Western Eco Systems Technology performed a preliminary Geographic Constraint Analysis and a site characterization study for the project. The study provided a detailed environmental and land use analysis. It did not identify anything that would prevent Root River Energy from being completed. Additional, more detailed environmental analyses will be conducted and used as documentation for future regulatory approvals and project design once our development reaches the permitting stage.
We will be engaging in more site specific studies in the coming months. There are many elements studied and taken into account during these analyses. We elicit the help of an environmental consulting firm to identify any existing animal habitats, wetlands and protected areas, and known archaeological and historical resources through existing maps and actual on-site visits. We also assess any aviation and any visual/ aesthetic considerations. We will be working with many federal, state and local agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, to ensure our project is developed properly and within the regulatory framework for approval.
Our ultimate goal is to protect the environmental integrity of the land and to mitigate any concerns which might arise. These studies help us to better understand current land use and how that will fit in with a commercial wind project. It is a complicated process, but a necessary one to ensure a successful wind farm development.
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