Wind Direction to Change in Mason County?: Shineldecker Appointed to Planning Commission

[XLFD]

The appointing of notorious Lake Winds Energy Farm critic Cary Shineldecker to the Planning Commission this last week was met with little fanfare among the local newspaper the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews), but it was a significant event in Mason County's evolution of ideas in the wind turbine debate.   Here is Cary Shineldecker's house, which of course wasn't supplied by the COLDNews :

 

 

The Daily News noted Commissioner Nichols and fellow LWEF critic Evelyn Bergalia spoke in favor of Shineldecker before the 4-3 vote over candidate Stephen Bieniek (there were five other candidates getting no votes each).  The newspaper also noted:  "Shineldecker also has a conflict of interest concerning wind turbines because he has filed a lawsuit against Consumers Energy, which installed the Lake Winds Energy Park near his home."  We have posted this once before, but here is another look at his speech in front of the county commissioners in February 2013 which shows that he has had a definite stand on the issue because of his own situation.

 

 

To be fair, Mason County's other straight news site, the Mason County Press has not even noted the installation of Shineldecker on the Planning Commission.  But it is a definite turn around in the thinking of the county and signifies that any future actions involving wind farms and their regulation that comes before the county will not as likely be dealt with in the same manner the LWEF was, with little transparency and little consideration of the neighboring parcels.

 

I was waiting for this weekend to develop my own take on the issue, but the Michigan Capitol Confidential, a Lansing-based watchdog group got out the following piece which touched on primarily all the bases.  It is unfortunate when we have to look elsewhere than our local sources to supplement what is actually going on in our area. 

 

 

Resident Harmed by Windmills Now on County Planning Commission Which Approved Windmills

 

Cary Shineldecker, the homeowner who warned his community that the margin of safety was inadequate at Lake Winds wind plant near Ludington, is now a member of the Mason County Planning Commission. This same commission initially failed to heed his warning but it has learned a lot since then.

“What we’re seeing with Cary Shineldecker being appointed to the Mason County Planning Commission is part of a growing pattern,” said Kevon Martis, director of the Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition, a nonprofit organization that is concerned about the construction of wind turbines in the region. “New local politicians are being produced in increasing numbers as residents experience and learn about the numerous problems associated with wind power.”

Lake Winds — a $255 million, 56-turbine wind plant — was the first in Michigan to be built by Consumers Energy. Since it began operating regularly in November of 2012, Lake Winds has become embroiled in two significant lawsuits concerning alleged health hazards attributed to excessive noise.

In April 2013, 17 residents who live near the turbines filed a lawsuit claiming that noise and related aspects of the wind plant were causing dizziness, sleeplessness, headaches and other physical symptoms. Shineldecker was one of those residents.

Later in 2013, Mason County determined that the wind plant was not in compliance with the county’s 45-decibel noise limit. Consumers Energy filed suit over the finding, lost at the circuit court level and has appealed that decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals

Shineldecker’s appointment to the seven-member Mason County Planning Commission was approved Sept. 9. He is expected to be officially sworn in before attending his first meeting as a member of the commission on Sept. 16.

According to Shineldecker, he’ll have to recuse himself (decline to vote) on some issues particular to the Lake Winds wind plant because of the lawsuit in which he is involved, but he doesn’t expect many such instances to arise.

“I do not believe a civil matter involving two private entities would preclude me voting on most zoning matters,” Shineldecker told Capitol Confidential. “It is not as though I had any pecuniary interests in overall issues pertaining to wind energy. I mean, it isn’t likely that anyone is going to want to move a turbine even closer to my home.”

More than two years ago, as the Lake Winds wind plant was being constructed, Shineldecker, who holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial energy technology, suspected that some of the 56 huge turbines in the wind plant’s design were being built too close to homes, particularly the turbine nearest his residence, where his family had lived for 18 years.

After hiring an expert who confirmed that the nearby turbine and the wind plant would exceed safe noise levels, Shineldecker alerted neighbors and local officials about the potential problem. At the time, however, these warnings were substantially disregarded.

Eventually Shineldecker and his wife began sleeping in their basement in an apparently unsuccessful effort to escape the effects of the turbines and then he and 16 other residents filed their lawsuit over the situation. Since that time, according to Shineldecker, the home of one of his neighbors’ has been abandoned due to the noise problem.

“No matter what kind of facility is involved, adequate measures have to be taken to assure safety,” Shineldecker said. “I spent my own money on getting research done and the expert I hired said the wind plant wouldn’t be able to operate without exceeding the noise limit. Unfortunately, that didn’t prevent my family from all of the things we’ve had to go through.

“I don’t think it makes any difference whether you’re talking about a wind facility or anything else, safety has to come first,” Shineldecker added. “The inventor of safety belts in cars was not anti-automobile.”

Shineldecker said he has been trying to sell his house for three years and is planning to build a new one further away from the turbines. Meanwhile, final resolutions of the two lawsuits involving the Lake Winds wind plant and its alleged excessive noise levels are still pending.

Lake Winds is part of Consumers Energy’s effort to meet Michigan's renewable energy mandate, which requires that 10 percent of the state's energy be produced by in-state renewable sources by 2015. The mandate was ostensibly aimed at reducing carbon emissions, however; the 2008 law that created the mandate did not require the monitoring of emissions to measure what impact, if any, the law was actually having on emissions.

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/20503

[Willy]

There should have been people like Mr. Shineldecker on the board and representing the people of Mason County before those behemoths were approved. People may want to talk about a conflict of interest because he is part of a law suit filed against Consumers but what about the "conflict" caused by a board and other Mason County officials that acted as if the energy company had bought them off.  

[AQUAMAN]

Exactly Willy, no homeowner should have to endure what Cary's has to date. Good luck Cary in your new position and rally for some future justice. 

[XLFD]

I'm hopeful Mr. Shineldecker will be able to observe, and likely will be under peer scrutiny, managing his own conflicts of interest in his position better than others have in the Planning Commission who railroaded this project through after setting up favorable zoning laws for Consumer's Energy LWEF.

I am also hopeful he brings a skeptical eye towards the Comprehensive Master Plan underway with LIAA providing insight (aka Resilient Ludington) and a modicum of sensibility to a County Planning Commission that seems very flexible themselves to implementing LIAA's expert advice.