I am a current MN resident living in the City of Canby who owns property on Lake Cochrane. I am also the Airport Manager in the city of Canby. I fly a float plane back and forth from Canby to lake cochrane weekly, sometimes more and the proposed windmill project will endanger my life and the lives of the other residents who use the lake for float flying. These windmills that are so close to the lake do not give us pilots enough time to maneuver off the lake and set up for landing depending on the wind conditions and weather requirements for the day to day operations. Takeoff is also a major concern with having to take off into the wind and not having enough performance to out climb or maneuver away for the turbulence created by these large wind turbines. With the many documented health risks involved with these turbines and now the danger involved with flying float planes in and out of our seaplane base I feel the need to look at the distance away from the lake needs to be greater than the purposes distances currently.
Lake Cochrane is located in Deuel County in South Dakota, less than a half-mile from Yellow Medicine County Minnesota. The lake is spring fed with a deepest point of 28 feet and a mean depth of 13 feet. It has a surface of 355 acres. It is located in a very pristine area with rolling hills and gulches. There are many species of wildlife in the area including deer, wild turkey, pheasant, osprey, owl and bald eagles. In the spring we see migrating loons, ducks, geese, cranes and we are also in the path of migrating Monarch butterflies. There are two eagle nests within a mile or two of the lake.
The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks operates the Lake Cochrane Recreation Area on the north shore of Lake Cochrane. The recreation area offers camping (30 electric sites), cabin lodging, picnic facilities, a playground and swimming beach. Last year the park hosted over 10,000 visitors and 2,012 overnight camping units. There is even a well-used walking and running path encircling the Lake. Because of the location and quality of the experience, many of our visitors are from Minnesota.
The shores of the lake are fully developed with 208 cabins and homes. More than 1/3 of them are owned by families that claim Minnesota as their primary residence. Although the lake area is less than one square mile, we pay 9.2% 0f the real estate taxes of the entire county. Because of the unique area and therefore high property values we are very concerned that industrial wind towers placed too close will negatively affect the property values. There are numerous studies that support our concern.
In September of 2016 the Lake Cochrane Improvement Association (LCIA) became aware of an industrial wind installation scheduled for quick zoning approval and a construction start in November 2016. Since several towers were planned within 1 to 2 miles of Lake Cochrane we were most concerned about the environmental impact, noise and views that would be spoiled from the shores of a lake that is one of the few recreational spots in the area. The developer was the same developer, Flying Cow LLC, now proposing another project les than a mile away in Minnesota. The developer is a wholly owned subsidiary of a foreign national company based in London, RES. While ownership is not a problem to us, their secretive business approach and credibility is. The taxes generated were stated to be in excess of $750,000 for South Dakota per year when in fact they were less than $90,000! Their "good neighbor policy" was a sneak attack with no neighbor meetings with the non-participants until a participating land owner leaked the plan to a cabin owner.
The LCIA has worked long and hard to protect one of the cleanest lakes in the area which includes our neighboring counties in Minnesota. Although Minnesota is a land of 10,000 lakes, not many of those are in the SW part of the state and we consider this Lake open to all visitors as we stated. To ruin one of our few recreational and resort lakes with an industrial installation that pollutes with flashing lights, noise and other environmental hazards is not in the best interests of the people in neighboring Minnesota and here in South Dakota! The fact that the developer has once again kept this proposed development a secret from the nonparticipating land owners and the LCIA is not acceptable and speaks volumes of their business practices and ethics.
One more item that needs consideration is the designated Seaplane Base on Lake Cochrane. This has the FAA designation of SD2. We have seaplanes that regularly use Lake Cochrane. Seaplanes have regularly used Lake Cochrane since the mid-50's. Because of the increased number of boats and PWCs (many of which are operated by visitors) the safety of watercraft users as well as the aircraft operators became an issue. With cooperation and support of the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks, the State Transportation Authority and the FAA a registered seaplane base was established. The State Boating and Fishing regulations will have instructions for seaplane landing etiquette and safety instructions for watercraft on Lake Cochrane. The FAA Part 77 surfaces issues also need to considered. If necessary the LCIA will provide engineering documents for Part 77 compliance to protect the landing area.
The Deuel County Commissioners spent a great amount of time and energy this past year getting public input as they determined and set appropriate setbacks for the updated WES ordinance. They also solicited input from three wind developers that are currently working on projects in the County to allow them to go forward. Because the Lake Cochrane recreational area is such a unique place they determined and included in the ordinance that there will be no industrial turbines within three miles of this Lake Park District.
We request that the regulators in Minnesota also respect the research and decision of the Deuel County Commissioners to help protect the area for the many Minnesota residents and others who visit or own property on Lake Cochrane
Hello my name is Susan Norgaard and we just recently built a home on Lake Cochrane. I am very concerned about wind turbines going up near the lake. I understand Yellow Medicine County, which is very close to Lake Cochrane, is now considering putting up wind turbines from the same company, Flying Cow, that applied for permits in Deuel County last fall. They were turned down at the time as they wanted to gather more information. I have read story after story and books on wind turbines since I first heard of them coming into Deuel County. I went to almost every meeting that the zoning and commissioners had on wind turbines. Not one person came from the Toronto area that has turbines to speak for them. Not one farmer came to the meeting and said how it saved their family farm. However, there were farmers and people who lived near them and they were against them. One man had a turbine blade fall into their alfalfa field and they had to pick up the debris, because the company would not respond to them. There was another farmer who said he had several complaints against the wind turbine but never received a phone call back from the company and another farmer who said they had to have a wrecker pull their semi out of the road that the wind turbine people had tore up. These are the people that spoke of the wind turbines from Deuel County. Sure there were lots of farmers who wanted them, but they only seen the dollar signs not all the wreckage that is left after they leave. I am most concerned about the noise or wind turbine syndrome that goes along with turbines. It's the low frequency noise that seems to make people ill, not just the noise from the turbines. I have heard people remark it's all in their heads. If it is all in people's heads why do people ABANDON their homes? Not one person but story after story of people who left their home because they physically were ill because of the turbines. I believe it does not affect all people just like motion sickness does not occur to everyone that rides a ship but it is very real to those affected by it. There are many things that go along with wind turbine syndrome including sleepless nights, vertigo, migraine headaches, nausea, memory loss, irritability, ear ringing and the list goes on and on. I believe the only way to prevent this is to make sure the turbines are set back at a safe distance to people who have to live around them. If I would have known that wind turbines were going to be built so close to the lake we would not have built there. Please protect the people from Lake Cochrane and also those that live in Yellow Medicine County. Once they are built and the problems are there, there's not a whole lot that can be done.
Thank you
Susan Norgaard
The following is a Statement of Opposition petition that was circulated to property owners on Lake Cochrane by Anna Baumiller, a long term resident of Lake Cochrane and Realtor with an office in Clear Lake. Below the petition is a summary of the responses. The process was initiated in opposition to Flying Cow Wind's proposal to develop a wind farm in Deuel county SD in the fall of 2016.The current proposal for Yellow Medicine County would place towers even closer to Lake Cochrane than the previous proposal in Deuel County which was rejected and initiated the process of updating the WES Ordinance in Deuel County.
STATEMENT OF OPPOSITION
Demand for Rejection of Special Exception Permit #16-11078 AG by Flying Cow Wind LLC.
Whereas Deuel County "regulations are intended to preserve and protect existing property uses and values against adverse or unharmonious adjacent uses by zoning all unincorporated land...";
We, the undersigned property owners and Taxpayers in Deuel County object strenuously to the approval of the Permit Application for the proposed Bitter Root Wind farm project which will change the very nature of Lake Cochrane, the nearby affected properties and negatively impact the value of our homes, property and our way of life. We therefore demand rejection of the aforementioned Special Exception Permit #16-11078 AG.
Anna was able to make contact with 174 of the 208 property owners on the shores of Lake Cochrane. The results are as follows:
Owners contacted 174
Opposed 143 82%
OK 15 9%
Can't take a side 5 3%
Indifferent 8 5%
Need more info 3 1%
The LCIA's opposition of the current proposal is only for any towers proposed to be built within three miles of the Lake Park District of Lake Cochrane. We request that you acknowledge and respect the setbacks that exist in Deuel County to provide some protection to this regional recreation area.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Lake Cochrane Improvement Association (LCIA)
To the Members of the Commission:
We are contacting the Minnesota PUC in regards to the Wind Turbines under consideration in Yellow Medicine County near the Minnesota-South Dakota border.
The Deuel County, SD Board of County Commissioners, in recent action following several Public Hearings concerning wind towers in Deuel County, changed the county zoning ordinance to establish a setback of three (3) miles from the Lake Park District at Lake Cochrane, a lake located in Deuel County near the eastern edge of Deuel County and near the western edge of Yellow Medicine County.
As you consider the proposed wind farm in Yellow Medicine County, the Deuel County Commissioners ask that you give consideration to the fact that in Deuel County the setback is three miles. This would establish a setback of three miles completely around Lake Cochrane.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.
Deuel County Commissioners
Gary Jaeger, Chairman
Lynn Pederson
Steve Rhody
DeAnne Dumke
Gary DeJong....
Matt Wagner over 6 years ago
I am a current MN resident living in the City of Canby who owns property on Lake Cochrane. I am also the Airport Manager in the city of Canby. I fly a float plane back and forth from Canby to lake cochrane weekly, sometimes more and the proposed windmill project will endanger my life and the lives of the other residents who use the lake for float flying. These windmills that are so close to the lake do not give us pilots enough time to maneuver off the lake and set up for landing depending on the wind conditions and weather requirements for the day to day operations. Takeoff is also a major concern with having to take off into the wind and not having enough performance to out climb or maneuver away for the turbulence created by these large wind turbines. With the many documented health risks involved with these turbines and now the danger involved with flying float planes in and out of our seaplane base I feel the need to look at the distance away from the lake needs to be greater than the purposes distances currently.
Ron Ruud over 6 years ago
Lake Cochrane is located in Deuel County in South Dakota, less than a half-mile from Yellow Medicine County Minnesota. The lake is spring fed with a deepest point of 28 feet and a mean depth of 13 feet. It has a surface of 355 acres. It is located in a very pristine area with rolling hills and gulches. There are many species of wildlife in the area including deer, wild turkey, pheasant, osprey, owl and bald eagles. In the spring we see migrating loons, ducks, geese, cranes and we are also in the path of migrating Monarch butterflies. There are two eagle nests within a mile or two of the lake.
The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks operates the Lake Cochrane Recreation Area on the north shore of Lake Cochrane. The recreation area offers camping (30 electric sites), cabin lodging, picnic facilities, a playground and swimming beach. Last year the park hosted over 10,000 visitors and 2,012 overnight camping units. There is even a well-used walking and running path encircling the Lake. Because of the location and quality of the experience, many of our visitors are from Minnesota.
The shores of the lake are fully developed with 208 cabins and homes. More than 1/3 of them are owned by families that claim Minnesota as their primary residence. Although the lake area is less than one square mile, we pay 9.2% 0f the real estate taxes of the entire county. Because of the unique area and therefore high property values we are very concerned that industrial wind towers placed too close will negatively affect the property values. There are numerous studies that support our concern.
In September of 2016 the Lake Cochrane Improvement Association (LCIA) became aware of an industrial wind installation scheduled for quick zoning approval and a construction start in November 2016. Since several towers were planned within 1 to 2 miles of Lake Cochrane we were most concerned about the environmental impact, noise and views that would be spoiled from the shores of a lake that is one of the few recreational spots in the area. The developer was the same developer, Flying Cow LLC, now proposing another project les than a mile away in Minnesota. The developer is a wholly owned subsidiary of a foreign national company based in London, RES. While ownership is not a problem to us, their secretive business approach and credibility is. The taxes generated were stated to be in excess of $750,000 for South Dakota per year when in fact they were less than $90,000! Their "good neighbor policy" was a sneak attack with no neighbor meetings with the non-participants until a participating land owner leaked the plan to a cabin owner.
The LCIA has worked long and hard to protect one of the cleanest lakes in the area which includes our neighboring counties in Minnesota. Although Minnesota is a land of 10,000 lakes, not many of those are in the SW part of the state and we consider this Lake open to all visitors as we stated. To ruin one of our few recreational and resort lakes with an industrial installation that pollutes with flashing lights, noise and other environmental hazards is not in the best interests of the people in neighboring Minnesota and here in South Dakota! The fact that the developer has once again kept this proposed development a secret from the nonparticipating land owners and the LCIA is not acceptable and speaks volumes of their business practices and ethics.
One more item that needs consideration is the designated Seaplane Base on Lake Cochrane. This has the FAA designation of SD2. We have seaplanes that regularly use Lake Cochrane. Seaplanes have regularly used Lake Cochrane since the mid-50's. Because of the increased number of boats and PWCs (many of which are operated by visitors) the safety of watercraft users as well as the aircraft operators became an issue. With cooperation and support of the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks, the State Transportation Authority and the FAA a registered seaplane base was established. The State Boating and Fishing regulations will have instructions for seaplane landing etiquette and safety instructions for watercraft on Lake Cochrane. The FAA Part 77 surfaces issues also need to considered. If necessary the LCIA will provide engineering documents for Part 77 compliance to protect the landing area.
The Deuel County Commissioners spent a great amount of time and energy this past year getting public input as they determined and set appropriate setbacks for the updated WES ordinance. They also solicited input from three wind developers that are currently working on projects in the County to allow them to go forward. Because the Lake Cochrane recreational area is such a unique place they determined and included in the ordinance that there will be no industrial turbines within three miles of this Lake Park District.
We request that the regulators in Minnesota also respect the research and decision of the Deuel County Commissioners to help protect the area for the many Minnesota residents and others who visit or own property on Lake Cochrane
Ron Ruud LCIA Co-President
Susan Norgaard over 6 years ago
Hello my name is Susan Norgaard and we just recently built a home on Lake Cochrane. I am very concerned about wind turbines going up near the lake. I understand Yellow Medicine County, which is very close to Lake Cochrane, is now considering putting up wind turbines from the same company, Flying Cow, that applied for permits in Deuel County last fall. They were turned down at the time as they wanted to gather more information. I have read story after story and books on wind turbines since I first heard of them coming into Deuel County. I went to almost every meeting that the zoning and commissioners had on wind turbines. Not one person came from the Toronto area that has turbines to speak for them. Not one farmer came to the meeting and said how it saved their family farm. However, there were farmers and people who lived near them and they were against them. One man had a turbine blade fall into their alfalfa field and they had to pick up the debris, because the company would not respond to them. There was another farmer who said he had several complaints against the wind turbine but never received a phone call back from the company and another farmer who said they had to have a wrecker pull their semi out of the road that the wind turbine people had tore up. These are the people that spoke of the wind turbines from Deuel County. Sure there were lots of farmers who wanted them, but they only seen the dollar signs not all the wreckage that is left after they leave. I am most concerned about the noise or wind turbine syndrome that goes along with turbines. It's the low frequency noise that seems to make people ill, not just the noise from the turbines. I have heard people remark it's all in their heads. If it is all in people's heads why do people ABANDON their homes? Not one person but story after story of people who left their home because they physically were ill because of the turbines. I believe it does not affect all people just like motion sickness does not occur to everyone that rides a ship but it is very real to those affected by it. There are many things that go along with wind turbine syndrome including sleepless nights, vertigo, migraine headaches, nausea, memory loss, irritability, ear ringing and the list goes on and on. I believe the only way to prevent this is to make sure the turbines are set back at a safe distance to people who have to live around them. If I would have known that wind turbines were going to be built so close to the lake we would not have built there. Please protect the people from Lake Cochrane and also those that live in Yellow Medicine County. Once they are built and the problems are there, there's not a whole lot that can be done.
Thank you Susan Norgaard
Ron Ruud over 6 years ago
The following is a Statement of Opposition petition that was circulated to property owners on Lake Cochrane by Anna Baumiller, a long term resident of Lake Cochrane and Realtor with an office in Clear Lake. Below the petition is a summary of the responses. The process was initiated in opposition to Flying Cow Wind's proposal to develop a wind farm in Deuel county SD in the fall of 2016.The current proposal for Yellow Medicine County would place towers even closer to Lake Cochrane than the previous proposal in Deuel County which was rejected and initiated the process of updating the WES Ordinance in Deuel County.
Demand for Rejection of Special Exception Permit #16-11078 AG by Flying Cow Wind LLC.
Whereas Deuel County "regulations are intended to preserve and protect existing property uses and values against adverse or unharmonious adjacent uses by zoning all unincorporated land..."; We, the undersigned property owners and Taxpayers in Deuel County object strenuously to the approval of the Permit Application for the proposed Bitter Root Wind farm project which will change the very nature of Lake Cochrane, the nearby affected properties and negatively impact the value of our homes, property and our way of life. We therefore demand rejection of the aforementioned Special Exception Permit #16-11078 AG.
Anna was able to make contact with 174 of the 208 property owners on the shores of Lake Cochrane. The results are as follows: Owners contacted 174 Opposed 143 82% OK 15 9% Can't take a side 5 3% Indifferent 8 5% Need more info 3 1%
The LCIA's opposition of the current proposal is only for any towers proposed to be built within three miles of the Lake Park District of Lake Cochrane. We request that you acknowledge and respect the setbacks that exist in Deuel County to provide some protection to this regional recreation area.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Lake Cochrane Improvement Association (LCIA)
Ron Ruud Co President LCIA
Gary DeJong over 6 years ago
To the Members of the Commission: We are contacting the Minnesota PUC in regards to the Wind Turbines under consideration in Yellow Medicine County near the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The Deuel County, SD Board of County Commissioners, in recent action following several Public Hearings concerning wind towers in Deuel County, changed the county zoning ordinance to establish a setback of three (3) miles from the Lake Park District at Lake Cochrane, a lake located in Deuel County near the eastern edge of Deuel County and near the western edge of Yellow Medicine County. As you consider the proposed wind farm in Yellow Medicine County, the Deuel County Commissioners ask that you give consideration to the fact that in Deuel County the setback is three miles. This would establish a setback of three miles completely around Lake Cochrane. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. Deuel County Commissioners Gary Jaeger, Chairman Lynn Pederson Steve Rhody DeAnne Dumke Gary DeJong....