Please take notice that Weaver Wind LLC (the "Applicant"), a subsidiary of Longroad Energy Partners, LLC, with offices at 30 Danforth Street, Suite 210, Portland ME 04101 (207-272-3904) is intending to file a Site Location of Development Act permit application and a Natural Resources Protection Act permit application with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Department), pursuant to the provisions of the 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 480-A et seq., and 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 481-490, respectively, and regulations thereunder, and the Wind Energy Act, 35-A M.R.S.A. §§ 3401-3459. The Applicant is also seeking a Section 401 Water Quality Certification pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1341. The Applicant intends to file the combined permit application on or about November 1, 2018.
This application is to allow for construction and operation of the Weaver Wind Project in Aurora, Osborn, Eastbrook, T16MD and T22MD in Hancock County, Maine. The proposed project includes 22 turbines in Osborn and Eastbrook capable of generating up to 72.6 megawatts of electricity. The project also includes existing and new access roads; 34.5-kilovolt electrical collector lines among the turbines and connecting to a new collector substation in T16MD; and up to 5 permanent meteorological towers.
A request for a Department public hearing must be received by the Department in writing, no later than 20 days after the application is found by the Department to be complete and is accepted for processing. A public hearing on the Site Location application may or may not be held at the discretion of the Commissioner. Public comment on the Site Location application will be accepted by the Department throughout the processing of the application.
Written public comments on the Site Law application may be sent to the Department's regional office in Bangor where the application is filed for public inspection: Attn. Maria Lentine-Eggett, MDEP, 106 Hogan Road, Bangor (207)-941-4570, or posted at this address weaverwindproject.dep@maine.gov.
The Site Location application will include a request, pursuant to 12 M.R.S.A. § 685-B(1-A)(B-1), that the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) certify to the Department that the development is an allowed use in the subdistricts in which it is proposed and that the development will comply with applicable LUPC land use standards that are not considered in the Department's review.
A request for a LUPC public hearing on the request for certification and/or a petition for leave to intervene in any such hearing must be received by the LUPC in writing no later than 20 days after the request for certification is found by the LUPC to be complete and accepted for processing. The LUPC will consider the degree of public interest when determining whether to hold a public hearing, but the decision whether to hold a hearing is at the LUPC's discretion.
If the LUPC holds a public hearing, members of the public also may offer testimony at the hearing without formally intervening in the hearing, and/or may submit written comments until the close of the record. A request or petition that is not timely filed will be denied unless the requestor/petitioner shows good cause for failure to file on time. Filing may be by electronic mail or facsimile if followed by receipt of an original signed document within five working days. The LUPC's provisions for intervention may be found in Chapter 5, section 5.13 of the LUPC's rules, which are available at http://www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/laws_rules/index.shtml.
If no public hearing is held, interested persons may submit written comments on the LUPC certification throughout the processing of the certification. Written public comments and questions on the request for certification may be mailed to the LUPC's office in Augusta: Attn: Stacie Beyer Land Use Planning Commission, 22 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333; emailed to Stacie.r.beyer@maine.gov; or faxed to (207) 287-7439.
The Site Location application, including the request for certification, will be filed for public inspection at the Department's office in Bangor and the LUPC's office in Augusta and Bangor during normal working hours. A copy of the application may also be seen on the Department's website (http://www.maine.gov/dep/land/sitelaw/selected-developments/index.html), at the Hancock County Commissioner's office in Ellsworth and at the municipal offices in Aurora, Osborn and Eastbrook.
Questions about the proposed project or the public informational meeting can be directed to Matt Kearns of Longroad Energy Partners at (207) 272-3904.
Oct. 26, 2018
