Somerset County on the Eastern Shore is the lone holdout for a “joint land use study” aimed at determining potential adverse effects on the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The county’s board of county commissioners in May voted against participating in the study after the Maryland General Assembly approved a bill that would make the Navy a party to any request before the Maryland Public Service Commission that was within a 47-mile radius of the base. It was reported at the time that the Somerset County Commissioners felt they were “back-doored” by the Navy with the bill.
The Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland (TCCSM) will conduct the Department of Defense funded study. Apart from Somerset, nine counties in Southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore and the Northern Neck of Virginia will participate. According to TCCSM Executive Director Wayne Clark, Somerset County will be included in the study, although if the county participated their staff’s input could be included.
Several wind turbine projects are being proposed for Somerset County. The county sees them as an economic development prospect in an area with high unemployment and a declining economy dependent on seafood production. The major employer in the county is a state correctional facility.
The issue was discussed Tuesday at the joint meeting at the Frank Knox Training Center between base officials and the St. Mary’s County Commissioners. At the meeting Chris Jarboe, a base representative, told the attendees about a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study just completed, although not yet released, that shows potential adverse impacts to Pax River’s mission from wind turbines. Jarboe said three have been proposed in Somerset County. He said the study noted some potential mitigation from turbines, although those fixes could be expensive.
Later in the day Jarboe met with the Somerset County Commissioners in Princess Anne, the county seat. The following is a story from the Somerset Herald about the meeting which is presented in its entirety with the newspaper’s permission:
Somerset County likely could see wind turbines staked across its rural landscape — just not as soon as one energy company intends.
An independent MIT study has determined that proposed county wind turbines, depending on their location and height, could adversely affect Navy radar systems located across the Chesapeake Bay from Crisfield. The good news is that the study recommends optional measures that could accommodate both Naval Air Station Patuxent River test range operations
–>
