Town of Mt. Washington

As you probably know by now, the Massachusetts governor is pushing to pass a piece of legislation that will allow the state to override town decisions on wind development. The bill is targeted at towns like ours.

In fact, Mount Washington has some of the highest estimated onshore wind speeds in Massachusetts. If the legislation passes, our town will be at the epicenter of wind developer interest. This means that a single state agency in Boston will determine the number and location of industrial wind turbines, access roads, and transmission lines in our town.

Both the state senate and the house voted to adopt the legislation, but their versions are different. Thus, they need to resolve the differences. They have a week to do so. The end of formal sessions is July 31st.

Green Berkshires, Inc., a non-profit on which Bobbie Hallig, Morgan Bulkeley, and I serve as board members, has been leading the fight against the wind bill. We've been working with people around the state. In the Berkshires, we've been joined in our opposition by all four of our state house representatives, plus the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (representing all 32 municipalities), the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen, the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, and the Berkshire Environmental Action Team.

Although we've had some surprising successes, and more legislative votes in our favor than anyone expected, we realize we need more insider help to stop the bill, and very fast. So we have hired a lobbyist, an energy attorney, and some other consultants. Their work is specific, arcane, and very expensive.

We need to raise $30,000 right away. That sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but it's a lot, lot cheaper than what we will all be spending on federal lawsuits to protect our town if the wind bill is enacted into law.

Obviously, we are reaching far beyond our town to raise this money, but we are hoping you will step up and donate as much as you can now. Even if you can donate only a small amount, that will help. If you can donate more, that would be wonderful.

We really have to move quickly in order to have a chance at stopping this legislation.

Please visit our website, www.greenberkshires.org, and scroll down to the left panel to make an online donation.

Or, send a check to:

Green Berkshires, Inc.
P.O. Box 342
Great Barrington, MA 01230

If you need more information, please feel free to contact me via email or phone, 413 528-9363.