By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com

The Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday that opens the door for the Black Fork Wind Farm project to proceed in Crawford and Richland counties.

The court’s decision was in answer to a request for relief by Element Power to uphold the Siting Board’s approval of the sites in northeastern Crawford and western Richland counties. That approval had been challenged by residents in the area – Gary Biglin, Brett Heffner, Alan Price, Catherine Price and John Warrington – who were represented by attorneys Patrick Murphy and Zachary Tidaback.

The appellants argued they had been denied an opportunity to cross examine Element Power staff members at the Siting Board meeting and the Ohio Supreme Court disagreed.

The Supreme Court’s decision read in part, “After review, we hold that the board did not
prevent appellants from cross-examining any witness or presenting evidence, and
therefore appellants have not established that the board violated their due process
rights. Because appellants have not established that the board’s order is unlawful
or unreasonable, the board’s order is affirmed.”

The decision by the justices was unanimous. Julian Lillian Dorrian sat in for Justice Paul Pfeifer in hearing the case. Pfeifer is a resident of Crawford County.

Element Power has no timetable to begin construction of 91 wind turbines scheduled for the project, but has indicated it will not be in 2014. The wind farm will encompass 24,000 acres and already has lease agreements with 150 private property owners. The wind farm is projected to produce some 200 megawatts of power.