Carlisle and Seward are hoping to fight Cypress Creek’s plans for Rock District Solar with developers’ own money.
After an executive session Wednesday—and a presentation by solar opponents Citizens Against Solar Assault (see related story)—the Carlisle Town Board agreed to hire attorneys Louis & Greer to help fight what’s expected to be a state rubber stamp of the 356-acre project on Brown Road.
Monday, the Seward Town Board agreed to also join the fight.
Cypress Creek withdrew its plans from local review in April, filing them instead with the state under 94-c, a process intended to streamline and fast-track solar and wind.
Under 94-c, municipalities can apply for intervenor funds—paid for by applicants--which can be used to pay for expert witnesses, consultants, and legal fees.
It’s those monies Carlisle Supervisor John Leavitt and Seward Supervisor Earlin Rosa are hoping to leverage to hire Louis & Greer to review Planning Board documents put together before the switch.
Mr. Leavitt said they have until May 18—a month after Cypress Creek’s official filing with the Office of Renewable Energy Services—to file for intervenor status, something they will likely have Louis & Greer attorney Dylan Harris do.
“And we want to know if there’s anything they can do,” to fight the 94-c, Mr. Leavitt said.
Mr. Rosa said it only makes sense to work together with Carlisle.
“It’s the same project. They’re attacking both towns,” he said. “We’ll see what legal counsel says and then take it from there.”
It’s unclear whether doubling the firepower will double the amount of intervenor funds available—probably not.
That would mean they’d likely need Schoharie County to pitch in with some of the costs, Mr. Rosa said, something supervisors already did for the Town of Sharon; he’d like to see CASA make a presentation to the full Board of Supervisors.
“We’re all in this together. We’re under siege as towns,” he said, “and it’s more than just green energy. A lot of it has to do with home rule and ignoring the importance and value of agriculture in what was once known as the Breadbasket of the American Revolution.”