BERNARDSTON — Plans for a solar farm to go on the west side of Route 5 in central Bernardston are being reviewed in public hearing again, now almost two months after the town tentatively approved the project.
The initial review process for the solar farm ran from August to the end of November, and was characterized mostly by concerns over how the 17-acre installation may affect the flooding problem in Cushman Park, which is downslope from the site.
Toward the end of November, the developers, Clean Energy Collective, emphasized to town officials that they effectively had a Nov. 30 deadline, by which time they needed a permit in hand in order to apply to the state funding program that would make the project financially viable.
So on Nov. 29, the town’s Planning Board and Conservation Commission held a joint meeting that ran four hours. For the sake of the developer’s deadline, both boards approved the design — with the caveat that the town’s conditions for the project could be revised and built upon as necessary.
But at the time, the Conservation Commission had not reviewed any information regarding how the developer would handle the construction process. In a later conversation with the town’s legal counsel, this was found to be a problem. Legally the commission could not take new information into consideration in determining its conditions if the hearing were closed.
“It was a very nebulous thing we were asked to approve in November,” said Conservation Commission Chairman Bill Meese. “We were not technically in a position to approve it, in spite of what they wanted.”
So in December the commission voted to rescind its decision to close the hearing, and held its first meeting since doing so last week, with the next one scheduled for Jan. 29.
The issues being reviewed mainly have to do with how the developers will maintain the field during construction in order to prevent excessive flooding, Meese said. This could include requirements of doing the construciton in phases so that 17 acres if the field is not torn up at once, or of adding vegetation to prevent runoff, Meese said.
Contact Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.