Misrepresenting our community in the photos on their Cape Vincent Wind Project website may help explain why BP...

      February 6, 2013 

Honorable Jeffrey C. Cohen
Acting Secretary, NYS Board of Electric Power Generation Siting and Environment 3 Empire State Plaza

Albany, NY 12223-1350 

Re: Case12-F-0410 Cape Vincent Wind Power 

Dear Acting Secretary Cohen: 

We would like to bring to your attention to a recent post from the Cape Vincent blog, Pandora's Box of Rocks. We were all struck by the irony of the post. BP's Article 10 Public Involvement Plan, we assume, requires a certain degree of honest representation of facts and information presented to the public. Yet, the false, misleading visual aids that are a prominent feature of BP's website are in stark contrast to what our community represents. This concerns us.

The following is a copy of the post: 

“The BP Alternative Energy website now has a link to their Cape Vincent project. 

http://www.capevincentwindfarm.com/ 

When you click on that link you will see a brief paragraph about the project and three or four panoramic color photos that appear and dissolve away in sequence every minute or so into a new photo. But each of these photos (such as the one above) is from some place far away from Cape Vincent. North Dakota perhaps? Eastern Montana maybe? Certainly not around here. At the risk of making you ill or upset, take a look for yourself.

Do these completely misleading photos constitute an example of misleading visual propaganda? Certainly. Anyone personally unfamiliar with our area who looks at the BP web page might wonder what all the fuss is about in Cape Vincent. Who would be complaining about the project? There are no people around to complain if you go by the pictures they want you to associate with the project.

Here’s a suggestion, BP. Why don’t you take down those irrelevant photos and put up some true local panoramas. There are plenty of nice ones already available. Use some images that show the town as it is – with Churches, schools, homes, cottages, streets, docks, boats and people – with Lake Ontario and the beautiful Thousand Islands in the foreground or the background.

But then again, that would require a certain measure of honesty and transparency on your part. Never mind. Just a silly passing thought.”

Secretary Cohen, this is an important, relevant point. Misrepresenting our community in the photos on their Cape Vincent Wind Project website may help explain why BP so seriously misjudged our community's support for their project at our October 2012 meeting. If BP thinks Cape Vincent is an open prairie with little residential development, then it is not difficult to understand how BP came to believe they have rousing community support for their project proposal when they do not. In both cases BP is in our view dangerously ill-informed.

BP should not only take down their deceptive panoramas from their website, but they should also make an honest re-assessment of what constitutes a majority of community support for their project here in Cape Vincent. They can start that re-assessment by considering all the elected and appointed officials from the Town of Cape Vincent who have affixed their signatures to this letter.

        Respectfully yours,

      Urban Hirschey – Town Supervisor 

      Brooks Bradgon – Deputy Supervisor

John Byrne – Town Council

Clifford Schneider – Town Council

Michelle Oswald – Town Council

Richard Macsherry – Planning Board Chairman

Robert S. Brown – Planning Board

Cyril Cullen – Planning Board

Paul Docteur – Planning Board

Dennis Faulknham – ZBA Chairman

Ed Hludzenski – Zoning Board