By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

URBANA, Ohio — Thinking of erecting a windmill or two in that open field of yours? That’s fine. Just make sure they won’t be on hallowed ground.

Early this fall, EverPower Wind Holdings, Inc., a New York-based developer of utility grade wind projects, had sights on erecting a 70-turbine commercial wind farm near Urbana, in Champaign County. EverPower’s effort is part of the Buckeye Wind Project.
But Gene Park, an elder of the Alabama-based Piqua Shawnee Tribe and an agent for the tribe in Ohio, says the wind farm poses a threat to an ancient burial mound and they’re spearheading efforts to protect it. Park, a Springfield resident, filed a petition on behalf of the tribe last week.

“We’re not against turbines, but we are against destroying mounds,” he said. “We just want to protect the mound. It’s almost in the footprint of the area where a large group of turbines are to be constructed. We don’t want our ancestors dug up.”

EverPower has more than 1,500 megawatts of wind power projects under development in seven states.

EverPower obtained permission from the Ohio Power Siting Board to construct the turbines, but the tribe has filed a motion with the board to intervene.

Michael Speerschneider, director of development for EverPower, says the company is aware of a mound in the area and has no plans to disturb it. But Park has his doubts.

“The anatomy of a turbine is such that when digging the site and filling a 32-foot base below ground with concrete, large trucks and earth-moving equipment will be required, along with a mobile concrete mixing factory,” Park said. “All this is needed for just one turbine. Just think what it will be reaped while building 70 of these 492-foot structures.”

No one denies the space that the turbines would occupy. Both parties agree each turbine would require the use of a few hundred acres of land.

According to Park, there is also concern that some unknown archaeological sites could be disturbed, as only six funeral mounds have been identified in Champaign County.

“I identified the mound using identification from a book published in 1914 by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,” Park said. “It’s a humongous mound and it’s covered with trees.”
By contras, Speerschneider said the company has looked at all the known archaeological resources in the area and doesn’t feel the construction will disturb any sites they’ve discovered.

Some residents in the area think the mound is nothing more than a glacial deposit, but Park said the tribe is convinced it is a burial mound. Some residents in the area have told Park that artifacts have been discovered there over the past 30 years.

EverPower says the farm will provide Ohio with non-polluting energy and boost the state’s economy, creating hundreds of jobs. The company’s goal is to start construction next fall.

The Shawnee aren’t the only party wanting to halt the turbine construction. An attorney representing CT Commun-ications filed a motion to intervene, claiming turbine construction could have an adverse impact on its business, which provides telephone, Internet and television services. The concern is that turbine operation may interfere with reception from a wireless broadcast tower in the area.
A public hearing on the Buckeye Wind application will be held later this month at Triad High School. EverPower officials were scheduled to provide an update on the project at a county commissioners meeting at the Champaign County Community Center in Urbana on Nov. 3.

History
The Piqua Shawnee are officially recognized by the state of Alabama as a tribe and have members living in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, Maryland and South Carolina. According to the Shelby County Historical Society, the Shawnee had a village about 12 miles south of what is now Urbana when they were attacked by American soldiers in 1780. They relocated to nearby Piqua, which is 30 miles west of Urbana.