'We're Concerned:' McIntosh County Residents Frustrated With Proposed Wind Turbine Building Near Lake

People in McIntosh County are beyond frustrated after a Canadian company announced its plans to build dozens of wind turbines near Lake Eufaula and homes.

So many people showed up at the County Commissioners’ meeting Monday that many of them had to stand outside.

The commissioners held a second meeting Thursday night, this time at the McIntosh County Fairgrounds.

The commissioners did not take any action at the meeting, but listened to concerns from residents.

Many people say they feel like they were left in the dark on this project and they want answers to their questions. More than 100 people showed at Thursday’s meeting to voice their concerns about the proposed wind turbines around Eufaula Lake.

Dawn Edwards has lived in Eufaula most of her life and was shocked to find out about the plan.

“Those are going to create noises,” said Edwards. “It’s going to affect our wildlife. We’re concerned about what it’s going to do to our lake and our water. Is there going to be pollution with our water? Those kinds of things.”

Larry Newport is the President of Vivian Rural Water District #6. Newport says he hasn’t been able to get any answers about if they would damage the water supply.

“If they get into that aquifer, who knows,” said Newport. “If they crack it, or it starts draining, or if they contaminate it with the concrete they are going to be pouring, nobody knows.”

TransAlta is a company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that would be putting up the turbines.

TransAlta sent News On 6 a statement saying:

“TransAlta has been actively developing the Canadian River Wind Project since late 2022. We consider the project to be in the early stages of development. Project work completed to date includes a full suite of environmental studies and land acquisition, along with preliminary engineering and design. Early stakeholder communication activities include discussions with state and federal wildlife agencies, the Southwest Power Pool (the regional independent system operator for the electricity grid in Oklahoma) and initial conversations with McIntosh County representatives to introduce TransAlta and the project and to understand expectations related to county permitting and stakeholder engagement. In addition to these activities, TransAlta has held informal landowner meetings in the area and has successfully secured wind lease agreements with approximately 25 local landowners. We readily acknowledge that residents in McIntosh County may have concerns about wind development, and we look forward to engaging with members of the community to understand their concerns through future communications for the project. This includes open houses and other measures prescribed by state regulatory processes and by TransAlta’s project development standards. We feel that it is also important to note that TransAlta has successfully developed two other wind projects in Oklahoma: The Horizon Hill Wind Facility in Logan County and the White Rock Wind facility in Caddo County. We are proud of our track record as a responsible developer and operator of wind facilities in Oklahoma, and we are eager to continue developing the Canadian River Wind Project in accordance with our company standards and pursuant to the requirements of regional permitting authorities. One important detail to clarify regarding the project – although 121 wind turbine locations were included in our preliminary regulatory filing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), these locations are best considered as a set of options and alternatives for turbine locations. We expect the number of turbines to be much less and plan to refine final turbine locations through ongoing assessments and engagement with landowners and community members. Thanks again for your interest and the opportunity to provide more detail on the development activities related to the Canadian River Wind Project.”

Edwards hopes people will stand up and get involved in the process.

“We need people to be aware of these things and we want people in our community to be aware,” said Edwards. “We don’t even know if everybody is even aware of what’s going on now, but we’re trying to make our community more aware of what’s going on.”

The Muscogee Nation sent News On 6 a statement saying:

"It has recently come to the attention of the Executive Office that a planned wind farm in McIntosh County has some citizens concerned. Some of their concerns are environmental, and some are concerned that there was no formal consultation with the Muscogee Nation prior to such a large project being planned on our Reservation lands. Over the past few days, this office has gathered all the information we can and have talked to many of the citizens about their issues with the development. We have also been in communication with our Department of the Interior, the Office of Environmental Services, and our Culture & Humanities department on the concerns they may have, or any information available to us. We will also have tribal representation at community meetings in these areas to provide any updates that may be pertinent as we continue to monitor the situation. Mvto!"