CITY WINS IN WINDMILL TILT JUDGE INDICATES HE WILL ORDER ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale Water District officials failed to comply with state environmental law when they decided to build an electricity-generating wind turbine beside Lake Palmdale, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe ruled in favor of the city of Palmdale, whose officials argued that the water district did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act in approving the project. ``There was a very clear, unmistakable violation of CEQA,'' said Gregory Kunert, the attorney representing city government. ``There was a deliberate indifference to the environmental process.''

City officials are trying to force their water district counterparts to have an environmental impact report prepared. Kunert was directed to prepare a proposed judgment for Yaffe's consideration within the next 10 days. Water district officials will have an opportunity to respond to the proposal before the judgment is issued.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford was pleased with the court victory, saying he was concerned about the precedent the project could set.

``I'm not concerned with the one windmill; I'm concerned about the windmill farm,'' Ledford said. ``It's important we do a thorough environment review on this project. This will be used as the basis for future applications.''

At least one company has expressed an interest in building wind turbines in the Antelope Valley, Ledford said.

``I don't want us to look like Palm Springs' (San Gorgonio Pass),'' Ledford said. ``I don't think that's the vista we want for our city.''

Palmdale Water District General Manager Dennis LaMoreaux called the judge's ruling a mixed one. While district officials will likely be required to get an environmental study, LaMoreaux said, concerns expressed by the judge focused on the project's potential to kill birds, not on aesthetics or earthquake safety, which were the main issues raised by city officials.

``This ruling should alleviate concerns about aesthetics and seismic activity,'' LaMoreaux said. ``I think we can work through the biological concerns if the board moves ahead.''

In city officials' court filings, the wind turbine was called a ``windmill behemoth'' that would dominate views of the valley and a death trap for ducks, geese and other waterfowl at the lake. The twirling blades of the turbine would be virtually invisible to birds, city officials said.

Water district officials said that little is known about the effects wind turbines have on birds and that they would monitor the number of birds killed by the turbine. The California Department of Fish and Game could then use that information to determine whether further actions would be needed to protect birds.

With the additional expense and time for an environmental study likely, LaMoreaux said water district officials must re-examine the economic aspects of the $1.2 million project. They might have missed a chance to participate in a Southern California Edison incentive program that would have paid the district full credit for any excess power that went back into the state's power grid. LaMoreaux said it is likely that the project could still qualify for some incentive program, although it might not be for a full credit.

The earliest the water board could consider the matter is at its Mondaymeeting.

The city's legal challenge was filed against a document called a mitigated negative declaration in which water district officials conclude that the turbine could potentially harm the environment but that it would be built in such a way that the harm would be insignificant.

In the legal challenge, city officials said there had been an understatement of environmental effects, including visual blight, the impact on birds and the potential for earthquake damage. City officials contended that water district officials had downplayed, discounted and hidden potential adverse impacts.

The proposed wind turbine would stand 250 feet tall at Lake Palmdale and cut water district energy costs. The turbine is proposed for the northern edge of Lake Palmdale, south of Avenue S and west of Sierra Highway.

The turbine would help power the district's Lake Palmdale water-treatment plant and booster-pump facility.

A major concern of the city is the aesthetic impact a large structure would have, particularly on the views from homes in the area and from cars of motorists traveling on the Antelope Valley Freeway north out of Soledad Pass.

In response to comments on the negative declaration, district officials said the visual impact would be minimal because the turbine would be built on the same site where a 300-foot radio tower once stood. District officials also said the turbine would have a slim tower that would not obstruct views for motorists entering the Antelope Valley.

City officials said the former radio tower is irrelevant because state environmental law does not measure a project's impacts against conditions that might have existed in the past but against environmental conditions that exist when a new project is proposed.