AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A Maine judge has overturned the state environmental chief’s regulatory decision regarding noise violations at a wind farm.
Kennebec County Superior Court justice Michaela Murphy wrote in a ruling Monday that there was “no rational bias or relevant evidence” to support Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patricia Aho’s decision to require Vinalhaven’s Fox Island Wind to address wind conditions only on the night the violation happened.
Murphy said there was no bias under Maine law, but criticized Aho’s involvement, which he said “directly benefited a client of her former employer.”
The company was represented by Pierce Atwood, Aho’s former employer.
A DEP spokeswoman tells the Portland Press Herald (https://bit.ly/1m1kd59 ) that the department is disappointed with the decision.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com
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