Erving Planning Board Extends Solar Permit, Requires Tribal Artifact Inspection

ERVING -- March 27, 2020, Erving Planning Board unanimously extends solar special permit with tribal monitoring condition. The board voted 4-0 at its March 27 virtual hearing to grant a one-year extension of the special permit for a 1.29-megawatt solar project off Poplar Mountain Road, originally approved in April 2018 and lapsed under the town's one-year bylaw before construction could begin. Applicant Mike Zimmer of Soltage presented a site plan effectively unchanged from 2018, with two modifications that reduce overall site impact, including a shift in the electrical interconnection route that eliminates the need to cut large pine trees on an adjacent parcel. The board added a condition, endorsed by all four members present, requiring a tribal monitor to inspect two drainage infiltration basins, each roughly 20 feet by 50 feet, already excavated on site, citing advice from Erving's archaeological preservation officer that the ridgeline is "highly sensitive from an archaeological point of view." Board members noted the one-year permit limit is itself under review, with a bylaw rewrite intended to extend the window to three years for large projects.