TATE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Many neighbors of the Nestlewood Solar Facility near Hammersville in Clermont County have complained about flooding and standing water after heavy rains this week.
The controversial project has divided this farming community. Many residents leased their land to Texas-based Vesper Energy for an 80-megawatt solar facility where corn and soybeans were once farmed on more than 600 acres on the Clermont and Brown county lines.
Outrage over the project led Tate Township trustees to ban future large-scale solar projects.
Then Clermont County Commissioners approved a ban of large solar and wind farms in seven townships last summer after enraged residents called the Nestlewood project almost 700 acres of pure hell.
The solar issue launched political activism in the rural township, and propelled farmer and tree service owner, Rusty Durbin, to run for trustee and win last November on an anti-large-scale solar platform.
Now neighbors say an especially wet week is making them wonder if their land will suffer long-term damage from the solar project. They say the impact of Nestlewood’s construction has re-routed water and turned small creeks into large waterways, flooding roads, ditches, backyards and basements when it rains.
“We’re going to lose our property because of all this,” said Paul Daugherty, who lives next to a new electrical substation and switch yard for Nestlewood. “We went through months of construction with much lime and rock brought in, and much dirt removed and now … they leave us with ponds everywhere.”
WCPO spoke to many longtime residents who said they never had standing water in their yards until crews broke ground on Nestlewood nearly two years ago.
Michelle Clement, who lives next to Daugherty and the new substation, said parts of her cow pasture were flooded this week. She also worries about deep ditches along Leonard Road that were caused by heavy equipment brought in for the solar project. Trucks were forced to pull off the one-lane road, creating deep ruts that fill up with water when it rains. In the summer, they become ponds for mosquitoes and are filled with weeds.
“I can’t push mow it anymore, so I look at weeds all year,” Clement said.
Charles Day said his backyard repeatedly floods, and this week his creek was running at its banks and very muddy. He has lived on Oak Corner Road for 15 years, and prior his in-laws owned the property since 1993, and they never had any water issues until Nestlewood.
He contacted county and state officials, and even the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but said no one has helped him.
“We’ve been getting a lot more flooding, a lot of complaints from the residents,” Durbin said. “People are seeing water in places they’ve never seen before … with no vegetation on that property (Nestlewood) over there, all the water just sheds off and goes into the ditches and into the creeks.”
Durbin took video of water flowing across Oak Corner Road after a rainstorm last August. County officials confirmed to him that they had no record of the road flooding like that before the solar project.
But Durbin admits, there’s not much he can do because the Ohio Power Siting Board, which is part of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, oversees large solar projects.
Siting board compliance staff visited Nestlewood last Tuesday as part of a standard construction inspection, and not because of any individual complaints.
“Some ponding was present, in line with what could normally be expected given recent rainfall. Compliance staff found no outstanding issues at this time but will continue to monitor the project. The site is still under construction and some work remains to be done. Civil work is on hold until the spring, when final grading and restoration of the site will be completed,” said Ohio Power Siting Board spokesperson Matthew Butler.
If residents have complaints they should first reach out to Nestlewood through its complaint resolution process and if they are still unsatisfied, then they can contact the power siting board directly, Butler said.
“Vesper Energy values good relationships with those who live in and around project areas and we are committed to being good neighbors now and into the future,” said Jaclyn Friedly, a spokesperson for Vesper Energy which owns Nestlewood.
WCPO asked her about the complaints of some neighbors. For example, Daugherty said Nestewood crews dug an eight-foot ditch that prevents him from accessing his back property.
“We are also talking with (Daugherty) to better understand his concerns and then, if needed, identify solutions,” Friedly said.
As for Clement’s complaint about the water-filled ditches, Friedly said, “Vesper has not had heavy equipment in the area for a few weeks and when we have in the past, if the equipment goes off-road for any reason, our practice is to address any needs within a few days.”
Nestlewood began commercial operation of the solar facility on Dec. 27, according to a letter filed with PUCO five days beforehand.
“Final restoration activities related to the completion of project construction are anticipated to continue into the spring of 2024. These activities will include cleaning up the site and removing all construction equipment. Final road repairs are expected to occur after weather warms up in the spring,” according to the Dec. 22 letter.
“I have asked the site managers, I have asked the people in Texas which are in charge of the site managers here, and nobody wants to pay attention to any of the drainage (issues),” Daugherty said. “I’m very upset because we’re not being treated as citizens of the United States in my opinion. We’re being treated like nobody because nobody wants to fix it.”
Durbin has walked the flooded backyards of township residents, and seen smashed culvert pipes, water-filled ditches and destroyed roads.
“I know part of their contract is they’re going to come back and fix everything when they get done. I hope that it's true and they do that,” Durbin said.
If residents have concerns, Nestlewood has established a complaint resolution process, according to documents on the siting board’s website.
“Nestlewood Solar will establish a toll-free telephone number and will provide that number to the county commissioners, township trustees, emergency responders, schools, and public libraries within the Project Area; that number will also be posted on the Project website. To register a complaint, individuals may either call the telephone number and leave a message or send an e-mail to the Project e-mail address. Messages will be checked daily, Monday thru Friday and initial follow up will occur within two business days. Any emergency situations should be addressed with the appropriate local authorities or by calling 911.
Nestlewood Solar Complaint Resolution Form Website: http://www.nestlewoodsolar.com.
Email: info@nestlewoodsolar.com Phone:1.833.611.2901”
