Press Release: Ward 5 Group Appeals Solar Farm Permit Supports Clean Energy, Opposes Major Runoff & Mature Tree Cutting

Concerned Citizens of Woodridge
A New Ward 5 Citizens Association


For release: August 16, 2019
Contact: Joyce Chandler, ccowdc@gmail.com, (202) 643-1363‬

Ward 5 Group Appeals Solar Farm Permit
Supports Clean Energy, Opposes Major Runoff & Mature Tree Cutting 

The Concerned Citizens of Woodridge, a new Ward 5 non-profit citizens association in the District, has submitted an appeal to the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) of the decision by the District’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to issue a permit to Solar Energy Services, Inc. from Millersville, MD to construct a solar energy farm of over 5000 utility panels in the single family neighborhood of Woodridge without the required BZA review process for Special Exception Relief for utility use.
The BZA appeal would, and should, allow property owners adjacent to the project, and others nearby, to have their voices and concerns heard and appropriately mitigated.  BZA Appeal No. 20132 case file here: https://app.dcoz.dc.gov/Content/Search/ViewCaseReport.aspx?case_id=20132

While favoring the production of clean solar energy, the Concerned Citizens of Woodridge want a full public discussion of the environment, public health and safety questions that thousands of solar panel are generating, including:

  • the extremely large volume of storm water runoff from the hillside property in question into the neighborhood sidewalks, streets, private property and the storm drains.

    The runoff problems are clearly visible in these videos: in July, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgpC3Q122g4 and on August 7, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twHK1NVNu5k. Not only does this uncontrolled runoff degrade the land over which it flows, the water and any sediment apparently ends up in the Anacostia River, directly counteracting the District and federal environmental cleanup efforts.

  • use of an apparently large amount of a herbicide over the five acre area with possible and unknown immediate and long-term effects on plants, animals and humans.  The use of this herbicide was never discussed by the solar developer, Solar Energy Services, nor by Catholic Energies.
  • cutting down almost 40 mature trees to be replaced by approximately 100 new plantings. These new-growth plantings have only a small fraction of the water retention properties of the larger, mature trees.  Likewise, the new plantings only reduce a small fraction of atmospheric carbon of the mature trees.
On May 15, 2019 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5C voted not to support the project. This prompted the attorney for Catholic Charity to request that the BZA postpone the hearing, scheduled for May 22, 2019, until July to allow time to work with the ANC for its support.  However, the BZA postponed the hearing until September 2019.
The developer for Catholic Charities, Solar Energy Services, then promptly received a construction permit in less than two weeks on June 4, 2019.  Using this permit they began cutting down trees, spraying herbicides, and executing their solar project. Concerned residents became aware of the issued permit only after it was posted on a fence outside the proposed construction site.

The following statement summarizes Concerned Citizens’ position regarding this solar energy farm:

We, the Concerned Citizens of Woodridge, believe that the Catholic Charity/ Solar Energy Services project is irreparably damaging our environment, our yards and the Anacostia River. While we certainly support renewable energy for the city, it should not come with the environmental damage that this project is already causing and will continue to inflict as well as the bypassing of public discussion and involvement in the District’s decision-making.  Environmental actions should reinforce each other, not cancel each other out.

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Updated: August 16, 2019 at 7:59 pm

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