Photo courtesy of Botetourt Co.
By Matt de Simone
The Rocky Forge Wind project in Botetourt County remains under construction, with commercial operations expected to begin in late 2026. While hailed by some as a step toward clean energy, the project has recently come under public scrutiny for potential environmental violations, particularly regarding erosion and runoff into nearby waterways like Mill Creek.
Concerns were brought to the attention of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors by an Eagle Rock resident during the public comment period for non-agenda items at last Tuesday’s meeting. These same concerns were also echoed by the same man in a recent Letter to the Editor in The Fincastle Herald, which raised questions about whether the project is staying in compliance with environmental regulations and maintaining transparency in its oversight.
The letter, published in the July 16 edition, alleged that Mill Creek, upstream from the James River along Dagger Springs Road, suffered “irrecoverable damage from extremely heavy silting,” resulting in the water looking like “chocolate milk.” The author of the letter reiterated his concerns publicly during the July 23 meeting, near its conclusion.
The Eagle Rock resident directly challenged the board during the meeting, claiming that sedimentation violations he allegedly observed near the site were the result of “willful negligence” and asserting that the county isn’t enforcing stormwater regulations. His comments highlighted growing unease among some community members over the project’s potential environmental impact as construction continues in the rural mountain area.
File photo
During the supervisors’ comments period, Board Chair Amy White responded directly to the man’s claims of “willful negligence” by stating that she had received concerns from only two Botetourt citizens regarding the Rocky Forge Wind project. White shared that she, along with Fincastle Supervisor Brandon Nicely, visited the site on July 18 with less than 24 hours’ notice to site managers.
“In my opinion, what I observed is (Rocky Forge Wind) has gone above and beyond what is necessary by code and by regulations to ensure proper stormwater management control,” White said. She explained that the site is surrounded by a reinforced silt fence and that there is a team on-site continuously monitoring erosion activity. “‘Willful negligence’ is a really strong term,” she continued. “I would argue very strongly that ‘willful’ must be taken out of there. Everyone on that site wants it to be clean, to be appropriate. We’re not here to debate the pros and cons of wind energy (or) the merits of that project. It was approved long before three of us were on this board… What our role is now, as I see it, is to ensure compliance and, in my opinion—what I observed—the site is in compliance and I think the companies that are involved are making every effort to ensure that they remain compliant with all current regulations.”
In response to the concerns, a series of detailed questions were submitted to Apex Clean Energy, the company developing Rocky Forge Wind. The inquiries focused on construction status, environmental assessments, agency oversight, erosion controls, water quality monitoring, and the company’s communication with local stakeholders.
Despite the specificity of the questions, Apex issued a broad statement: “The construction of Rocky Forge Wind is well underway, with operations anticipated in late 2026. Rocky Forge Wind is in compliance with all local, state, and federal permits. Erosion and sediment control best management practices are installed according to the approved plans and are inspected regularly. Rocky Forge Wind has not received any notifications of non-compliance from government agencies. We will continue to work with all applicable agencies to ensure compliance throughout construction and operations.”
Fincastle Supervisor Brandon Nicely added to the discussion at the meeting, noting that, “(Rocky Forge Wind) has doubled up, tripled up a lot of their erosion and sediment control measures, brush barriers, along with wood chips in front of it… They have their own environmentalist who has actually shut them down before.” He added that staff is on-site specifically monitoring all erosion and sediment activity “every four days or after every rain event. Yes, there are blowouts. I used to inspect it all the time. The regulations are designed to hold back a two-year storm. That’s basically it. As you’ve seen around this state, look at the blowouts we’ve had.”
Nicely also mentioned a “violation downstream” that had been observed recently but clarified in an email that the washout occurred on a parcel along Dagger Springs Road not affiliated with the Rocky Forge Wind project. “The area below the project (private land) where we noticed a road has been recently cut or modified certainly added to or caused some runoff in recent rains,” Nicely said. “The county officials are looking in to it.”
Nicely further explained that the “blowout” he referred to during the meeting described erosion and sediment control structures failing to stop runoff during intense storms. “In most cases, these structures are modified to be more efficient as time goes on,” Nicely said. “The (erosion and sediment) manual design criteria does not always address certain situations, so the contractor is constantly adding more best management practices to shore up areas where the original approved methods were insufficient. The contractor at Rocky Forge is doing just that.”
County Community Development Director Nicole Pendleton added that the county is aware of a blowout on-site that has since been stabilized. When asked whether this was the same location referenced during public comment, she said, “It was my understanding of Supervisor Nicely’s comments that there have been significant rain events in the county that exceed the storm event for which these measures are designed to protect, and as such, blowouts where silt fences fail are bound to happen in those kinds of storms. However, we did not observe any of that when we conducted our site visit. We also met with the environmental manager to hear about their efforts and observed the full-time crew onsite that is dedicated solely to ensure compliance with the regulations.”
As construction on Virginia’s first onshore wind farm continues, public interest in oversight and environmental compliance is expected to remain high. County officials have reiterated their commitment to ensuring the project meets regulatory standards, while Apex maintains that it is operating within all required environmental guidelines. Whether that will satisfy concerned citizens remains to be seen, but both local leaders and developers appear focused on monitoring and maintaining compliance as the project moves forward.
To watch the live stream of last week’s Botetourt County Board of Supervisors meeting, visit the county’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@botetourtcountyva/streams.
