Opinion ID: 1258678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Commission's Duty to Undertake an Independent Investigation.

Text: The Eisenbeisses argue that the Commission failed to conduct any thorough, independent evaluation of all respective positions presented in this case and thus, breached its statutory duty to protect the public in its review and approval of Beech Ridge's siting application. Therefore, the Eisenbeisses maintain that although W.Va.Code § 24-2-11c requires the Commission to balance the interests of the public, the general interest of the state and local economy, and the interests of the applicant, the Commission failed to fulfill that duty. The Eisenbeisses state that the Commission erred in its May 5, 2006, denial of their March 30, 2006, motion that the Commission hire technical experts to conduct independent studies to evaluate all of the concerns raised by the intervenors. The Eisenbeisses maintain that they did not have the financial resources to pay for such studies and that the Commission staff did not have the expertise to evaluate the noise issues or the related health risks associated with a large-scale wind facility. Thus, according to the Eisenbeisses, the Commission failed to provide independent analysis of the economic viability to the public, the State, and the local economy, as required by law. In response, the Commission determined that each party was responsible for developing and producing its own evidence to support its respective positions. Moreover, the Commission directed that its staff conduct a thorough, independent evaluation of everyone's position in the case, and that its staff did as directed. Finally, the Commission argues that the parties were not deprived of their right to submit their own studies, and did, in fact, submit evidence through public comment, which was fully considered by the Commission. Therefore, the Commission states that it did not abuse its discretion in balancing the interests of the public, the State, and local economy. Likewise, Beech Ridge and the Trades Council agree that the Commission did not err in denying the Eisenbeisses' motion that the Commission pay for independent studies to support their various positions in this proceeding. These parties point out that while intervenors are certainly entitled to participate in all facets of the proceeding, this does not mean that the State is required to pay for an intervenor's attempt to prove its case. Moreover, Beech Ridge and the Trades Council maintain that there is no evidence to support a finding that the Commission staff failed in their duty to provide the Commission with an unbiased recommendation. With regard to the Eisenbeisses' argument that the Commission failed to conduct any thorough, independent evaluation of all respective positions presented in this case, we disagree. During our disposition of the first argument in this case regarding the adequacy of the Commission's findings of fact and conclusions of law, we discussed the Commission's exhaustive review and independent evaluation of all evidence before it. Moreover, the Eisenbeisses' specific contention that the Commission's staff failed in its capacity to provide the Commission with reliable independent conclusions is insufficiently supported by the evidence before us and we find nothing in the record that would lead us to a contrary conclusion. As such, we do not believe that the Commission breached its statutory duty to protect the public in its review and approval of Beech Ridge's siting application, and we believe that the Commission properly balanced the interests of the public, the general interest of the State and local economy, and the interests of the applicant, as required by W.Va.Code § 24-2-11c. Accordingly, we find no merit in the Eisenbeisses' argument that the Commission had a duty to appoint technical experts to conduct independent studies to evaluate concerns raised by all of the intervenors. Each party had sufficient opportunity to develop and produce evidence it deemed important to support their respective positions. In addition, the Commission's staff was able to review and analyze all of the evidence presented to it and then provide the Commission with an unbiased position. We see no evidence that the Commission exceeded its statutory powers and jurisdiction in this case and find that the record before us includes adequate evidence to support the Commission's findings. We further believe that the substantive result of the Commission's action is proper in light of the public interest and the applicant's interest. See Syllabus Point 1 of Central West Virginia Refuse, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, supra . Moreover, as we held in Syllabus Point 2 of WV Dept. of Health & Human Resources Employees Federal Credit Union v. Tennant, 215 W.Va. 387, 599 S.E.2d 810 (2004), `An appellant must carry the burden of showing error in the judgment of which he complains. This Court will not reverse the judgment of a trial court unless error affirmatively appears from the record. Error will not be presumed, all presumptions being in favor of the correctness of the judgment.' Syllabus Point 5, Morgan v. Price, 151 W.Va. 158, 150 S.E.2d 897 (1966). Based upon all of the above, as well as our thorough review of the record, we find that there is no merit to the Eisenbeisses' argument. In summary, we believe that the Commission acted within the scope of its authority and properly considered all of the evidence prior to issuing a final order addressing the pertinent issues. As such, the decision of the Commission in favor of granting a siting certificate to Beech Ridge is affirmed.