Commissioners open County to future wind farms

With their final decision, Phillips County Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of a resolution and regulations governing the placement of wind energy facilities in the county. Also referred to as "wind farms," these facilities produce electricity through the use of spinning turbine blades powered by wind that, in turn, power generators.

Previously, the council had adopted a moratorium on these facilities, which ended Oct. 19.

More than 20 people arrived at the County Courthouse and lined the walls for 9:05 a.m. public comment; many of them wanted to postpone the vote. Shannon Schlachter, a local farmer and real estate agent, told commissioners the month-and-a-half comment period didn't reflect "the gravity of this decision" or allow "word-of-mouth" to reach agriculture workers at harvest time.

"These guys were on combines, they were running sprayers, they were trying to finish up their end-of-year work," she said. "This is going to affect our children; this is going to affect our grandchildren. I would ask for another 30 days."

After a short pause, Commissioner Chair Tom Timm answered.

"No," he said. "We will not do that."

Before their decision, commissioners had attempted to garner public comment twice: the first time via legal notice that informed residents of a public hearing scheduled Oct. 19, the second time via advertisement requesting further comment at their Oct. 31 meeting. They published both notifications in The Holyoke Enterprise and The Haxtun-Fleming Herald, drawing six people both times, then made decisions regarding wind energy regulations Nov. 9.

Timm said, other than a discussion on "the process we've gone through," public comment had closed for the day.

While Kyle McConnell, a local farmer and landowner, said those present "overwhelmingly" appreciated the commissioners' work and understood their position, he believed citizens should have more time to set "clear, defined lines" within the regulations. He wanted it placed on public record that those present "were denied during our busy time trying to keep our family going."

Before the vote, however, he made a statement the commissioners seemed to find pleasing.

"When you look at the amount of acreage represented in this county sitting in this room, it should speak volumes of how we feel about it," McConnell said. "Just ensure, moving forward, that we're all in a good place to work together."

"That's a fair statement," said Commissioner Garold Roberts.

"Thanks, everybody, for coming in," added Commissioner Terry Hofmeister.

The commissioners' 24-page regulatory document, formed over the course of a year-plus-long investigation by the County Planning Commission, accounts for a facility's environmental impact, placement, security and more. Because it's a "living document," Roberts told the crowd, it can be guided by experience and changed in the future.

Roberts, who worked in the Planning Commission, said he pushed especially hard for the facilities to be located at least 2,500 feet from what the document specifies to be "any occupied dwelling on the property of a non-participating landowner." All three commissioners own property that may be affected by a facility.

"You look at my phone and it's full of sunrises and sunsets," Roberts said. "I get it, and that's the reason I live out there."

To better understand a wind tower's effects, Roberts said, he traveled to a facility in Fleming, and asked himself: "Could I see flicker after 2,000 feet? Could I see flicker after 2,500 feet?" Flicker, an effect where the sun shines low through turbine blades and casts a moving shadow, can be predicted by computer modeling. Barring a written agreement with an affected landowner, the document states, flicker shall not pass over any occupied dwelling more than 30 hours per year under planned conditions.

Towers from "three miles back" or "five miles back" would be in his future pictures, Roberts said, but he needed to eventually decide, "What can I live with?"

During the final vote, Roberts expressed an openness to delay the proceedings and receive more feedback, but Commissioner Hofmeister advised him to make a decision before the meeting's end. As someone who once worked in the oil industry, Hofmeister said, he always left his "personal feelings at the door" when it came to new opportunities.

"Can we stop progress? No we can't," he said. "There are some really good things in this document if the right wind company comes in."

Timm, for his part, said he joined the commissioners despite having "never been a public guy at all" in order to help people - especially his family - and keep the county "going for the next generation." The current drought, he believes, will prove "devastating" to farmers; the lack of moisture accelerated his push for the resolution and regulations.

"If the pumps were still pumping decently, I don't think it would be that big of an issue," he said, "but I think it's getting [to be] an issue because there are so many places water is used that aren't here now.

"Getting back to this, I feel I want to vote on it today."

With that, Roberts made the first motion to approve the regulations. The resolution took longer for him to accept, as he'd just seen it that day, but he relented upon learning the county's legal counsel recommended the resolution.

Phillips County's new wind energy regulations may be found at phillipscounty.colorado.gov/. To see the resolution, click on the top-right menu on the website, followed by "Departments," "County Commissioners" and "Resolutions & Ordinances."