The Stutsman County Commission approved a zoning ordinance concerning commercial wind farms during its regular July meeting Tuesday. The ordinance passed unanimously after four amendments were made to the document prepared over the past nine months by the Stutsman County Zoning and Planning Commission.

The first change followed the recommendation of the planning commission and lowered the permit fee from $1,000 per turbine to $500 per turbine. The permit fee is paid to the county's general fund and is used to offset costs of administrating the zoning ordinance and any legal fees incurred if the ordinance is challenged, said Noel Johnson, chief operating officer of the county and zoning administrator.

Another change substituted the word property for wind in a requirement that companies seeking a permit to place a commercial wind farm in Stutsman County furnish the zoning administrator with information about what rights they've acquired in the county.

A third amendment dealt with the meteorological towers used by wind power companies to research wind potential and to operate the wind farms. These towers are often less than 200 feet and are not required to have any lighting or special markings by the Federal Aviation Administration.

"We ask that the line be changed so that only permanent met towers would be lighted," said Scott Scovil, senior project developer for NextEra Energy. "Temporary towers are often in rural areas without electric service available for lighting."

Brian Rau, an aerial applicator from Medina, presented the commission with a substitute plan for marking temporary towers with paint and high visibility balls attached to the guy wires. This option was adopted by the commission.

The fourth amendment to the zoning ordinance dealt with noise levels created by the turbines. The draft document allowed a maximum noise level of 65 decibels at the property line of the project. This was changed to require wind farm developers to meet or exceed current Environmental Protection Agency standards at any residence in the project.

"Noise is becoming more of an issue within our industry," Scovil said. "We agree to do sound testing but don't know where the 65 decibels comes from."

The ordinance, with the four amendments, will take affect in 30 days.