Supervisors, commissioners will begin updating 2008 Clinton wind ordinance

Supervisors, commissioners will begin updating 2008 Clinton wind ordinance

Clinton County officials extended a moratorium on addressing commercial wind farm applications to the end of the year while they continue to hold public forums that are drawing hundreds of residents.

The extension of the moratorium, which supervisors Jim Irwin and Erin George approved Monday, is in effect until Dec. 31.

“This is the right decision right now,” George said. 

Supervisor Dan Srp abstained from the vote after recusing himself last month from participating in any discussion or decisions about the Clinton County Wind Ordinance due to a personal conflict of interest.

To date, two public forums that lasted for nearly nine combined hours drew comments from close to 100 people as the county’s zoning and planning commissioners and supervisors prepare to update the county’s commercial wind ordinance, which was developed in 2008. The next public meeting is 6 p.m. October 9 at the Northeast School Auditorium.

The first portion of that meeting, which will run until 9 p.m., will allow for those who had signed up to speak at the meeting last Wednesday but were not able to because of time, said Irwin, who is chairman of the board of supervisors. “After that, we’ll go into ordinance discussions,” Irwin said, explaining that the public will be allowed to listen, but not participate, in the discussion. Rather, county officials will begin the process of reviewing the current ordinance and discussing each change or addition based on information gathered over the past months.

In June, supervisors voted to put a three-month moratorium in place regarding commercial wind farm applications. The measure was presented by Irwin, who cited escalating public concern about potential wind energy projects in the county.

Irwin and George will hash out details of the ordinance – determining setbacks, appropriate noise decibel levels, responsibility for road maintenance, and more. Because the county already has a commercial wind farm ordinance, the supervisors will not cast a yes or no vote on whether to allow wind farms. NextEra Energy Resources currently has signed contracts with Clinton County residents to put turbines on their property if a project goes forward. 

At last week’s forum, which lasted almost five hours, some speakers asked for specific provisions to be added to the ordinance, while others shared information about possible impacts on wildlife, disruption to farm ground, and health concerns. Some spoke in favor of the project, citing construction jobs, economic development and the importance of moving away from coal-fueled energy. Property rights of landowners participating in the project, as well as those who have adjoining property, was a common theme. 

Tim Arnold, who is the lead developer on the Clinton wind project for NextEra, sent a letter to supervisors on Sept. 16 “to address some concerns raised by members of the public in recent months.” The company “urges the Board of Supervisors to retain the current ordinance as it protects landowners and the environment while still allowing for reasonable development of wind projects, consistent with state policy,” he wrote. However, if the county does make amendments, he reiterated the company’s position on setbacks, compliance with government regulations on aviation and natural resources, the decommissioning process and more.  He echoed the letter when he spoke at the forum. 

Many in the audience pushed for much stricter standards on those issues. Residents opposed to wind projects have organized under the Clinton & Jackson County Iowa Residents Against Wind Turbines. The Don Quixote Society Inc., formed in June, is an offshoot of that effort. It is publicly advocating and placing advertising around the state to create restrictions on wind farms through ordinance language.

While there are strong feelings on the issue, Irwin said the public input has been valuable.

“We’ve had good, productive meetings. There’ve been few hiccups, but that’s to be expected. I’m very happy with how Clinton County residents have conducted themselves on both sides of the issue,” he said.