County Attorney Addresses Wind Farm Controversy

By Gordon HopkinsJefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson told commissioners at last week’s meeting that NextEra Energy, the owner and operator of the Steele Flats Wind Farm in Jefferson and Gage Counties, would not have to obtain a special use permit before commissioners decided whether to repower the wind farm.Repowering Steele Flats, which first went online in 2013, involves retrofitting and upgrading its turbines, which could include increasing the height of the towers and length of its blades.Casson told commissioners that “this project isn’t subject to any new regulations. It’s only subject to the regulations that it was approved under.” While the regulations do not specify a maximum height for the towers, Casson indicated that the 2013 regulations do have a setback requirement based on the height of the tower.“And those regulations dictated setback based on tower height,” said Casson. “So, we’ve already anticipated tower height, because it’s based on setback on the tower height.”Gregory Kratz has attended recent meetings of the Jefferson County Commissioners to request that the county require NextEra to apply for a new or amended Special Use Permit. It is his contention that the repowering project should require a new Special Use Permit because of the increase in height.Kratz is a local attorney but has advised FJN that he does not have a client and is acting on his own behalf.David Levy, an attorney representing NextEra, has objected to the proposal. According to Levy, the changes to the towers will still comply with the zoning regulations of 2013, when the permit was issued. Since 2013, zoning regulations have been changed. Levy pointed out that there was no height limit to the towers in the regulations then or now.

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