County Attorney Addresses Wind Farm Controversy

By Gordon Hopkins Jefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson weighed in on a recent proposal to require new or amended Special Use Permits for the repowering of the Steele Flats Wind Farm in Jefferson and Gage Counties.Steele Flats first went online in 2013. Repowering involves retrofitting and upgrading the turbines, which could include increasing the height of the towers and length of the blades. Gregory Kratz has attended recent meetings of the Jefferson County Commissioners to request that the county require the company that owns and operates the wind farm, NextEra Energy, apply for a new or amended Special Use Permit. 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, 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. Casson told commissioners, “I think it's a correct statement 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 pointed out 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.”

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