Committee delays public hearings for two US Solar projects, flags drain-tile surveys and transport-route details

Iroquois County zoning staff told the committee Oct. 7 that two applications from US Solar (referred to in the record as USS Venus/US Solar projects and a separate Lewis Creek project) are not yet ready for public hearing because the packages contain outstanding deficiencies, most notably missing or incomplete drain-tile investigations and insufficient transport-route details for heavy equipment.

Andrew, county staff, said the most important missing item is a drain-tile survey the ordinance requires so adjacent landowners and drainage districts have an opportunity to review subsurface drainage impacts during the public hearing process. "Part of the purpose of that is to allow for people from the public to attend the meeting to say, 'hey, this is what we see in drain tile survey,' " Andrew said. He explained that older drain tiles may not appear on maps or in drainage-district records and that early vetting at the special-use/public-hearing stage ensures affected parties can be heard.

Ryan Mignoni, senior manager of project development with US Solar, said the company has provided a drain-tile investigation report produced by its engineers and that, because site plans are preliminary, the developer often waits until final engineering to perform invasive on-site tile locating. "Our engineers and our team who is building the property because we end up being the owner operator of these projects a long term...when we go through the process of finalizing our engineering plans, it is actually, okay. This is where we plan for the piles to be," Mignoni said. He added US Solar will provide full surveys to the county before construction and said the firm typically avoids repetitive invasive surveys until final design is set.

Committee members pressed that, in Iroquois County, the drain-tile information is intended to be available before the public hearing so drainage districts and adjacent landowners are not surprised later. Staff and the developer agreed to meet after the committee to resolve the outstanding items. The committee directed staff to work with US Solar until Scott Dericki (county engineer) and staff determine the application packages are complete; if staff deems them complete, the committee agreed to schedule a special meeting or the next regular meeting to consider setting public hearings.

The discussion also flagged transport-route mapping deficiencies: staff said an equipment-transport map provided by the applicant stopped two miles north of the site, leaving unclear how large equipment would reach township and county roads and whether road-use agreements or repairs would be required. Staff also noted the applications need clear inventory of equipment (for example, number and type of battery units) to assess road impacts and any road-use agreements.

Committee members reiterated the county’s practice that developers post 100% of estimated decommissioning costs at construction and said decommissioning estimates should be revisited periodically for long-term projects. The committee did not schedule public hearings for the US Solar projects at the Oct. 7 meeting; instead it directed staff to work with the applicant to complete the applications.