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County approves letter to DLCD on solar siting rules; commissioners back keeping local permitting route
Summary
Morrow County approved a letter to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development asking DLCD to preserve the current local permitting approach or allow counties to set siting standards, while raising concerns about agricultural land loss and mitigation requirements.
The Morrow County Board of Commissioners approved a draft letter to the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) about upcoming rulemaking on solar siting. The letter endorses preserving a mostly local permitting approach and asks for options that allow counties to adopt standards tailored to local conditions.
Planning staff noted the county is among the state’s most developed solar areas and that half of recent permits were processed by the county and half with state assistance. Commissioners discussed three options in the rulemaking materials: leave implementation to current legislation and processes; require county-level mapping and specific standards; or adopt a new rule set that gives counties clearer authority and requires concurrence from the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) for mitigation measures.
Commissioner Wenholtz said he is concerned about a potential “domino effect” that could remove too much farmland and undercut farm-support services, and he urged strong mitigation and enforceable measures. Another commissioner said DLCD’s economic analysis for a major project (Sunstone) addressed many of those impacts and will inform mitigation options.
The board voted to send the letter urging DLCD to avoid unnecessary statewide changes that would reduce county control and to consider stronger mitigation requirements for large projects. The motion passed 2–1.
