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Resident urges Crawford County to extend wind and solar moratorium, requests environmental study
Summary
A public commenter asked the Crawford County Commission to extend the county's moratorium on wind and solar developments and to require an environmental impact study; commissioners described the moratorium's purpose and outreach plans for an updated comprehensive plan.
A Crawford County resident urged the commission to extend the county's moratorium on wind and solar projects and to require an environmental impact study, saying the county needs more time to assess potential harms.
"I've recently gone to a couple of meetings about wind and solar. And I'm really concerned," said Don Lipeshak, a resident who addressed the commission during public comment. "I understand there's a moratorium. But I understand also that it's going to expire at the end of the year. Is that true?"
Commissioners responded that the moratorium was a one-year measure that expires Dec. 31 and that it was adopted to give county attorneys time to update the county's comprehensive plan to include guidance on alternate energy development. A commissioner summarized the purpose: the moratorium "was not because we're in favor or against" but to provide time for legal and planning updates.
Lipeshak said he would like the commission to extend the moratorium and to require an environmental-impact study during any extension. "Once they put in a solar farm, that land is gone. It's done. You can't do a dang thing with it," he said, adding concerns about wildlife and about long-lived wind-turbine blades: "when these turbines either fail or the blades on them fail, you can't get rid of the blades. You gotta bury them. You can't do nothing with them."
Commissioners described ongoing outreach tied to the comprehensive-plan update. A postcard survey will be mailed to property owners across Crawford County with instructions to respond by mail or online; staff said the mailing would include guidance and would be paired with later radio, TV or newspaper outreach. A consultant meeting had been delayed because the consultant faced a family emergency, a staff member said.
Asked whether the moratorium issue could be decided by ballot, a commissioner said state law prevents placing the question on the local ballot.
The commission did not record a motion to extend the moratorium in the provided transcript; a public comment and staff explanation were included in the record and staff described planned outreach and the comprehensive-plan update as the next steps.
