Des Moines County held a work session to review Article 12 of a draft wind/renewable‑energy ordinance, with county attorneys, emergency responders and wind‑farm representatives discussing specific emergency‑response requirements, training, fire‑suppression language and cleanup timelines.

County officials said the proposed Article 12 would require any developer seeking a siting permit for wind, solar or battery storage to submit a project‑specific emergency response plan addressing a long list of incidents — natural disasters, fire/explosion, security breaches, medical emergencies and other events — and to provide emergency contact information so an operator can be reached within 24 hours.

The proposal would also require plans to describe procedures to safely de‑energize and re‑start equipment, to inspect and test alarms and interlocks, and to outline notifications and commands that could require shutting down equipment or summoning repair personnel. The draft calls for owners or operators to provide specialized annual and onboarding training for local fire and emergency personnel “at no cost to the applicable fire departments,” and for an annual on‑site tour so responders can inspect critical infrastructure.

Why it matters: the county is drafting rules intended to give local responders a clear, enforceable standard for preparedness and post‑incident cleanup. Participants repeatedly said the ordinance language must be specific enough that departments, the public and a court could determine whether a requirement has been met.

Major points of discussion

LifeFlight and landing zones: Justin Myers, fire chief, and several volunteer and paid fire responders pressed for explicit language on helicopter landing zones (LZs) and coordination. “We really need to have a plan in place as far as where these landing zones are for the helicopters,” Myers said, noting a rural county’s reliance on air transport for severe injuries. Luke McCandless, operations for AES (a wind operator), said AES regularly coordinates with regional LifeFlight providers during operations and that operators typically plan LZs during construction and carry crop‑damage provisions in landowner agreements.

Training and mutual aid: Emergency managers and fire chiefs urged mandatory, recurring training. Des Moines County Emergency Management staff asked the board to require annual or semiannual refresher and onboarding training rather than a one‑time session at startup. The draft already requires annual readoption of the emergency response plan by county emergency management and “applicable fire departments”; attendees recommended adding ambulance services, the sheriff’s office and mutual‑aid departments to the review group.

Fire suppression and code references: Several fire marshals and industry representatives said turbine manufacturers use proprietary, turbine‑specific suppression systems and that a universal suppression standard may not be technically feasible for every turbine model. Robert Burns, Burlington fire marshal, advised caution about mandating a particular NFPA standard because not all NFPA documents apply to every turbine design and some NFPA standards are enforceable only if adopted by the jurisdiction. Land‑use staff said the county can either incorporate a code by reference (for example, the International Fire Code and a specific NFPA edition) or require applicants to demonstrate compliance with industry standards as part of plan review.

Cleanup and decommissioning timelines: The board discussed timelines following a damaging event. Under the draft, developers must neutralize immediate public‑safety risks — for example a turbine section that could collapse or scattering of fiberglass debris — within a short period, and then either reactivate, repair or fully decommission damaged equipment within a longer period. Participants supported a 30‑day target to secure and remove hazards from the air (for example by toppling and securing a damaged nacelle or blade so it no longer sheds material) and a longer window to remove foundations and restore the site.

Cost recovery and fees for emergency services: The ordinance draft would require a schedule of fees for fire and emergency response — hourly or per‑incident — to be included in the emergency response plan so local departments can recover costs when they respond. Attendees urged that plan language require the developer to negotiate and maintain current fee schedules as rates change.

Communications and on‑site staffing: Operators said they will provide local operations and maintenance staffing (AES representatives estimated six to eight full‑time technicians on projects of the described scale) and maintain a remote operations center that monitors turbines 24/7. County emergency management and fire officials discussed radio interoperability; companies said they would coordinate incident communications but typically would not operate on a county dispatch channel.

Environmental response and enforcement: Attendees noted that environmental contamination rules (for example, reporting spills over a specified volume) are enforced by state agencies; fire marshals said first responders will notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) when environmental contamination or reportable spills occur. Several speakers recommended clear ordinance language that places cleanup responsibility and any penalties on the operator and that requires operator cooperation with state environmental authorities.

Next steps: Land‑use staff said the draft would be revised to incorporate suggestions — adding ambulance and sheriff coordination to the annual review, clarifying training cadence and onboarding language, and refining the fire‑suppression and code‑reference sections — and the board scheduled another work session to review wildlife monitoring and mitigation language and the revised emergency‑response text.

Ending: County staff said the revised language will return to a future work session for further line‑by‑line review, and that project‑specific emergency plans will be submitted and reviewed as part of any future permitting process.

Quotes (selected and attributed)

“Today, we’re gonna focus primarily on emergency response.” — Trent, county attorney’s office

“We really need to have a plan in place as far as where these landing zones are for the helicopters.” — Justin Myers, fire chief

“We regularly through operations work with LifeFlight to acquire landing zones … it is part of our plan to be able to have LZs in these areas.” — Luke McCandless, AES operations

“NFPA 850/855 may not be applicable to every turbine design; manufacturers often provide proprietary suppression systems.” — Robert Burns, Burlington fire marshal

“The plan shall include a schedule of fees for services by fire departments and other emergency response personnel in the event of an emergency.” — Jared Lassner, land‑use staff (reading draft language)