Stevens County approves four MET towers with pilot safety and notification conditions

The Stevens County Board of Commissioners voted to approve four interim-use permits for meteorological (MET) towers at its meeting, adding conditions aimed at improving tower visibility and requiring applicants to notify local aerial applicators before towers are erected.

The planning department told the board the Stevens County Planning Commission voted 6-0 on May 5 to recommend approval with findings and conditions. A planning staff member summarized the key visibility requirement: “if approved by MnDOT, the owner/operator shall install the first spherical marker red on the outer guide wires at a height of no lower than 25 feet above the ground and every 25 feet thereafter shall have alternating color markers white and red installed. The tower shall have high visibility yellow reflective sleeves from the base of each guy wire up to the first spherical marker. The top of the tower shall be equipped with a daytime strobe light.”

Why it matters: MET towers use guy wires that can be difficult for low-flying agricultural pilots to see. Local aerial applicators urged stricter marking and local notification so pilots can avoid newly installed towers, and raised questions about liability and whether land-use conditions (such as keeping the tower footprint free of crops) are enforceable.

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