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Stitt: reasonable wind setbacks OK but half‑mile may be excessive; criticizes forestry response and says he does not use agency messaging apps
Summary
In a question‑and‑answer session, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he supports reasonable setbacks for wind development but called a half‑mile setback likely excessive, criticized the state Forestry Department's handling of a recent wildfire and said he does not use disappearing messaging apps with agency heads.
Governor Kevin Stitt addressed a range of brief questions about energy siting, a recent departure at the Forestry Department, and the use of messaging apps by state officials.
On wind development setbacks, Stitt said he generally favors free‑market approaches but acknowledged that “reasonable setbacks are, of course, that could be something that we need to look at.” He compared proposed wind setbacks to setbacks for other land uses: a chicken house with 50,000 chickens typically has a 500‑foot setback from neighbors and oil wells about a 330‑foot setback from property lines. He said a half‑mile setback "seems like you're pretty much trying to stamp the industry out" and equated half a mile to roughly 2,600 feet.
Stitt said he believes in property rights and that heavy-handed statewide regulation should be weighed carefully against county and landowner preferences. He also said he opposed subsidies for any particular energy source.
On the Forestry Department, Stitt was asked about Mark Geller. He identified Geller as the head of the Forestry Department and criticized the agency’s response to a “horrible, horrible wildfire,” saying he “didn't think they did a really good job.” Stitt did not provide operational details about personnel decisions or processes and said he would need to check rules with emergency management regarding county declarations of emergency.
On messaging apps and records, Stitt said he does not use encrypted or ephemeral messaging apps with state agency heads and that he personally uses WhatsApp only when traveling overseas. “No. I don't have any kind of message apps with state agency heads or my cabinet,” Stitt said. He added that he is not on Signal and described himself as not particularly “techie.”
Other brief notes from the session: Stitt confirmed former President Bill Clinton planned to attend an upcoming remembrance ceremony for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and said he expected to attend the governor’s relay run tied to the event; he did not confirm any appearance by former President Donald Trump.
The briefing did not include new rule‑making or regulatory actions, and Stitt did not announce specific changes to county authority on drought declarations or to statewide energy siting law during the press session.
