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County approves zoning text amendment requiring groundwater monitoring where solar farm piers approach groundwater
Summary
The commission approved a zoning text amendment adding groundwater-monitoring requirements for solar energy conversion systems when galvanized piers would be within four feet of groundwater; the change responds to public concerns about zinc leaching from corroding galvanized piers.
The Douglas County Commission approved a zoning text amendment that adds groundwater-monitoring and testing requirements for solar energy conversion systems when galvanized piers are proposed within four feet of the shallowest measured groundwater level.
Mary Miller, city-county planner, said staff originally recommended denial after researching zinc behavior in soil but that the Planning Commission recommended approval to apply a cautious, site-specific monitoring approach. "Zinc is very immobile in soil. So if it corrodes and it's in the soil, zinc likes to stay right where it is," Miller told the board, while adding that uncertainty remains where piers are very near groundwater.
Under the adopted changes, an applicant for a solar facility must provide…
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