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Residents urge county to avoid preemptive designation of utility‑scale renewables as essential public facilities; scientist calls for continued eelgrass support
Summary
Speakers during public comment on Oct. 7 told the San Juan County Council to avoid preemptive EPF designation for utility‑scale renewables via the comprehensive plan and urged continued support for eelgrass conservation.
During public comment at the Oct. 7 San Juan County Council meeting, speakers urged more cautious, transparent processes for two distinct environmental issues.
Magali Koda, legal director of Friends of San Juans, urged the council to remove proposed policy language that would add "utility‑scale renewable generation and energy storage facilities" to the county's list of essential public facilities (EPFs) through a comprehensive‑plan amendment. Koda said state law (RCW 36.70A.200) provides a non‑exhaustive list of EPFs but that court decisions and county code (SJCC 18.30.55) limit how local governments may expand that list. She told the council designating renewable facilities as EPFs via the comp plan would reduce public transparency and the ability to consider environmental impacts; she recommended providers follow the existing EPF‑determination process or bring accepted docket requests instead. "Designating renewable energy facilities as EPFs through the comprehensive plan process limits the public's ability to weigh in on this significant change," she told the council.
Olivia Graham, a marine ecologist at the University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs and member of the Marine Resources Committee, urged continued support for the county's marine resources program and described long‑term declines in eelgrass across monitored sites. She noted the importance of eelgrass as nurseries for salmon, Dungeness crab and other species and cited Department of Natural Resources and UW monitoring showing eelgrass loss. "We have solutions, and they're working," she said, urging continued county support for pilot projects and habitat protections that help eelgrass and other marine habitats.
Council members thanked speakers and were directed to staff and the Marine Resources Committee to follow up on the scientific concerns and the recommended public processes for EPF determinations.
