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Scurry County and turbine developer negotiate road‑repair settlement; company offers $896,000 lump sum for remediation
Summary
After months of disputed inspections and punch lists, the developer responsible for Canyon Wind offered to settle road repairs with a lump‑sum proposal of $896,000 to cover material and labor for a 1‑inch cap across disputed areas; commissioners and company agreed to document punch‑list roads and prepare an invoice to move payment forward.
Scurry County commissioners spent an extended portion of their meeting pressing a developer to resolve long‑running disputes over haul‑route damage from the Canyon Wind project. Company representatives presented pre‑ and post‑construction photos, a line‑by‑line punch list and detailed measurements. The company said its field surveys total 137,488 linear feet in the contested scope and offered a lump‑sum remediation payment to resolve the matter.
An unidentified company representative (Speaker 6) told the court the company had measured and priced several restoration options and proposed a blanket 1‑inch cap across the disputed routes: "for a blanket 1 inch cap of material on everything, we're right at 896,100 — that's for a blanket 1 inch cap of material on everything," the representative said. He added the company was "willing to pay for all the material" and offered either to perform the work with its contractor (Mortenson) or to provide the county the funds to have county crews perform the repairs.
County officials and precinct commissioners repeatedly pressed for a joint, on‑the‑ground inspection to reconcile the company's punch list with the county's view that damage included narrowed edges, potholes and base‑level roughness on both paved and gravel roads. The court's counsel summarized the contract remedy process and the next legal step: if the county declares a default under the road‑use agreement, the company gets written notice and has a cure period (counsel described it as about 90 days) to remedy the claimed defects before the county pursues other remedies.
After further discussion about responsibilities and whether county crews or the company's EPC contractor should do the work, company and county officials agreed on a practical next step: the county will prepare an invoice listing the punch‑list roads and quantities from the road‑use agreement and the company said it will pay that invoice or otherwise fund the agreed remediation. Commissioners expressed willingness to perform work with county crews if the county receives the materials payment, saying local crews could sometimes complete work more cheaply.
The parties also discussed measures to reduce future impacts on haul routes for upcoming projects (Flatland Solar): the company committed to a single, reachable local contact for the county, earlier haul‑route exhibits during engineering, signage to keep heavy traffic off sensitive local roads, and contract amendments requiring mitigations such as road watering and centralized laydown yards.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: county staff will prepare the punch‑list invoice and supporting exhibits; the company will provide formal payment documentation or contractor commitment to do the work; and commissioners agreed to reconvene or drive the roads together before executing a final written settlement or notice of default.
