Duchesne planning commission approves cluster of energy projects including solar fields, a natural‑gas plant, a produced‑water recycling expansion and a data‑c

The Duchesne County Planning Commission on March 31 approved a series of conditional use permits for multiple energy projects after lengthy staff presentations and public testimony that at times stretched for hours.

Staff urged approval of the permits only after listing a set of required conditions, notices and state or federal permits that must be obtained before construction or operation. The applications reviewed and approved at the meeting included:

- An expansion of an existing produced‑water recycling facility (operator ReWater / Readwater LLC) that would add additional ponds and storage capacity to support oil‑and‑gas recycling operations; staff noted existing ponds were authorized by the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining and recommended conditions that include odor control, pond construction timelines (start within 18 months, complete within three years), and coordination with state permitting (including a Section 404 permit if waters of the U.S. are affected).

- A 10.8‑acre private on‑site photovoltaic facility proposed by Danny Loveland (staff found no high biological‑resource conflicts, recommended fencing, warning signage, undergrounding internal distribution lines where feasible, WUI defensible‑space measures and a decommissioning plan…