Resident urges Seward County to impose one-year moratorium on proposed wind farm

Ryan Martin, a Liberal resident, urged the Seward County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 2 to impose a one-year moratorium on proposed wind farms so county officials and citizens can update local regulations.

“I again urge you to consider a moratorium, and I urge you to look over the regulations on these wind turbines,” Martin said during the public-comment period. He criticized existing setbacks, saying a 1,000-foot distance from neighboring homes is inadequate for turbines of the height being proposed and recommended a two-mile setback.

Martin also raised safety concerns near the county airport, noting that the airport is non-towered and that turbine turbulence and lighting could affect student pilots. He said the proposed Thresher Wind Project involved 41 landowners, 26 of whom live outside Seward County, and argued that absentee ownership and developer behavior risk leaving the county with little financial benefit.

The remarks were made during the public-comment portion of the meeting; commissioners did not take immediate regulatory action at the session. The board’s agenda that night proceeded to administrative and budget items. Martin said he had shared a video by Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson with commissioners and encouraged other residents to contact their commissioners and the planning and zoning board.

The public-comment exchange is part of a larger local conversation about wind-energy siting, setbacks and permitting. County staff and planning and zoning are the next bodies typically involved in drafting or updating local land-use regulations before the commission would consider ordinance changes or a formal moratorium.