Developer presents draft wind project agreement to McCone County commissioners

Ross Feehan, a developer representative, joined a McCone County Board of Commissioners meeting by phone and introduced a draft development agreement for a proposed wind project that he said would include setbacks, lighting technology and local contributions.

Feehan told the commissioners the draft is an umbrella agreement that would be followed by more detailed attachments — a road‑use agreement, a decommissioning agreement, a contribution agreement and an impact‑fee agreement — and offered to send copies to the county attorney and staff for review.

The draft commits the developer to a one‑mile setback from any turbine to a nonparticipating residence, Feehan said: “We have committed ourselves to a 1 mile setback for from any turbine to any nonparticipating, land the home of the landowner of a residence.” For participating landowners, he said the developer’s leases set a 1,000‑foot minimum and participating property‑line distances would equal the blade length plus 10 meters (about 285 feet for the proposed technology); for nonparticipating property lines the draft calls for 1.1 times tip height (stated in the draft as roughly 632 feet).

Feehan described a proposed aircraft detection lighting system (ATLS) to reduce nighttime lighting: “the lights go on when there’s an aircraft in the area and the lights are off otherwise.” He said ATLS must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense and that the system would require about six months of calibration after startup; Feehan estimated lights would be on roughly 5–10% of nighttime hours once calibrated.

The draft also addresses sound limits, shadow flicker, insurance documentation, emergency services coordination and the assignment of a 9‑1‑1 address for each turbine. Feehan said the developer proposes separate local agreements (for example with Great Northern Development Corporation) that would dedicate funds for emergency management and a sponsorship fund to support county events. He said the draft’s impact fee would be the maximum amount allowed under Montana law.

County Attorney John Rubis asked whether the development agreement would exempt the project from any zoning ordinances enacted after the agreement’s effective date. Feehan said the agreement can be treated as an alternative to zoning and could be grandfathered into future zoning, but that the county can adopt zoning rules independently: “you can have zoning and you can have a development agreement.”

Commissioners also raised concerns about tax‑abatement language. One commissioner flagged section 15 as describing a developer application for abatement under Montana law and warned that signing the agreement “sounds like…if we sign that, you agree to that next week.” Commissioners said they will review the draft to decide which language to remove or revise.

Feehan said he had sent a letter to regional partners making clear the project team will not break ground in 2025, adding that the pause was intended to give residents and the commission time to review materials and ask questions.

Commissioners agreed to post the draft agreement and maps on the county website and social channels, make printed copies available at the courthouse, and place the item on a future agenda for further public input and review. The commission did not take any formal vote on the agreement during the call.

What’s next: staff will post the draft and updated footprint maps, the commission will review the document and request any additional exhibits the developer promised, and the item will return to a future meeting for formal consideration and possible action.