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Planning staff brief commissioners on large renewables, transmission corridors; board backs chair to comment on Portland fuel-storage proposal
Summary
Planning Director Tamara Mbett updated commissioners on Tower Road interchange work, a pending LUBA appeal of the Boardman Transportation System Plan, large solar and wind permits (about 40,580 acres of approved solar), and transmission outreach. Separately, the board authorized the chair to submit comments to Portland opposing a proposed 20% reduction in regional fuel-storage capacity without regional alternatives.
Planning Director Tamara Mbett reported to the board on multiple land-use and energy issues at the June 18 meeting, including a continued planning-commission review of an implementing ordinance for the Tower Road interchange area, a pending Land Use Board of Appeals review of the Boardman Transportation System Plan adoption, and multiple large renewable-energy applications.
Tamara described the county's role in a 1,200-page record for a LUBA appeal and said county counsel Dan Karn will defend the decision while the city will intervene. She also told commissioners that Morrow County has about "40,580 acres of approved solar," though she said less than half of that acreage has been built; she noted additional large projects in early review.
Tamara flagged a proposed 31.8-mile Pacific transmission line and said developers plan public outreach; she cited a public-involvement requirement in state statute and emphasized the difference between developer outreach and county public meetings. She said participation in a state energy convening reinforced the need to identify transmission corridors and to incentivize collocation to reduce landowner impacts.
Separately, commissioners discussed an externally circulated proposal by the City of Portland to reduce fuel-storage capacity by 20 percent at certain critical energy infrastructure hubs. Local industry and some commissioners warned closures without regional alternatives could harm Eastern Oregon fuel distribution. The board voted to authorize the chair to submit comments to the City of Portland and to share the letter with elected officials, urging that any reductions be paired with development of regional storage options.
The board asked the chair to sign the comment on behalf of the commission and directed staff to forward the letter to relevant state and federal elected officials as deemed appropriate.
