Morrison County planning panel recommends approval for temporary Northland Reliability lay-down yard

The Morrison County Planning Commission on June 9 recommended that the county board approve an interim use permit allowing a temporary contractor storage (lay-down) yard for the Northland Reliability Project.

During a public hearing, applicant representative Cody Dirks of Great River Energy described plans to lease roughly 46 acres east of an existing chicken barn on a 102.64‑acre parcel in Pierce Township for staging, equipment and material storage. Dirks said the lease for the lay‑down yard is three years and that reclamation would begin before the end of that period: "The lay on yard lease is 3 years, and we would expect to be, starting the reclamation process well before that 3 year mark," he said.

Amy, the county land‑services staffer who delivered the staff report, said the request is for an interim use permit under Section 604.7 of the county ordinance and noted the property includes about 45 acres of productive egg land. She and other commissioners discussed how the work would proceed: stripping roughly 12 inches of topsoil, stockpiling it, placing Class 5 aggregate and installing matted roads and fenced security areas for offices and higher‑value equipment.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on several practical points. Traffic during peak delivery periods could reach 20–30 heavy truck movements per day, Dirks said, and the applicant intends to execute a road‑use agreement with the county to document road condition before, during and after construction. On site utilities, Dirks said temporary office trailers would have porta‑potties and might require power but would not have running water.

Soil handling and restoration drew sustained attention. Commissioners asked how stockpiles would be managed and whether the farmed soil could be returned to productive use. Dirks said stockpiles would be seeded and that reclamation includes decompaction and replacing topsoil; he added some gravel might be retained by the landowner after construction. The chair proposed a condition limiting topsoil stockpile depth and requiring a submitted reclamation plan. "Topsoil shall be stockpiled no more than 4 feet deep and seeded," staff recorded as a recommended condition.

Stormwater and drainage were also discussed. Lucas Jerrick of Minnesota Power, who joined the hearing to address engineering questions, said the construction approach is to disturb up to 5 acres at a time and to use standard state construction stabilization practices (silt fence, bio‑logs and other BMPs). Jerrick said the design team did evaluate retention basins but favored smaller, phased disturbance to simplify later restoration: "If you disturb 5 acres or less and then you stabilize it, according to MPCA, we don't follow another requirement to have a sediment pond," he said, while adding that the project team will install BMPs and follow MPCA guidance.

Staff and commissioners recommended several conditions to mitigate local impacts: coordinate with public works on entrance upgrades and signage, secure a road‑use permit and road‑use agreement, submit a stormwater plan for review and approval by the county engineer, limit the area disturbed at any one time, require a reclamation plan to be submitted and followed, and set a firm permit end date. A commissioner read the proposed end date as June 9, 2029 (three years from the hearing).

No members of the public offered testimony during the hearing. After discussion, the commission moved to recommend approval with the conditions; a roll‑call vote was recorded in the affirmative by all five members present, and the item was scheduled to be considered by the Morrison County Board of Commissioners on June 23, 2026.

The commission also approved minutes from its prior meeting and adjourned.

Next steps: the county board will review the planning commission's recommendation and the applicant's revised plans and conditions on June 23, 2026, and any final permit, conditions or modifications will be decided there.