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Planners outline options for Clean Energy Siting Permitting and plan stakeholder, tribal engagement
Summary
Community Development Services presented an update on the county's Clean Energy Siting Permitting project: staff completed a draft EIS outline after a scoping period that drew roughly 100 attendees and identified three siting alternatives; next steps include stakeholder and tribal meetings and a draft EIS this fall.
Planner Ellie Myers told the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners on June 22 that staff and consultant Kimley‑Horn are moving forward with the county's Clean Energy Siting Permitting (CESP) project. Myers summarized the environmental impact statement (EIS) scoping process, saying the scoping comment period ran April 16–May 18 and staff received 17 comments; three scoping events attracted about 100 attendees in total.
"The goal of the project is to determine which clean energy types are most suitable and appropriate for siting and permitting," Planner Ellie Myers said. She described three alternatives identified in the project's memo and said staff has completed a draft EIS outline and framing questions. Myers said next steps include stakeholder and tribal meetings in summer 2026, continuing the draft EIS this fall, issuing a draft EIS this fall, and holding additional public comment periods and open houses.
Myers summarized public feedback from the scoping events: participants suggested staff focus on certain energy types, update overlay areas for solar and wind, raised concerns about siting on agricultural land or open range, and expressed support for geothermal energy. She also noted that event interactions were positive toward small‑scale nuclear, though submitted written comments did not strongly reflect that interest.
The presentation did not include new regulatory decisions; it outlined the procedural schedule and public outreach steps the county plans to take before issuing a draft EIS.
