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White Pine County committee debates pausing renewable energy permits, but no moratorium motion
Summary
The Natural Resources Advisory Committee discussed whether to recommend a county moratorium on renewable energy projects and major BLM rights‑of‑way. Members and the district attorney urged ordinance updates and cooperative‑agency standing instead; no motion was made.
The White Pine County Natural Resources Advisory Committee on March 17 debated whether the county should impose a moratorium on renewable energy projects and major Bureau of Land Management rights‑of‑way, but the item failed for lack of a motion.
Jeremy Drew of Resource Concepts, Inc., who addressed the committee via Teams, framed a moratorium as a temporary pause to give the county time to update local rules. "A moratorium was merely a time out or a pause on issuing the SUP until the county updated their codes and ordinances," Drew said. Chairman Cody Odgers recused himself from the discussion because he leases land that could be affected and passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Jacob Carter.
Committee members said the problem to be solved had not been clearly identified. Member Dana Johnson argued the county first needs stronger ordinances and technical review capacity. "We need to look into the WPC Public Land Use Policies and WPC Ordinances," Johnson said, pressing for a focused review rather than an immediate pause. Member Ross Rivera added that many projects were already in motion, so a moratorium might not stop existing activity but should be considered only if it buys useful time.
District Attorney Melissa Brown cautioned that her office was currently short‑staffed and that a moratorium might not be the right legal tool without further work. "My office did not have time to research the issue considering current events and short staff," Brown said, and she recommended involving the building official and creating a working group or technical review team if the county chose to proceed.
The committee discussed alternatives: updating the WPC Public Land Use Policy and ordinances, securing cooperative‑agency standing on project reviews, and developing checklists and development or road agreements to strengthen permit conditions. No formal motion to create a moratorium or to direct staff to draft one was offered, and the item therefore received no action.
