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Residents urge Brookings County to pause filings by energy developers and adopt setback ordinance
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Planning and Zoning Commission to enact an immediate moratorium or adopt a 2,000-foot setback to halt Power on Midwest/industrial solar and battery projects from filing with the Public Utilities Commission until safety research and local ordinances are in place.
Several Brookings County residents told the Planning and Zoning Commission they want the county to pause filings by large energy developers and adopt stronger local setbacks before projects proceed.
“Sue Engleman, a Brookings County resident, asked for ‘an immediate temporary ordinance moratorium or whatever it takes to halt all energy companies to include the 765 kilovolt transmission lines, industrial solar complex, and battery energy storage system from filing with the PUC to build in the Brookings County until safety factors have been researched and new ordinances have been established.’”
Other speakers described farmland and public-service concerns. Rufus Veil said multiple companies had approached his family about long-term easements and warned that industrial projects could turn productive farmland into permanently altered landscapes. “Once a county begins rezoning rural land for industrial use, it becomes harder to argue that the next property should remain protected,” he said.
Rick Bridal, who identified himself as a council member from Elkton but not speaking on behalf of the city, urged county officials to slow the process so local emergency responders can meet with developers and review risks to firefighting and ambulance services.
The speakers asked the county either to adopt a 2,000-foot dual-county setback used elsewhere or to place a temporary moratorium on permits and filings with the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) until the county completes safety research and drafts new ordinances. Commissioners did not take immediate action during the meeting; the remarks were part of the public-comment period that preceded multiple permit and variance decisions on the agenda.
