Washington County completes first reading of wind ordinance

WASHINGTON — Washington County Supervisors completed the first of at least two readings for a long-discussed ordinance governing wind energy on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

The item’s showed up on board agendas several times since early discussions in 2022, but faced delays as elected officials ironed out attachments like a road use agreement and disposal requirements for the turbines, and passed a separate ordinance establishing authority to tax the generators in October of last year. The first hearing was initially planned last week, but was put off after a typo in the board’s meeting materials left them without an accurate copy of the ordinance for a public reading.

The code now on the table is the most important in deciding whether wind development is feasible in Washington County, with rules about setbacks, lighting, placement and dispute resolution procedures.

Representatives from Deriva Energy — which at one time scouted Washington County for a proposed 200 MW project but has largely stepped away from the plan in 2024 — say the proposal would all but block wind development. A clause requiring turbine owners to pay for supposed drops in property value on nearby properties, and another requiring half-mile setbacks from occupied structures without a waiver would add incalculable risk to any investment, according to Deriva Energy Director of Renewable Business Development Jeff Neves.

“We know that there are going to be challenges getting everybody to participate no matter what we propose, and no matter how responsibly we develop and work with the neighbors,” Neves said at a supervisor meeting in March. “So if we know that this type of setback is the requirement, we’re just not going to be able to develop the project. And no other group would be able to do that either.”

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, in the minds of many county residents. Some in the audience at Tuesday’s meeting could be heard muttering their disapproval of the turbines, and the all-Republican board of supervisors has long claimed that the energy source is unreliable, an eyesore, and over-reliant on state subsidies. Most public comments about the ordinance in the last two years have spoken against wind energy, not in favor of it.

Some community members worry the massive generators would create tension for residents, given the visual impact on neighboring properties.

“A project like this is going to pit neighbors against one another, which is never a good thing,” Farmer Jeff Cuddeback said. “I tend to fall on a property rights perspective, but property rights cuts both ways.”

Tuesday’s reading of the proposed ordinance passed 5-0, despite controversy over previous versions of the policy that divided officials, and a narrow 3-2 procedural vote last month after Supervisor Richard Young said he worried some elements of the law were unenforceable.

The vote came after a series of amendments to the proposal, most of them minor wording fixes. More substantive adjustments included clarification about financial responsibilities in dispute settlement procedures, and changed a requirement for an “acceptable third party” to a “mutually agreed-upon third party” when dealing with property value disagreements. Supervisors also heightened requirements for developers’ insurance before building turbines.

The board stopped short of adding rules about hazardous materials and property damage, after County Attorney Nathan Repp urged caution, saying too many restrictions could reduce residents’ access to lawsuits against developers.

“A person is always free to make any sort of civil claim for any type of damage,” Repp said. “If we put something specifically in here, my only concern would be limiting a claim that you would otherwise have right now, just walking down the road.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com