Washington County wind ordinance passes

WASHINGTON — County supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the third reading of a functional ban on wind turbines in Washington County Monday morning, effectively passing the long-debated local law, although it still awaits publication in a newspaper of record before it formally takes effect.

The most vocal opponents in the county have railed against wind energy in the year and a half since Deriva Energy first announced tentative plans for a wind farm there, which it has since scrapped. Supervisors seemed to agree, saying the generators wasted subsidies and tax write-offs, questioned their environmental friendliness, and expressed skepticism about the energy source’s potential role in combating climate change.

“I don’t believe in the need for more wind and solar, I think we’ve got enough,” said County Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. ahead of Monday morning’s vote. “If somebody wants to change that policy, elect people with those beliefs to the board.”

While the ordinance technically allows companies to build industrial-scale “wind energy conversion systems” in Washington County, it requires that turbine owners pay out “property value guarantees” to any real estate owner whose land sells below its market value without turbines nearby, despite studies suggesting the generators have no effect on land values. The ordinance also requires developers to avoid building turbines within a mile of any road, park, city limit or occupied structure, although that last category allows property owners near the towers to waive that limit in writing.

Both provisions reduced the chances of wind development in Washington County to nearly zero. Representatives from Deriva Energy said earlier this year that property value guarantees would open up wind farms to litigation and legal uncertainty that deterred investment. The company also pointed out that turbines have yet to see construction in any Iowa county requiring setbacks of a half-mile or more, even when those setbacks were waivable.

Previous versions of the now-final county code drew minimal local outcry, despite their restrictions. But opponents seemed to crawl out of the woodwork earlier this month at a public hearing on the proposal.

Their critiques came from across the political spectrum. Some compared the milelong setbacks to zoning codes, which Washington County’s all-Republican board of supervisors abolished in 2013 in an effort to reduce government interference with private property. A few said the turbines would generate needed tax revenue, and could bring stable income to struggling family farms.

Others argued green energy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions would prevent environmental damage in the long run, and urged supervisors to reject skepticism about climate science.

“The benefit of trying to do all we can do to make this a more livable world for future generations is something we should aspire to, rather than make it a political issue brought on by big oil’s money and influence,” said county resident Linda Boston at one meeting on the issue. “(If) we do nothing, how do we respond to our great-grandchildren when they say, ‘Why didn’t great-grandpa do something when it would have been so much easier then?’”

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While supervisors argued the ordinance didn’t entirely ban commercial-scale wind power, several supporters endorsed the proposal explicitly because they believed it would deter any development of the systems in their communities.

“There’s (several) counties in the state of Iowa that have a moratorium,” said county resident Marlin Bontrager at one public hearing over the ordinance. “I run into a lot of people that wish there’d never been any turbines in their county … and I’d love to see not a single turbine in Washington County.”

Many constituents in rural Washington County said they worried the turbines could wreak havoc on nearby farmland and streams, citing turbines in Cedar County that shed fiberglass and debris over hundreds of acres after they were struck by lightning and caught fire.

Washington County Supervisor Marcus Fedler said he planned to make a motion at next week’s meeting that would block any wind development in Washington County — even if it meets the current ordinance’s parameters — until the debris in Cedar County is cleaned up.

“While it may save a family farm and it probably could, easily, the money that they’re getting is also destroying land, it’s also making it impossible to actually use,” Fedler said. “I want to instruct our county engineer to not accept any applications for any (commercial wind turbines) until whatever happens in Cedar County is fixed to the satisfaction of the folks in Cedar County.”

Monday’s passage ended a saga of false starts and delays for Washington County’s wind energy rules. A similar proposal passed its three readings in September, only to be revoked because officials made a handful of wording changes after its public hearing, after which state law bans most substantial amendments. Movement on the issue was also delayed early this year, as officials worked out road use agreements and drafted other documents referenced in the code.

Further back than that, supervisors in 2021 found themselves deadlocked on wind turbine policy, waiting out the vacancy filling election of Fedler to decide on the issue after weeks of debate. But that policy fizzled out at the last second, when a prospective turbine developer announced 30 minutes before the vote that its plans in Washington County were scrapped.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com