Carteret County approves rules for tall structures
BEAUFORT — It may not be perfect, but a new Carteret County ordinance regulating tall structures such as wind turbines and communication towers got the unanimous support of county commissioners.
Commissioners noted concerns and reservations, but when it came time to vote, they acknowledged a need to put regulations in place and to do so before the Dec. 3 expiration of a moratorium on the permitting of such structures.
The nine-month moratorium was enacted to give the county time to develop regulations.
“There are parts of this ordinance that I don’t necessarily agree with, I have some concerns about. I think overall I have to weigh that against the safety of our citizens,” Commissioner Wade Nelms said during Monday night’s meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
Issues related to public safety and health were particular concerns of the public, as county planners worked on developing the wind energy section of the ordinance, which regulates wind turbines from small residential-use windmills to large utility-scale industrial turbines.
It’s the latter that remains a concern for Commissioner Tom Steepy.
“When I look at Down East and see one significant structure there, it’s the (Cape Lookout) lighthouse,” Steepy said. “The lighthouse stands 150 feet to 160 feet tall. When we’re talking utility-scale size windmills, we’re talking about something three-and-half or four times taller than the lighthouse. That’s a significant contribution to the landscape, so to speak.”
And if it’s rural eastern Carteret County where they could potentially be located, Steepy questions how stable they’d be standing on sandy soil near the water table and in an area vulnerable to hurricanes.
Steepy supported the overall ordinance but said he would have preferred to act separately on the regulations for utility-scale wind turbines.
There are no utility-scale wind farms in Carteret County, but discussion of the issue and the need for regulations arose in the county after residents became aware of a proposal by Nelson and Dianna Paul of Raleigh to locate three wind turbines on property they own in the Bettie community.
While no formal plans have been submitted to the county, the Pauls received a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the N.C. Utilities Commission in March that gives them the right to provide electricity to the public if they are able to build the facility.
The Pauls were finalizing approval from the Utilities Commission when the county enacted its moratorium.
The new ordinance does not eliminate the possibility of utility-scale wind turbines, but establishes a maximum height requirement of 550 feet with a setback requirement of six feet for each foot of height.
The ordinance also includes provisions that work to reduce the impacts of noise and shadow flicker from wind turbines.
In a second section, the ordinance outlines regulations for communication towers.
The rules for communication towers are more technical in nature to incorporate federal and state requirements and many of the final questions about the ordinance were over tower rules rather than wind turbine concerns.
Commissioner Holt Faircloth brought up several concerns, including one over the requirement of a surety bond for applicants for tower projects.
While a surety bond is designed to protect the county should an applicant not follow the ordinance requirements, such as removal of obsolete towers, Faircloth feels legal action would be the better recourse if there are problems.
This week’s adoption of the tall structures ordinance puts regulations into place, but commissioners said the ordinance should be a “working” document to be reviewed and revised as needed.
By Jannette Pippin
Daily News Staff
19 November 2008
Click here to see the Carteret County Tall Structures Ordinance.
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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