April 2, 2022
South Dakota

Hughes County Commission postpones consideration of North Bend Wind Farm haul road agreement

By Jody Heemstra | DRGNews | Apr 1, 2022 | drgnews.com

The Hughes County Commission is postponing consideration of the haul road agreement for the North Bend Wind Farm. The topic had been scheduled to be on their April 4, 2022, meeting agenda.

Hughes County Manager Kevin Hipple says since the wind farm is an issue which has generated quite a bit of public comment in the past, the Commission wanted to ensure the public was aware of all steps in the process. They issued public notices on the upcoming consideration of the haul road agreement, even though it would not be a public hearing.

Hipple says a couple of issues with the agreement came up in the past week and the county is in the process of working details out with the developer. He expects details will be sorted out fairly quickly, but not in time for the April 4 meeting. The topic will be rescheduled when the issues are resolved.

The North Bend Wind Farm is a proposed new wind farm which would be built in eastern Hughes County and western Hyde County. It would be a 200 MW project with 71 wind towers. The Hughes County Commission has elected to approve the haul road agreement first, then the Board of Adjustment will consider a conditional use permit for the portion of the project which would be built in Hughes County.

Anyone having questions or input on the haul road agreement can contact Hughes County at 605-773-7477 or send an email to CountyManager@co.hughes.sd.us. Any input should be limited to only the haul road agreement, not the project as a whole.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/04/02/hughes-county-commission-postpones-consideration-of-north-bend-wind-farm-haul-road-agreement/