Whitman County halts new wind farms with extended moratorium 

Whitman County Commissioners approved an ordinance on Monday to strengthen their moratorium on new commercial wind farms. This potentially extends the timeline for a proposed controversial wind farm between Colfax and Palouse further than expected.

In January, commissioners approved a six-month moratorium on new wind turbines to allow the Whitman County planning commission time to update the rules governing wind farms. This came after a petition and requests from some members of the public to amend the county’s code as it related to commercial wind energy facilities.

Wind turbine developer, Steelhead Americas, aims to build 45 turbines near Kamiak Butte, as part of their Harvest Hills wind project.

The county commissioners unanimously approved the interim zoning control ordinance on Monday. This move codifies the moratorium into the zoning code and prohibits new wind farms while the temporary ban is in effect.

In early April, Harvest Hills sent a letter to Whitman County Commissioners expressing they would be seeking approval for their project through Washington State’s Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC. The agency can approve the project directly from Olympia. Although Steelhead Americas has not formally applied with EFSEC for their Harvest Hills Wind Farm, they have begun discussing submitting their proposal to the council.

Shane Roche, lead project developer for Harvest Hills Wind, responding to the new interim control ordinance said “We are in the early stages of exploring the EFSEC pre-application process. That said, we remain committed to working with the Whitman County Planning Board as they update the wind ordinance—and we’re open to pursuing the county permitting path if the final ordinance supports landowner rights, economic development, and stakeholder interests.”

The current moratorium allows the planning commission time to update the regulations and is set to expire in early July.

Whitman County Commissioner Tom Handy shared with NonStop Local that this places the county’s wind code, which was created back in the early 2010’s for the Palouse Wind Project, situated in the farm hills between Rosalia and Oaksdale.

Commissioner Handy says that by adopting the interim code makes it so that any application will be unable to go through an expedited process through EFSEC by assuming compliance with county code that has been suspended. The ban will remain in place until amendments are made to the county’s wind code.

Commissioners do have the option to extend the moratorium if the planning commission requires more time.

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy was in attendance at Monday’s meeting to advise the commissions on interim controls and recommendation actions.

Commissioner Art Swannack was concerned that they could be sued by the farmers looking to have wind turbines installed, on the basis of damages for preventing them from making money.

However, Prosecutor Tracy said because there is still progress being made on the county’s wind ordinance, that an argument on the basis of damages would not hold up in court.