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(A) Guyed wire anchors. No guyed wire anchors shall be allowed within any required public road right-of-way setback.
(B) Sewer and water. All facilities or structures that are part of the WECS project shall comply with the existing septic and well regulations as required by the County Health Department and/or the State Department of Public Health.
(C) Noise and vibration. The noise level of non-commercial WECS shall be no greater than 60 decibels measured from the nearest property line. Commercial WECS shall be no greater than 60 decibels for a non-participating property measured from the nearest property line. This level may only be exceeded during short term events such as utility outages and/or severe wind storms. All other noise and vibration levels shall be in compliance with all county, state, and federal regulations. All noise concerns shall be documented, and mitigation will be determined by the Board of County Commissioners and consulted with the Wind Company.
(D) Utility interconnection. The WECS, if interconnected to a utility system, shall meet the requirements for interconnection and operate as prescribed by the applicable regulations of the electrical utility, as amended from time to time.
(E) Signage. All signs pertaining to a WECS project must comply with § 155.094, with the following exceptions:
(1) Surface area. No sign shall exceed 16 square feet in surface area;
(2) Height. No sign shall exceed eight feet in height;
(3) Manufacturer’s or owner’s company name and/or logo. The manufacturers or owner’s company name and/or logo may be placed upon the compartment containing the electrical equipment;
(4) Development signs. An identification sign relating to the WECS project development may be located on each side of the total WECS project area; provided that there are no more than four signs located on any one WECS project site; and
(5) Other signs and logos. No other advertising signs or logos shall be placed or painted on any structure or facility that is part of the WECS Project.
(F) Feeder lines. Feeder lines installed as part of any WECS shall not be considered an essential service. All communications and feeder lines installed as part of any WECS shall be buried underground wherever possible.
(G) Other appurtenances. No appurtenances other than those associated with the WECS construction, operations, maintenance, decommissioning/removal, and permit requirements shall be connected to any WECS Tower except with express, written permission by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(H) Flicker. There shall be no more than 30 minutes a day and no more than 30 hours a year on a residential structure. All flicker concerns shall be documented, and mitigation will be determined by the Board of County Commissioners and consulted with the Wind Company. Mitigation may even entail stopping the WECS towers rotation during hours of documented flicker.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019) Penalty, see § 155.999
(A) Physical modifications. In general, any physical modification to any WECS that alters the mechanical load, mechanical load path, or major electrical components shall require re-certification. Like-kind replacements shall not require re-certification. Therefore, prior to making any physical modification, the owner or operator shall discuss with the Planning Department and Building Commissioner to determine whether the physical modification requires re-certification.
(B) Interference. Prior to construction, a communications study to minimize interference with public or public serving utility microwave transmissions, Airports, and Air Reserve Bases shall be completed. If necessary, the applicant, owner, and/or operator shall mitigate interference with electromagnetic communications, such as radio, telephone, microwaves, or television signals caused by any WECS. In addition, the applicant, owner, and/or operator shall comply with the following:
(1) Pre-construction. The applicant shall complete a communications study prior to construction so as to minimize interference with any public or public serving utility microwave transmissions;
(2) Post-construction. If, after construction of the WECS, the owner or operator receives a written complaint related to interference with the broadcast of residential television, telecommunication, communication, or microwave transmissions, airport, or Air Reserve Base, the owner or operator shall take reasonable steps to mitigate said interference. Interference with private telecommunications systems such as GPS shall be between the company and the complainant; and
(3) Failure to remedy a complaint. If an agreement to remedy a known interference is not reached within 90 days, appropriate action will be taken, which may result in requiring the WECS to become inactive. This does not apply to interference with private telecommunications systems.
(C) Maintenance records. At least annually, the operator of the Commercial WECS will provide to the Planning Department a letter certifying that all required and periodic maintenance has been performed during a particular calendar year and that the WECS is operating safely and efficiently.
(1) Certification. Should the Planning Department not receive such annual certification, the Planning Department will send a notice to the WECWS operator requesting the certification letter within 30 day.
(2) Inspection. If, after the 30 days, the Planning Department has not received the required maintenance certification, then the Planning Department may hire, at the WECS Operator’s expense, a qualified inspector to perform an inspection of the WECS System.
(D) Declaration of public nuisance. Any WECS thereof declared to be unsafe by the County Building Commissioner by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard, damage, or abandonment is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be abated by repair, rehabilitation, demolition, or removal in accordance with the approved Decommissioning Plan.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019)
Prior to receiving an improvement location permit and building permit under this subchapter, the county and the applicant, owner, and/or operator shall formulate a decommissioning plan outlining the anticipated means and cost of removing a WECS at the end of its serviceable life, or upon becoming a discontinued or abandoned use, to ensure that the WECS is properly decommissioned.
(A) Content. A decommissioning plan shall include, at a minimum, language to the following:
(1) Assurance. Written assurance that the WECS will be properly decommissioned upon the project life or in the event that the WECS project is abandoned;
(2) Cost estimates. The applicant shall provide a contractor cost estimate for demolition and removal of the WECS. The cost estimates shall be made by a competent party, such as a professional engineer, a contractor capable of decommissioning, or a person with suitable expertise or experience with decommissioning WECS;
(3) Financial assurance. Applicant will provide financial assurance in an amount at least equal to said demolition and removal contractor cost estimate, through the use of a bond, letter of credit, or other security acceptable to the county, for the cost of decommissioning each WECS tower and related improvements constructed under the permit. Said security will be released when each WECS Tower is properly decommissioned, as determined by the county. Review of estimate cost shall be every five years and the financial assurance will reflect changes; and
(4) Abandonment by the owner or operator. In the event of abandonment by the owner or operator, the applicant will provide an affidavit to the county representing that all easements and/or leases for WECS towers shall contain terms that provide financial assurances, including access to the salvage value of the equipment, for the property owners to ensure that the WECS towers are properly decommissioned within one year of expiration or earlier termination of the WECS project.
(B) Discontinuation and abandonment. All WECS shall be considered a discontinued use after one year without energy production, unless a plan is developed and submitted to the Planning Department outlining the steps and schedule for returning the WECS to service.
(C) Removal. An applicant’s obligations shall include removal of all physical material pertaining to the project improvements to no less than a depth of four feet below ground level within 365 days of the discontinuation or abandonment of the WECS or WECS project, and restoration of the project area to as near as practicable the condition of the site immediately before construction of such improvements. Removal obligations shall be completed by the owner, or by the county at the owner’s expense.
(D) Written notices. Prior to implementation of the existing procedures for the resolution of such default(s), the appropriate county body shall first provide written notice to the owner and/or operator, setting forth the alleged default(s). Such written notice shall provide the owner and/or operator a reasonable time period, not to exceed 60 days, for good faith negotiations to resolve the alleged defaults.
(E) Costs incurred by the county. If the county removes a WECS tower and appurtenant facilities, it may sell the salvage to defray the costs of removal. By approval, the permittee or grantor grants a license to the county to enter the property to remove a WECS tower and appurtenant facilities pursuant to the terms of an approved decommissioning plan.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019)
The owner or operator of any WECS shall maintain a current general liability policy covering bodily injury and property damage, and may be required to name the county as an additional insured with dollar amount limits of at least $2,000,000 per occurrence, and $5,000,000 in the aggregate, and with a deductible of no more than $5,000. A copy of the policy and renewals will be provided to the county.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019)
(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DECOMMISSIONING PLAN. A decommissioning plan as prescribed in § 155.133.
F.A.A. PERMIT APPLICATION. A Federal Aviation Administration permit application.
(B) Compliance. Prior to the issuance of any improvement location permit, the following shall be submitted to and reviewed by the Planning Department, who shall certify that the following are in compliance with all applicable regulations.
(C) Economic development, drainage, and road use and maintenance agreements. An Economic development agreement, a drainage agreement, and a road use and maintenance agreement shall be approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The agreements shall be developed in conjunction with the County Economic Development office, and copies provided to the Planning Department. These agreements must be signed before any building permit is issued. The Drainage Agreement must prescribe, or reference provisions to, address crop and field tile damages up to five years after construction.
(1) Map submission. The developer shall submit a drainage location map and existing conditions report within 100 feet of tower construction and from the center of all transportation routes used. These documents must make note of all known regulated or private open and tiled drains.
(2) Construction schedules. Drainage preconstruction upgrade and post construction restoration schedule must be provided. These documents must be provided to the Board of County Commissioners 60 days prior to the project commencement.
(3) Road report. Road use and road condition report construction location must be submitted. Road preconstruction and post construction restoration schedule must be provided. These documents must be provided to the Board of County Commissioners 60 days prior to the project commencement.
(D) Erosion control plan. An erosion control plan must be developed in consultation with the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), and any stormwater quality management plan adopted by the applicable jurisdiction.
(E) Utility plan. A utility plan must drawn to the same scale as the site layout plan illustrating the location of all underground utility lines associated with the total WECS project.
(F) Avoidance and mitigation of damages to public infrastructure. In addition to complying with the approved road use and maintenance agreement, an applicant, owner, or operator proposing to use any county road(s) for the purpose of transporting any component of a commercial WECS project and/or equipment for construction, operation, or maintenance of a commercial WECS project shall comply with the following pre-construction requirements.
(1) Identification of roads and services. The applicant shall identify all roads and services, to the extent that any proposed routes that will be used for construction and maintenance purposes shall be identified. If the route includes a public road, it shall be approved by the County Highway Superintendent.
(2) Pre-construction survey. The applicant shall conduct a pre-construction baseline survey acceptable to the County Highway Superintendent to determine existing road conditions for assessing potential future damage. The survey shall include photographs, or video, or a combination thereof, and a written agreement to document the condition of the public facility.
(G) Assurance. Prior to construction the developer/company will put in place two forms of financial assurance; one repair bond, and one performance bond for road and drainage pre-construction and post construction. These must be issued and adopted by the Board of County Commissioners prior to the project commencement.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019)
During construction, the applicant shall demonstrate that the following requirements are being met:
(A) Reasonable dust control measures shall be required by the county during construction of a commercial WECS project;
(B) Reasonable stormwater best management practices as required by the Soil and Water Conservation office, and in some cases with the approval of a Drainage Plan/Agreement on file with the County Surveyor; and
(C) If there is a road closure or limited access to a road, the applicant must notify and work with the Highway Superintendent.
(Prior Code § 153.089) (Ord. 2019-03, passed 5-7-2019)
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