Palouse Wind could pay $100,000 in permit costs

Permitting First Wind’s proposed wind farm on Naff Ridge and Granite Butte could result in up to $100,000 in cost reimbursement from the applicant.

An agreement under consideration by both the county and Palouse Wind, the offshoot company created by First Wind for the project, lays out permitting costs the company will pay.

County code requires applicants looking to permit projects pay for the costs incurred in the permit process. On smaller projects, that cost is capped at $800.

That code was revised in June to require applicants of projects valued at more than $5,000,000 pay the costs of staff time and legal fees associated with issuing a conditional use permit.

County Planner Alan Thomson said the involved process required to properly permit a large scale industrial wind farm is beyond anything his office has dealt with.

“We’ve never had a project of this magnitude,” he said. “There are a lot of very detailed studies that will take place that go well beyond what we’ve ever dealt with.”

First Wind July 27 applied for a conditional use permit for the wind farm.

Thomson last week issued an official determination that Palouse Wind’s wind farm will have a significant environmental impact. That decision marked the first time a Whitman County planner has made such a determination.

Under the State Environmental Policy Act, a determination of significance requires the company complete a detailed environmental impact statement, or EIS.

County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said Monday the agreement cements an agreement that holds the company responsible for those extra costs.

Among them will be contracting land use experts and outside legal expertise for consultation by county officials.

“Since Denis is not a land use attorney, we need someone that is very familiar with this process,” said Thomson.

For legal expertise, the county has contracted with Susan Drummond of the Foster Pepper & Shefelman law firm of Seattle. Thomson said he will also be working closely with environmental consulting firm CH2M Hill, the multi-national firm that will be compiling information for Palouse Wind’s EIS.

Palouse Wind’s fees have been capped at $100,000 total and $30,000 for outside legal reviews. If those amounts are to be exceeded, the county and Palouse Wind will negotiate an amended deal.

In the event the company does not pay the costs, the permit process will immediately stop, Tracy said.

The fee agreement also includes the salary and benefit costs of county officials who work on the application.

Thomson’s work will be billed at $32.67 per hour. Work by Public Works Director Mark Storey will be billed at $49.43 per hour. Tracy’s time will cost the company $150 per hour. Work done by Assistant Planner Iris Mayes will be billed at $24.26 per hour.

At present, the project is in what Thomson called the “scoping phase”. Citizens wishing to input on what should be studied in the EIS have until 5 p.m. Sept. 16 to submit their comments to Tracy.

A link to an electronic copy of Palouse Wind’s application has been posted on the county’s web site.

Since it was first submitted, the company has added 15 tower locations, bringing the total proposed wind farm to 55 turbines. Thomson said they are also considering increasing the height of the turbines in the application. He said they need to have the highest possible turbine height for study in the EIS.