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County places moratorium on generation plant applicationsBy MaryHelen Swanson ì . . . for the health, safety and welfare of the county residents . . .î Thatís the important phrase behind the six-month moratorium set in place by the Chisago County commissioners March 20 at their regular county board meeting. With a motion by Commissioner Tom Delaney and a second by Commissioner Ben Montzka, the board unanimously set a moratorium on accepting any application for electrical generation plants. And they directed the county planning commission to proceed with discussions leading to an updated ordinance to ìmake sure everything is in place.î Those were the words of Commissioner Delaney who said although the county welcomes generation plants, it is wise to take time out to look at the ordinance. Commissioner Montzka agreed saying it was prudent and in the best interest of the county to have the moratorium in place. The board had been encouraged by the OES (Overlay Essential Services) task force via a letter to the commissioners and planning commission, to take the opportunity to establish a ìsafety netî of protections to ensure the public health, safety and welfare of its citizens by recommending a new section for the Essential Services Ordinance. The recent proposal by Prairie Gen Corporation to build a 50 mega-watt power plant in Lent Township is evidence that the independent power producers are looking to build more generation in our county, the task force reminded the board. Among the task forceís recommendations is a protection feature that would give property owner specific rights if a utility chooses to route a project through their land, something that is already a provision of the Minnesota Power Plant Siting Act. With the motion accepted, County Attorney Ted Alliegro cautioned the board that they must use the moratorium sparingly. Delaney responded by saying he agreed with Alliegro, but added there are times itís important. ï a lengthy section on generation/substation construction and maintenance standards; ï language that requires any facility that is no longer in use or abandoned to be removed by a certain date; ï the requirement of both a right-of-way permit and a conditional use permit before construction could begin on any transmission line project; ï protection commonly re-ferred to as the ìBuy the Farmî clause, with a recommendation that the ordinance be patterned after the stateís language to ensure that property owners retain the option to sell land should they choose not to live next to high voltage power lines. Prairie Gen Corporation had recently been denied a permit in North Branch and had approached Lent Township about the plant proposal. At the time the moratorium was declared, no application had been made to the county by Prairie Gen Corporation, it was noted. A plant built in Lent Township would need county approval. ©ECM Post Review |