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| County tables wind plan, approves KDOT loan |
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| News | |||
| Written by Brian McCauley | |||
| Friday, 03 July 2009 09:25 | |||
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Miami County commissioners aren’t quite ready to finalize regulations for wind energy conversion systems and towers in the county. County planners have been working on proposed text amendments to the county’s zoning regulations regarding wind energy since late last year, but commissioners tabled a decision on the matter until the end of the state legislative session. An energy bill that could have overridden a county-level decision was working its way through the Legislature, and commissioners wanted to view the bill in its final form to see how it would address net metering and other issues. The Renewable Energy Standards Act, or Senate Substitute for House Bill 2369, was passed by the Legislature in May and includes provisions for net metering. With that information now known, the proposed text amendments were again on the commission’s agenda for Wednesday’s meeting. Commissioner George Pretz said he would like to see a wind energy policy drafted that includes many of the items Planning Director Charlene Weiss documented in a report from a meeting last fall. Some of the proposed regulations include only requiring a conditional-use permit if the towers are higher than 150 feet and requiring a clear drop zone to accommodate the structure if it were to fall. The commissioners voted unanimously to table the issue until a complete plan can be worked out. “It may take a study session or two to iron this out,” Pretz said. In other business, the commissioners unanimously agreed to authorize a $750,000 loan from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Transportation Revolving Fund to help fund the 223rd Street underpass project near Spring Hill. The $5.4-million project is being funded with $4 million from the Kansas Department of Transportation and federal highway funds, along with county sales tax revenue and accumulated road and bridge funds, funds from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and borrowed money from KDOT’s Transportation Revolving Fund.
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