Did you know that on February 9, 2018, the Elmore County Commissioners approved 26 different issues regarding the Cat Creek Energy project? They did this after County Planning and Zoning Commission denied the permits to John Faulkner in 2016. The commissioners decided the P & Z board didn’t do their due diligence? It’s hard to know the true answer to these questions, isn’t it?
The following eight issues Commissioners Wes Wootan, Bud Corbus, and Al Hofer approved may seem insignificant when considering how large the Cat Creek Energy project could be unless it’s stopped before the first shovelful of Idaho’s wild and rich dirt is dug up by tractors and backhoes.
Can you imagine electrical transmission lines running from the 500-foot tall wind towers on the Pine-Freatherville Road, through the Cat Creek Summit area and down to Little Camas Prairie? Then these transmission lines have to get on the “grid” somehow. Are we going to have 180-foot tall transmission lines or 1,000 foot plus tall towers carrying electricity to out-of-state residents strung across the entire Highway 20 corridor?
Cat Creek Energy / Elmore County Development Agreement Issues #10 through #17
10) A transmission line replaces the distribution lines from the new wind/solar substation to the main substation or switch station.
11) Wind turbine towers may be located anywhere on the Wind CUP site. The maximum number of towers is thirty-nine (39). The maximum height is five hundred (500) feet. The minimum setback from any public road is 1.25 times the overall height of the wind turbine from the centerline of the wind turbine tower. The minimum setback from any existing residential dwelling shall be at least 2,500 feet.
12) A permanent meteorological tower can be built as necessary of any wind turbine configuration up to a height of three hundred twenty (320) feet and can be placed on any of the Land on or adjacent to the Wind CUP site.
13) A Doppler radar facility can be built on any of the Land as to accommodate its performance parameters.
14) The O&M complex site can incorporate a maximum of twenty (20) acres and can be placed on any CUP site.
15) One main O&M building can be built up to a maximum fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet with an approved building permit.
16) One equipment storage building up to five thousand (5,000) square feet can be built within the footprint of the overall O&M complex site with a maximum height of thirty—five (35)feet.
17) For each CUP site, a storage building or shipping containers with a total footprint of no greater than twenty-four hundred (2,400) square feet are permitted for housing spare parts, consumables, and vehicles with an approved building permit.
Take Action Now
At 2:30 p.m. on August 24, 2018, the Elmore County Commissioners will hear from the corporate lawyers for Cat Creek Energy, LLC to amend certain aspects of the Development Agreement they signed a little over six months ago. If you are opposed to this project, please attend this public hearing or contact the commissions and let them know you don’t want this project to be built in our backyard.
Here is a link to more information about that meeting: http://catcreek-energy.com/news/august-24th-x2-hearings-cat-creek-energy-amendment-hearing-and-then-deliberation-meeting/
Contact Information for the County Commissioner
Al Hofer
208-599-1620
Chairman Wes Wooten
208-599-3131
Bud Corbus
208-599-1294