Erath County Commissioners heard from a concerned group of citizens who would like the court to impose public health and safety guidelines for any solar farm in the county.
Ed Dominguez, a representative of the group, gave a presentation regarding the need to protect and promote public health, safety and welfare of residents in the county in regard to solar farm projects. Dominguez presented a proposed set of ordinances for commissioners to review and potentially take action on at a later date.
He provided information about a proposed solar farm, Nextera, on Farm-to-Market 914 on 2,400 acres near the Bosque River. Subject to local and state approvals, the project is scheduled to begin operations as early as December 2023, according to Nextera’s website.
Dominguez cited water runoff and erosion as a huge concern over the piece of property because of the slope down to the river.
A study about toxins and health issues, by Dr. David H Nguyen, who has a PhD in toxic chemicals and is a cancer biologist, was cited during the presentation. Environmental concerns such as air quality, water quality and soil pollution along with potential toxins were cited by Dominguez as a need for the proposed ordinance.
In the proposed ordinance, the following guidelines are listed:
All equipment shall be set back from all property lines and public roads a minimum of a quarter mile.
All facilities shall leave a defensible space for fire protection around the entire perimeter of the facility and all public roadways of a minimum of a quarter mile.
A minimum of 8 feet fencing to exclude livestock, deer, and hogs and human unauthorized entry will be required around the entire perimeter of the facility, along with appropriate hazardous signage placed at a minimum of every quarter mile.
Lighting of the facility shall be limited to the minimum necessary and full cutoff lighting (eg. Dark sky compliant) may be required when determined necessary tomitigate visual impacts. No facility shall produce glare that would constitute a nuiwsance to occupants of neighboring property or persons traveling roads.
The total amount of water used by a facility must be approved by the commissioners and may be subject to change. Water usage must not exceed a predetermined number of gallons per year. Water produced from the site must not be sold, bartered, traded or removed from the permitting site. It is imperative that wells of neighboring properties not be compromised.
The permitting for all solar facilities shall be required prior to construction and operation of solar facilities, which will allow the county commissioners to enhance, specify and detail specific requirements concerning health and human safety standards.
The commissioners were asked to review the proposed ordinance and take action at a later date by Dominguez.
Two agenda items regarding Black Mountain Energy Storage were tabled until the July 11 Commissioners Court meeting because of the presenter not being able to make the meeting.
However, citizen Cheyenne Haglund who lives near the property for the proposed energy storage, spoke during public comments in opposition.
“Over the last 10 days, I’ve done research on the environmental concerns related to this project,” she said. Haglund said these types of batteries are known to overheat and could become a potential fire danger.
The commissioners will hear a presentation about the project and potentially approve a variance for the project regarding access to the project site at the July 11 meeting. Judge Cashon approved the appointment and a $5,000 a month salary for Mark Kaiser as temporary assistant county auditor because of the long recovery road of Auditor Kent Reeves who was injured in a shooting in April.
The temporary position will last until Oct. 31 and is geared toward getting the county through its fiscal year budget preparations.