HomeMy WebLinkAbout20062702 STATE OF COLORADO
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
• WELD COUNTY
AUGUST 2, 2006 Tape #2006-28
., RE: SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT (S) #1562 & #1563
CEDAR CREEK WIND ENERGY, LLC/GREEN LIGHT ENERGY, INC.
TRANSCRIPTION TAPE RECORDED PROCEEDINGS
The Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado
met in regular session in full conformity with the laws of
the State of Colorado at the Weld County Centennial
Center, Greeley, Colorado at 9 : 00 a .m.
COMMISSIONER ATTENDANCE
COMMISSIONER M. J. GEILE, Chairman
COMMISSIONER ROBERT D . MASDEN
COMMISSIONER GLENN VAAD
COMMISSIONER DAVID E . LONG
COMMISSIONER WILLIAM H. JERKE, EXCUSED
e.
STAFF ATTENDANCE
ESTHER GESICK
Acting Clerk to the Board
BRUCE BARKER, Esq.
Weld County Attorney
LEE MORRISON, Esq.
Assistant Weld County Attorney
CHRIS GATHMAN
Weld County Planning Department .
CHAR DAVIS
Weld County Health Department
DONALD CARROLL
Weld County Public Works
APPLICANT REPRESENTATIVES
DONALD STONER, Esq. & KEVIN DAVIS, Esq.
Appearing on behalf of the applicant
C (CQ3
flak
uSk
Pi- IM.
< gqs
r., L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
L"i 07Ifs2Ze,c, gs oc , 2006-2702
r'\
2
PUBLIC ATTENDANCE SPEAKING TO 1562 & 1563
ROB PALMER
Citizen & wildlife photographer
JULIE BOYLE
Weld County Resident
TROY FLORIAN
Colorado Division of Wildlife
DON NEBB, President
.- Bijou Irrigation District
CHARLES STURROCK
Grover resident
BOB WHITE
Landowner on transmission corridor .
BURTON KROSS
6933 Sedgwick Drive, Fort Collins , CO
Representing five landowners in Crow Creek vicinity
KEN STROM, Director
Bird Association for Audubon Colorado and Weld County
STEVE JONES, Author
Raptor Protocols & North American Prairie
., SHARON HAHN, Resident
52701 Weld County Road 124
MATTHEW OSOSKY, Mayor
City of Grover, Colorado
POLLY REETZ, Member
Denver Audubon Society
DIANA STURROCK
Grover resident
RHETT GOOD
^ Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc .
,.. L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
3
1 [The electronically recorded section of the Weld
2 County Board of Commissioners Meeting of August 2 , 2006 is
�. 3 transcribed as follows : ]
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The first thing I ' d like to do
5 is, I ' m going to call up Docket No. PR - - or Docket No .
'" 6 2006-45 and Docket No. 2006-46 . Before we proceed,
^
7 though, would the applicant or representative of the
8 applicant please come forth?
9 As you can see, there are four commissioners in
10 attendance . Commissioner Jerke is excused this morning.
^ 11 We did take roll call , didn' t we? Okay. Counsel , would
12 you please inform the applicant of their rights this
13 morning?
14 MR. BARKER: Sure . Pursuant to the Weld County
15 Home Rule Charter, it takes an affirmative vote of three
16 county commissioners to pass any motion.
r-+
17 So what the board has done is , when they have
101 18 fewer than five commissioners here for any land use
e.
19 hearing, they allow the applicant the opportunity to ask
20 for a continuance to continue the matter to a time when
21 you would have all five present .
r�
22 The situation is that if you -- because there
..
^ 23 are four present today, if there is a two-two tie, then
24 the fifth commissioner will come back, listen to the
25 record and also review the exhibits and make a
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
4
1 determination.
2 So that' s the situation. You can either go
3 ahead and proceed today, or ask for a continuance .
4 MR. STONER: I think we are - - we' re happy to
5 proceed.
^ 6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : You want to continue, then?
r
7 MR. STONER: Yes .
^ 8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you very much.
9 MR. STONER : Thank you.
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I wonder if we could - - Chris,
'^ 11 go ahead. I understand we've got to call both of these
12 cases up . Is that right? At the same - -
^ 13 MR. GATHMAN: That' s correct .
14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - time, we can call them both
15 up . If that ' s the case, then would Docket No . 2006-45 ,
r- 16 which is a Site Specific Development Plan Use by Special
17 Review, permit #1562 ; and Docket No . 2006-46 , which is a
18 Site Specific Development Plan and Use by Special Review
19 #1563 , rather than 62 as stated in the agenda .
., 20 MR. GATHMAN: Correct .
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Counsel , would
you make record,
22 please .
23 MR. BARKER: Sure . This is Docket No. 2006-45 .
24 The applicant is Cedar Creek Wind Energy, LLC and Green
.s. 25 Light Energy, Inc . , 310 - 4th Street , Charlottesville,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
I,
r,
5
1 Virginia, 22902 , requesting a Site Specific Development
2 Plan and Use by Special Review. Permit No. 1562 for a
3 major facility of a public utility, 72 mile, 230 KV
4 transmission line, and one new switching station in the
5 A (Agriculture) zoned district .
6 Legal description are parts of Sections 23-9-10 ,
7 16 , 19, 17, 19 , 20 , & 30 of Township 10 North Range 60
8 West ; parts of Sections 2 , 3 , 8 , 9, 10 , 17 , 18 , 19, 25 , 35
^
9 & 36 of 10 - - 61 - -
,- 10 [Cell phone ringing. ]
'- 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : One thing I do need to ask is,
12 if you have cell phones - - excuse me, counsel - - would you
13 please shut them off so that we can proceed without having
.-,
14 that interference? So if you have cell phones , please
15 shut them off or put them on vibration. Thank you . Go
16 ahead, counsel .
^
17 MR. BARKER : Parts of Sections 24 , 25 & 36 of
18 962 ; parts of Sections 1, 12 , 13 , 24 , 25 & 36 of 862 ;
19 Sections 1, 12 , 13 , 24 , 25 , & 36 of 762 ; parts of Sections
20 1, 12 , 13 , 24 , 25 , 34 , 35 & 36 of 662 ; parts of Sections
21 1, 3 , 4 , 7 & 8 of 562 ; parts of Sections 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , &
22 22 of 563 ; and parts of Sections 2 , 3 , 11 , 14 , 23 , 26 , 34
23 & 35 of 463 ; parts of Sections 3 , 10 , 15 , 22 , 27 & 34 of
24 363 ; parts of Sections 3 , 5 & 6 of 263 ; Sections 1, 2 , 3 ,
25 4 , 10 , 15 , 22 & 27 of 264 ; part of Sections 7 , 462 and
^
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
6
1 part of Section 13 , 463 Weld County, Colorado.
2 Location is commencing at a point east of Weld
3 County Road 105 and north of Weld County Road 20 at a
4 proposed substation within the boundary of the proposed
5 Cedar Creek Wind Farm, traversing in a southwesterly
6 direction to a point in the general vicinity of Weld
7 County Roads 106 and 87, and then transvers- -- traversing
8 in a southerly direction to Weld County Roads 98 and 87 ;
r• 9 then traversing in a southwesterly direction to a point
10 one-half mile west of Weld County Road 85 . 5 , then
^ 11 traversing in a southwesterly direction to Weld County
12 Roads 62 and 85 . 5 , turning west onto Weld County Road 62
13 to Weld County Road 79 . 5 , then traversing to a point near
14 the intersection of Weld County Roads 73 and 58 , turning
15 to head south onto Weld County Road 73 , to a point near
16 Weld County Road 44 , then westerly along Weld County Road
r-
17 58 to Weld County Road 69 , then south to north - - to a
Ora 18 northerly right of way of Interstate 76 , then turning west
19 to Weld County Road 65 . 5 to a point south of Interstate
20 76 , then westerly on Weld County Road 24 to Weld County
21 Road 55 , then south on Weld County Road 55 to the proposed
22 Keenesburg Switching Station.
23 Notice of this hearing was dated June 29 , 2006 ,
24 and it was published July 5 , 2006 , in the Fort Lupton
25 Press .
r-•
^
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
7
1 The second notice is for Docket No . 2006-46 .
2 The applicant Cedar Creek Wind and Energy LLC and Green
3 Light Energy, Inc . , 310 - 4th Street , Charlottesville,
r 4 Virginia, 22902 , requests that a Site Specific Development
A^
5 Plan and Use by Special Review Permit , No . 1562 for a
6 major facility of the public utility up to 300 individual ,
7 three-bladed wind turbine generators in the A
.-
8 (Agricultural) zoned district .
9 Legal description are : parts of Sections 19, 30 ,
10 31 and 34 of 1158 ; parts of 6 & 7 of 1059, parts of
r 11 Section 16 , 21, 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ,
12 32 , 34 & 36 of 1159 ; parts of Sections 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 , 9 ,
13 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 21, 22 , 23 , 28 , & 29 of 1060 ;
14 parts of Sections 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 9, 10 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ,
15 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 33 , 34 , 35 , & 36
16 of 1160 ; and parts of Sections 25 & 36 , of 1260 .
17 Location is generally located in an irregularly
18 shaped area south of and adjacent to Weld County Road 138 ,
19 north of and adjacent to Weld County Road 114 , east of and
20 adjacent to Weld County Road 99 , and west of Weld County
21 Road 23 .
r.
22 Notice of today' s hearing is dated June 29,
23 2006 , and published July 5 , 2006 , in the Fort Lupton
24 Press .
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you, counsel . Counsel ,
r.
r.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
8
1 this -- this application has in essence been in compliance
2 with our 1041 , with the 1041 Rules and Regulations we have
3 in place?
4 MR. BARKER: That' s correct .
.-
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Which relate to major public
6 utility facilities?
0-
7 MR. BARKER: Right .
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Chris , this is your
r
9 case?
10 MR. GATHMAN: It is .
11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you go ahead and
12 proceed.
13 MR. GATHMAN: Sure . Good morning. Chris
14 Gathman, Department of Planning Services .
15 This application is for USR 1562 , which is a
16 Site Specific Development Plan, a Special Review Permit
17 for a major facility of a public utility, a 72-mile, 230
18 kilovolt transmission line, and one new switching station.
es,
19 And also we have USR 1563 , which is up to 300
20 individual three-bladed wind turbine generators in the
21 agricultural zoned district .
22 The applicants are Cedar Creek Wind Energy, LLC,
23 and Green Light Energy, Incorporated. The representatives
24 for those companies today are David Stoner and Kevin Davis
25 of Green Light Energy.
^, L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
9
1 The sign for today' s hearing was posted a
2 minimum of ten days prior to the hearing by Planning
3 Staff . Okay.
4 The applicants are proposing to construct a 300
5 wind turbines in the Chalk Bluffs area of Northern Weld
6 County near the Town of Grover . This would also be along
7 with an associated substation and an operations and
8 maintenance facility building, along with some electrical
9 line connections connecting the turbines to the
r-, 10 substation.
'' 11 The proposed arrays of wind turbines - -
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Chris, why don' t you -- Chris ,
13 while you' re doing your presentation and you come to - -
'a,
14 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
0,
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- points like that , would you
16 point on the map - -
17 MR. GATHMAN: Sure .
r, 18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - so we know where you' re
19 talking about?
'a'
,., 20 MR. GATHMAN: Well, this is the entire boundary
'' 21 of the site . The turbines are shown in the red dots .
r,
22 You've got County Road 122 right here, and then
r• 23 this is County Road 105 . This is the main -- I guess you
PaN
24 call it the main western entrance to the site .
�\
25 So -- and there are - - I mean, there are county
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r‘
10
1 roads that kind of intersperse throughout the area, but
2 it ' s also a very remote area, so there are areas where
3 there aren' t many roads at all . It' s just basically to
4 the northwest of the - - I believe the Pawnee Buttes are in
,. 5 this area right here .
6 You' ve got the Town of Grover which -- I believe
e-
7 it' s on the map, and it' s about four to five miles to the
8 west of the site .
/-
9 The proposed arrays of wind turbines are located
^
10 on approximately 118 acres of the site . The total acreage
r• 11 of the site is 31, 670 acres .
12 Wind turbines will be set back a minimum of
13 1 , 000 feet from adjacent homes, and a minimum of 400 feet
0-
14 from existing roads and USR site boundaries .
0-
0- 15 The majority of the wind farm site consists of
0-
16 grazing lands and open lands with some areas of dry land
/-
17 crop production. Wind turbines and associated operations ,
^ 18 as proposed, do not interfere with the existing oil and
19 gas facilities .
r-
20 The applicants have continued to meet with
21 representatives from the Colorado Division of Wildlife,
22 the United States Fish and Wildlife, regarding potential
23 wind turbine setbacks along the escarpment edge along the
24 western end of the site .
., 25 Based on these meetings and site review of these
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
11
1 locations , the Division of Wildlife recommended in a
2 referral response, dated July 12th, 2006 , that 10 of the
r-.
3 39 turbine sites visited adjacent to the escarpment be set
be' 4 back at least 220 yards from the current rim edge
5 identified by the applicant . And those turbines are
0-,
6 identified with these blue circles . So along the western
7 edge of the proposed facility.
8 The Colorado Division of Wildlife indicated no
'" 9 significant impacts with the other 29 wind turbine sites
e.
10 adjacent to the escarpment . Subsequent discussions with
., 11 the applicant , they' ve indicated that they have agreed to
`N 12 the setback proposal . I will defer to the applicant about
13 their subsequent discussions with the Division of Wildlife
/ON
O` 14 in regards to this issue .
e� 15 Colorado Department of Wildlife also indicated
16 that setbacks from sharptail grouse would be less than
17 one-half mile for three of the turbine sites . These
18 lesser setbacks would be in exchange for the applicant
19 funding, and/or conducting research in regards to the
�^ 20 impact of turbines on grouse behavior, to guide future
21 development of turbines .
`" 22 Colorado Division of Wildlife has also indicated
rte^
23 that the applicants and the Division of Wildlife have
24 agreed to engage in habitat enhancement projects , as well
25 as supplemental sharptail grouse transplants .
r^
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
12
1 Another issue which I will defer to the
2 applicant on, as far as their discussions , is the location
3 of the transmission line as it leaves the site . As
4 proposed at this point, they' re proposing to go down the
5 half section line .
6 There was some discussion, originally, about
7 maybe going along County Road 122 , which is an existing
en,
,.\ 8 county road. And there are some existing power lines
9 adjacent to the road.
10 But it' s my understanding there' s - - there have
eN
11 been some discussions with the Department of Defense
eN
12 regarding setbacks from an existing facility that they
13 have to the north.
14 Grover is located to the west of the proposed
15 wind farm facility. The Town of Grover, in their referral
16 dated July 7 , 2006 , indicated their support for the
17 project .
18 There was a condition of approval that was added
19 at the Planning Commission Meeting, dealing with a road
20 maintenance agreement , and that was to address concerns --
/� 21 partly to address the concerns of the Town of Grover .
22 Their major concern dealt with impacts to county roads
23 predominantly during construction of the facility, from
24 heavy equipment .
25 The turbines will have an overall height ranging
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/ ,
r•
13
1 from 327 feet to 391 1/2 feet to the tip of the blade, and
2 are spaced apart approximately 700 to 800 feet on the
3 center of the turbines .
4 The applicants indicate turbines of up to 416 . 5
5 feet may be used in their application. However, in
6 subsequent discussions with the applicant , they have
7 indicated that those larger turbines are not going to be
8 installed. So the tallest turbines out there would be at
9 the tip of the top of the blade, would be 391 1/2 feet .
10 The rows of turbine blades will be set back
11 approximately one-third to one-half mile from other roads .
12 These blades will rotate at a fixed rate of between 20 and
13 25 revolutions per minute .
14 The applicants are proposing a permanent
15 operations and maintenance facility that will be staffed
16 by employees . They are in the process of applying for a
17 well permit to provide a more permanent water source for
.‘ 18 these employees .
19 The original application indicated the
20 possibility of three electrical substations being within
21 the boundaries of the wind farm site . The applicants have
22 subsequently determined that only one substation will
23 be -- site will be needed, and that is on County Road 105 ,
24 approximately one-half mile south of County Road 122 ,
25 which is this blue dot right there .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD Cr( BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-'
r`.
14
1 The applicants are also proposing a temporary
2 concrete batching facility, and possibly a gravel mining
3 facility to support the construction of the concrete
4 foundations for the wind turbines, along to upgrade and
5 support county roads - -
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is that a part of this
7 application?
8 MR. GATHMAN: -- during construction. No, it is
9 not . And I - - yeah, they' re going to be coming in - - one
,, 10 of the --
11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That answers --
r
12 MR. GATHMAN: -- things they are working on,
13 it' ll be a subsequent application.
14 The proposed transmission line route includes
15 approximately 72 miles of 230 kilovolt single circuit
16 electrical transmission lines to transport power generated
17 from the wind farm near Grover. The proposed switching
18 station and rebuild of the portion of the Fort St . Vrain
19 to Green Valley 230 kilovolt line is part of the proposal ,
20 and that is located right here . I believe it begins at , I
21 think, County Road 24 , and then goes down just to the
22 south side of Highway 76 .
23 In discussions with the applicant , they still - -
24 you know, it' s not clearly shown on this map . They did
25 have an alternative route, instead of going straight
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
15
1 across like this and going down.
2 They also had an alternative proposal to run
3 along Interstate 76 , adjacent to Keenesburg into the
4 switching station site . I will , I guess , defer to their
e-
5 presentation on that .
6 I know that there were concerns from the Town of
7 Keenesburg based on that alternative location. So I
r- 8 believe the applicants are going to propose if that
m-
9 alternative is kept open, that there be a condition that
10 there be some kind of agreement or approval from
11 Keenesburg in regards to this alternative layout .
12 The applicant requests a permit for the
510. 13 placement of the 150 transmission line right of way, at
14 a specific location with the corridor, determined through
15 final negotiations with landowners, and further analysis
16 of environmental resources .
e-
17 In locations where the corridor is bounded by
18 two section lines , an addition of 300 feet is included to
19 allow for potential siting of the transmission line right
20 of way on either side of the section line .
21 The portion of the corridor at Crow Creek is two
22 miles in width, to allow for flexibility in avoiding the
23 creek and the associated riparian corridor . And that is --
24 well , this map doesn' t really show it clearly up here, but
25 I believe it ' s - - Crow Creek is included in this area .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r'• 16
1 The transmission line structures will consist of
2 two pole H-frame structures, approximately 60 to 100 feet
3 in height . The two-poles of the steel H-frame structures
4 would be approximately 19 1/2 to 24 feet apart at the
p..
5 base, and 40 to 48 feet in width at the top of the
^ 6 structure .
^
7 At angles greater than five degrees or other
8 location where engineering needs dictate, guide three-pole
9 steel structures will be used. Guide H-frame structures
e 10 will be used at angles of less than five degrees , and
�' 11 they' ll have - - all will have a weathered steel core ten
r-
12 finish. Pole spacing will vary from 600 to 12 hundred
13 feet , depending on terrain, existing obstructions and type
^ 14 of pole utilized.
^
^ 15 The maximum ground clearance beneath the
ea. 16 conductor is 27 feet and the maximum height of working
e-
17 machinery that may be operated safely under this line is
18 14 feet in height .
19 In one location on lands aligning with County
^ 20 Road 55 , the applicant is proposing to rebuild a segment
• 21 of the 230 kilovolt line to accommodate a date uncertain,
22 future Public Service Company' s transmission line .
23 All lines will end at the proposed switching
• 24 station where there' s an existing inter-connection with
25 Public Service Company' s distribution system.
..
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
v.
r,
17
1 The applicant continues to work with all the
2 affected property owners to establish a center line and
3 pole locations that maintain adequate clearance from
4 residences and outbuildings, and do not interfere with the
eN
5 operation and maintenance of pivot irrigation structures ,
r.
r. 6 and to minimize impacts to farming operations .
7 The preferred transmission line route has been
e, 8 developed in full cooperation with the towns of Grover and
re, 9 Keenesburg . The Town of Grover did not respond to the
eN
10 referral request , indicating a conflict with their
11 interests .
12 And the Town of Keenesburg voiced opposition to
r.'
13 the secondary proposed transmission line route, as it is
', 14 in conflict with their comprehensive plan. And again,
15 that' s this area right here .
16 The applicants had indicated that they would
A‘ 17 still like to explore the option of bringing the
18 transmission line down Interstate 76 , as I have talked
19 about earlier, if they can provide evidence that the Town
20 of Keenesburg would agree to this request .
0, 21 The proposed initial alignment , which this is
0, 22 actually the alternative alignment that was proposed at
0'
23 the Planning Commission Hearing, it' s my understanding
24 that there -- I think there are a few modifications and
25 the applicant has an updated map that they will show in
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek B-2-06
r'
18
1 their presentation.
r,
2 The graphic delineates the alignment of the
3 transmission, taking into consideration the referral
4 agency comments , existing site conditions, and concessions
r,
, 5 brokered from the property owners .
6 The applicants have been in subsequent
r,
7 negotiations with property owners regarding moving the
8 transmission line further away from Crow Creek. Again,
r 9 I ' ll have the applicants address that issue .
r,
r 10 The proposed line will be close to several
11 residences . However, potential problems resulting from
r,
12 the lines proximity to any of these structures will be
r,
13 minimized or negated by designing the line in accordance
"\ 14 with the National Electrical Safety Code, and the Rural
15 Utility Services standards . The Cedar Creek Wind Energy
r, 16 presentation will further address this .
r,
17 There will be some interruption to the use of
r.
18 land during construction. However, Cedar Creek Wind
19 Energy LLC and Green Light Energy Incorporated, has
r,
r,
20 indicated the owners will be compensated for the loss of
21 agricultural crops . All disturbed areas will be regraded
r,
22 and, where appropriate, reseeded to provide proper
r,
23 drainage, stabilize the soils and prevent erosion.
24 Per the application materials, the project may
r.
25 have mitigated impact on existing park and recreational
r,
es.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r'
r,
19
1 facilities , known historical or prehistorical sites ,
2 threatened or endangered species, significant wildlife
3 habitat where there are water courses and water bodies .
r, 4 There are no known natural hazards in the area
r,
5 that will affect or be affected by the proposed project .
6 As an overview of the application, these
r,
7 applications are 1041 regulated USR applications , as the
r, 8 matter of siting transmission and generation is a matter
9 of statewide concern. The project is proposed in response
10 to Public Service Company' s need for additional energy
Ao'N 11 resources and desire to purchase wind energy.
12 Electrical demand continues to increase in
13 Colorado largely as a result of continuing growth and
14 development along the front range .
15 In December of 2004 , the Colorado Public
r, 16 Utilities Commission approved Public Service Company' s
17 2003 Least Cost Resource Plan, which includes plans for a
r,
18 competitive solicitation to procure new energy sources .
19 This project will help fulfill Public Service Company' s
r,.
20 energy needs, as identified in the 2003 plan.
21 In 2004 , Colorado voters passed Amendment 37 ,
22 the Renewable Energy Requirement . This initiative
23 requires that the state' s largest utilities obtain a
24 minimum of three percent of their energy from renewable
25 energy resources by 2007, six percent by 2011 , and ten
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r,
20
1 percent by 2015 .
2 The ten percent renewable energy standard will
r. 3 reduce about three million metric tons of power plant
4 carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2025 , which is a
r.
5 reduction of 4 . 5 percent below business as usual levels .
r, 6 This project will help Public Service Company meet
r,
7 obligations related to the Renewable Energy requirements .
r,
8 For the wind farm component of this proposal , 17
es‘
9 referral agencies reviewed this case, and 8 provided
10 comment . For the transmission line and switching station
r, 11 components of this proposal, 15 referral agencies reviewed
✓,
12 this case, and 8 provided comment with the U. S . Department
✓ 13 of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, providing an
14 unrequested referral on July 12 , 2006 .
15 In both applications, referral agencies offered
16 comments in favor of the proposal , some with specific
17 conditions should this application be approved.
18 There have been numerous telephone inquiries and
19 letters received from surrounding property owners . The
20 majority of the telephone inquiries and letters were
21 related to the alignment of the transmission line,
22 relative to their property.
23 The concerns and issues raised in this
24 correspondence received included the alignment of the
r•
25 line, the potential devaluation of property, and the
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
a
21
1 implied loss of U corridors to the front range and
2 surrounding agricultural lands . Also concerns dealing
3 with conflicts with wildlife, potentially.
4 The Department of Planning Services is
a
5 recommending approval of USR 1562 and USR 1563 .
6 Donald Carroll of Public Works and Char Davis of
7 the Health Department are present . Further, David Stoner
8 and Kevin Davis of Green Light Energy are available .
9 I do have a memorandum from Kim Ogle that was
i,
10 just passed out in regards to some modifications to the
11 USR 1562 Resolution. Some clarification on USR 1562
a,
12 includes a 72-mile, 230 kilovolt transmission line, as
13 well as a new switching station.
a, 14 Talking to the applicants representatives,
a,
15 they've indicated that the power line will be under one
16 ownership, and the switching station will be under
17 separate ownership . Therefore, the applicant has
18 requested that USR 1562-A be associated with the
19 transmission line, and that would be under the ownership
20 of Babcock and Brown. And USR 1562-B will be associated
21 with the switching station, which will be Xcel Energy.
22 Okay. Then I ' ve got some other amendments .
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you go through the
r, 24 amendments, Chris .
25 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. On page 15 , item K, it ' s
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
22
1 requested that the word "attempt to address the concerns
2 of Colorado Division of Wildlife" be added to the last
3 line of the paragraph. And the entire paragraph reads,
4 "The applicant shall demonstrate . . . " " . . . demonstrate
5 attempted compliance with the Colorado Division of
6 Wildlife as stated in the referral dated June 18 , 2006 . . . "
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Let me make sure I know where
,-. 8 you are, Chris .
9 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We' re on 15 -- what did you say
11 it was?
12 MR. GATHMAN: I 've got page 15 , item K.
13 MS . GESICK: That' s on page 14 on your version.
0-, 14 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
15 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: So 1562 or 63?
16 MR. GATHMAN: 1562 .
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Let' s go through it .
18 What is it? Item number what, again?
19 MR. GATHMAN: Item K, and it ' s - -
r
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : "The applicant shall - -
21 MR. GATHMAN: -- in regards to the Division of - -
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - demonstrate attempted
23 compliance with Colorado Division of Wildlife . . . " Okay.
24 I got you.
25 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
23
1 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Chris , is this what' s listed
2 in the memo?
3 MR. GATHMAN: Yes . Yeah. IT' s - - that is
4 listed in the memo . So it' s just the last sentence . They
5 just wanted to add, "Also, the applicant shall attempt to
6 address the concerns of the Division of Wildlife, specific
7 to wildlife relative to the towers and transmission
,., 8 alignment . "
'` 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Then we go on to page - - well ,
10 same page you listed as 15 , but it' s 14 .
r.
r, 11 MR. GATHMAN: 14 . And that - -
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Prior to release of building
13 permits , you want to do something with A and B?
14 MR . GATHMAN: Yeah. In discussion with the
15 Department of Building Inspection, it ' s my understanding
16 that building permits will not be required for the
17 transmission line or switching station component .
r.
18 Therefore, they' re requesting that -- in " . . .pertaining to
'` 19 building permits, " be removed.
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , what are we doing with A
21 and B, ` cause A reads the same .
22 MR . GATHMAN: A -- yeah, basically. I guess - -
r-,
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : A reads the same, so you' re not
r` 24 doing anything with that .
ea,
25 MR. GATHMAN: We could actually maybe modify A.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
i,
f.
24r,
1 If they' re going to put any buildings or structures on the
2 site, that would -- depending on the size of the --
r, 3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you work on some
'` 4 language to modify it .
5 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. I can modify the first one .
6 And then the development standards, which are --
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : What about B?
, 8 MR . GATHMAN: B? Plan review is required for
e\ 9 each building.
f\
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : It looks to me like you want to
fe\ 11 do some modification there, too .
r\ 12 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
rN
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And then you want to strike
on\ 14 Items A and B from the resolution.
15 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm.
r, 16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : To which A and B - -
17 MR. GATHMAN: Well , but per the Department of
18 Building Inspection, they were indicating no permits for
19 the transmission line nor the switching station.
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So are you saying that you want
21 to scratch A & B, or do you want to modify them?
22 MR. GATHMAN: Well , per their - - per their
23 request , scratch them.
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So you don' t want to modify
25 them; you want to scratch them?
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r
25
1 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
r. 3 COMMISSIONER LONG: Mr. Chairman.
r 4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Long.
r
5 COMMISSIONER LONG: Well , I ' d like to entertain
✓ 6 at least a discussion of keeping that last sentence,
7 "Building plans shall be submitted to Pawnee Fire and
8 Protection District , " because I think that might be of
0-` 9 viable use to them, should there be a situation that they
10 would be in need of those plans, just so they know what
r. 11 the layout looks like, should there be a need.
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So do we need to have some
✓ 13 discussion with the applicant about that - -
14 COMMISSIONER LONG: Yeah, if we could.
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - Commissioner? Okay. So we
16 will have discussion with A and B .
17 MR. GATHMAN: And I ' ll see if we can get a
18 representative from Building Inspection here in the
19 afternoon to - -
r
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
r
• 21 MR. GATHMAN: -- address that , if there are any
22 specific questions .
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , then we go on Development
24 Standard 28 , and including number 33 . 28 being "a
r.
25 building permit shall be obtained prior to the
r
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
26
1 construction of switching station or any other buildings
e.
2 or structures on site . " Would you --
3 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. They' re requesting to
4 remove all those development standards 28 through 33 .
e,
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. All right .
'', 6 MR. GATHMAN: And then one final item, we' re
7 proposing to add as a condition of approval , 3N.
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And where is that?
9 MR. GATHMAN: I think that' s on page - - I 'm not
10 sure, because I don' t think my pages are matching your
11 pages . So it' s prior to "Recording the Plat . " It ' d be
12 down toward the very bottom of that section.
r,
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : 3 -- So that would be "prior to
14 release of . . . "
15 MR. GATHMAN: It would be "prior to recording
16 the plat . " It reads, "The applicant shall attempt to
17 address the concerns of the Bijou Irrigation District ,
e. 18 specific to transmission alignment . . . "
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So that what you' re at --
r-,
20 you' re suggesting that be added as 3N?
eN 21 MR. GATHMAN: That be added.
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
23 MR. GATHMAN: That' s based on some
�` 24 correspondence that was received from Bijou.
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : All right . Does that conclude
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ft-
eN
es'
r,
27
1 your memo?
2 MR. GATHMAN: That concludes my presentation. I
3 know the applicants are --
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well, I do have some questions ,
e\ 5 Chris .
e\ 6 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So we' re talking about how many
r, 8 megawatts of power will this site - - will this thing
9 generate? This particular - -
10 MR. GATHMAN: The wind farm - - it ' s my
0-, 11 understanding, I believe it' s 330 .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And how many - - how many towers
13 or facilities will that include?
r\ 14 MR. GATHMAN: Up to 300 towers .
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Up to 300 towers . And you
16 mentioned something about 118 turbines?
r
17 MR. GATHMAN: Actually it' s a - - the overall ,
18 once the site is developed and everything is put in, the
19 applicant has indicated 118 acres of that entire --
r
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Will be - -
21 MR. GATHMAN: -- will be under - - you know, be a
22 part of the facility, as far as being part of the turbine,
23 being underneath the turbine, as a part of the --
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So are they looking at one
25 megawatt per structure?
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r,
r,
28
r, 1 MR. GATHMAN: I ' d say it' s pretty close . I ' d
r,
2 defer to the applicants on the specifics .
r,
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , we need to make sure we
4 understand that , because - -
5 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - if there' s two megawatts per
7 structure, that' s one thing.
r-, 8 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm.
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And if we' re talking about a
r 10 total of 300 megawatts, then we need to know how that ' s
11 going to be configured, as far as structures , because
3
12 to me that - - that would be a pretty definite part of
13 the case .
14 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
r 15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The second, as part of
16 ownership, who will own the switching station down at
3-
17 Hudson? That' ll - - that' s Excel .
r
18 MR. GATHMAN: That' s Excel .
e-
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Who owns the transmission line,
3-
20 the 72 miles of transmission line?
e- 21 MR. GATHMAN: It' s my understanding that that
22 would be owned by Babcock and Brown, who -- they have a
23 partnership with Green Light Energy based on the - - yeah,
24 Green Light Energy, and it' s under Cedar Creek Wind
,t,
25 Energy, LLC .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
.r.
29
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And there is -- there' s no --
2 as far as you know, there' s no effort or agreement that
3 after that line is constructed, that will actually be
4 transferred to Excel , as far as the operations and
5 maintenance of that line?
6 MR. GATHMAN: I --
^.
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I want to know who' s going to
8 be responsible for operating and maintaining that line .
9 MR. GATHMAN: All right . I ' ll defer to --
r
^ 10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Good.
r- 11 MR. GATHMAN: -- the applicants on that .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : All right . The other thing, you
13 mentioned something about 115 KV. Did I misunderstand
14 that? It almost sounded like they wanted enough corridor
15 to also put in 115 KV to do something?
• 16 MR. GATHMAN: They' re proposing a 230 kilovolt - -
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So it' s just one line . There' s
e, 18 no plans --
• 19 MR . GATHMAN: Yeah, they' re - -
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- to put on any other circuits
• 21 or anything on this -- on this pole construction or to add
22 any additional poles to carry any other transmission
23 system?
'� 24 MR . GATHMAN: No. With the potential exception
25 of this area right here, and I think that ' s where the 115
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
4-
30
1 KV comes in, there' s an existing line - -
r
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : There' s an existing 115 KV?
3 MR. GATHMAN: Yes . And that' s one - -
r, 4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So they' ll use that - -
r
5 MR. GATHMAN: -- of the alternatives .
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- existing right away? Is
7 that what you' re saying?
8 MR. GATHMAN: It' s my understanding it is - -
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
10 MR. GATHMAN: -- existing right away, so they
�^ 11 would talk about a rebuild to boost that up to 200 - - 230
12 KV. Yeah.
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. I think there - - excuse
14 me - - are there any other que- -- Commissioner Vaad,
^
15 excuse me .
16 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Yeah, a couple of questions
17 just for my understanding. I think I understand what
18 escarpment is ; that' s where the land falls off .
19 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. And I 've actually got some
20 pictures I can show you, if you' d like to see them, so
- -
21 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Then that follows the second
22 question, because there' s a statement that says, "setbacks
23 from the sharptail grouse . " Now, that' s a bird.
24 MR. GATHMAN: Correct . That ' s a separate - - a
^
25 separate item.
^
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
31
1 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Right . But it didn' t make
2 sense the way it ' s written. I mean, they don' t sit still ,
3 so how are you going to have a setback from the sharptail
4 grouse? Is there an area they call "Sharptail Grouse, " or
5 something?
6 MR. GATHMAN: I think they' re talking about
r•.
7 nesting areas . I can have - -
r-,
8 COMMISSIONER VAAD : All right .
9 MR. GATHMAN: -- the applicants have a
10 consultant that' s worked on their wildlife impacts . And
r\ 11 also, we do have representatives from the Division of
r-,
12 Wildlife that could --
13 COMMISSIONER VAAD : It might be well to have
14 that in the record, that that' s their nesting area, and
r-.
15 not a grouse . Okay. Thank you.
r..
A'''‘ 16 MR . GATHMAN: You bet .
I-.
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any other questions?
,., 18 If that , we' ll move on to -- Char, did you have any
19 comments concerning this application, from the Health
r.
20 Department?
r•, 21 MS . DAVIS : Good morning, commissioners . Char
22 Davis , Weld County Health.
r. 23 Just to let you know that the sites -- the
'-` 24 turbine area, when the employees will be working, they' ll
25 have an engineered septic system installed for their
r,
r-,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r.
A.
32
1 operations and maintenance building, they' ll have potable
2 water, mostly in the form of bottled water, for people
3 that are working on the towers, and so forth. And then
4 we' re also asking for a waste handling plan and dust
5 abatement plan.
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any questions for
7 Char? Don, from Public Works .
8 MR . CARROLL : Yes . Don Carroll with Weld County
9 Public Works . We' ve met with the applicant and discussed
,r, 10 numerous items on the transportation side . Just to fill
''' 11 you in on a few other items here, it was not mentioned
-\
12 that we are on board with them on.
r. 13 The batching plant and the gravel location for
14 the graveling of the roads, and gravel . And for the
A-, 15 batching plant, we talked about that .
r. 16 Also right of way permits, whenever they' re --
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And remember to point out
r.
18 whatever you' re talking about . It' s helpful for us to see
A-' 19 it . Okay.
,, 20 MR. CARROLL : Okay. The batching plant would be
21 located up where the substation is, off of 105 and 122 ,
i,
22 just south of 122 and 105 . It' s an awful small map .
r, 23 [Off microphone discussion - inaudible . ]
r.
24 MALE VOICE : Yeah, right in there .
25 MR. CARROLL : Okay, you want me to write in - -
r,
,r,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
33
1 okay, right in this area here .
^
2 We' ve just - - we' ve discussed some permitting on
3 that, and what we' re looking for in the way of batching
4 and talked about their source for gravel , either in their
5 own gravel pit or importing gravel .
6 Also discussed right-of-way permits , when
7 they' re utilizing county rights-of-way or crossing
8 rights-of-way, we have him on board for that .
9 Also a couple locations where they' ll be
10 utilizing section lines , probably utilizing non-exclusive
11 license agreements to access the two substations .
12 Also talked about storm water drainage,
e.
13 management plan, onsite improvements to the substation
'N 14 sites , and the big one with us was the offsite
15 improvements to the haul routes and to the adjacent county
e, 16 roads there .
17 We do have a draft of a long-term maintenance
18 agreement that I have proposed to them, identifying haul
19 routes , how we' re bringing turbines in, how we' re bringing
ON
20 material in. What we' re going to do in the way of dust
21 control , maintenance, those type of items .
22 And also special transport permits for
23 overweight, over-width vehicles coming into the area, to
24 make sure that we' re on board with them on adequate
25 turning radius' s at intersections . Making sure that we' re
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/,
34
1 permitted right .
2 We've talked a little bit about either coming in
3 from Interstate 80 , dropping down 105 , possibly. Or
4 Interstate 80 coming down into Hereford on the pavement ,
5 down to 122 and then across to the site, or coming off
r.
r, 6 I-76 onto state highway 14 up to Weld 77 and then to 122
7 and then into the site . So those are some of the items
0
8 that are in the works right now.
e. 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Questions? Commissioner
10 Vaad.
11 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Well , if I might . Chris
12 offered some pictures of -- I'm trying to figure out .
13 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah.
14 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Do you have some also of the
15 power pole arrangements?
• 16 MR. GATHMAN: Actually, I know there were
•N 17 some - - you mean, just like elevations just showing - -
18 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Yeah. Well , I ' m trying to
19 read the description --
r"
20 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
• 21 COMMISSIONER VAAD: -- and they' re called an H
22 frame . But when I read the description, it doesn' t sound
23 like an H, so --
p" 24 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
25 COMMISSIONER VAAD: -- I was trying to get an
P�
L-MAC R & T 303 .798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
35
1 idea what these are .
2 MR. GATHMAN: I don' t have them in the
3 Powerpoint , but there were some exhibits that were scanned
°l 4 in as part of their application. It does show the - - and
5 I don' t know, the applicant -- do you have --
6 COMMISSIONER VAAD: If they have them later, I
7 can wait .
8 MR . GATHMAN: - - the applicant has some, so we
9 can show you that .
r^,
10 COMMISSIONER VAAD : All right .
A,
11 MR. GATHMAN: They' d be happy to show some
eN
12 pictures if you' d like .
e.
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Do you have some - -
14 Commissioner Long.
�\ 15 COMMISSIONER LONG: I have a question for Don.
e, 16 In your discussions regarding the draft of the road
e1 17 maintenance agreements, and all those issues, were signs
e.
18 ever included in that, ` cause I think it' s going to be
0. 19 necessary with the influx should this go through the
20 approval process -- influx of a lot of people who have
,.. 21 never been to the area .
0. 22 If they had good directional signage to be able
e.
23 to direct them where they needed to go, as opposed to
e. 24 being lost , and getting -- getting in an area where
/.
25 they' re not able to turn around, and those kinds of
e.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
J.
eN
/.
36
1 things, so everybody' s on the same page regarding where
r\ 2 they' re supposed to be or not be .
p, 3 MR. CARROLL : Okay. No, we did not include that .
4 My only signing packet was basically a construction sign,
5 but we can certainly add that .
r, 6 COMMISSIONER LONG: I would sure highly suggest
r.
7 that, ` cause I think it can be awful confusing up there,
r-, 8 and with weather -- and people probably delivering
9 material that have never even been to this part of the
10 state, let alone this part of the county, I think it would
11 be real good to have extra signage to help direct for that
12 whole period of time .
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Masden.
14 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Thank you, Mr . Chairman.
r
15 Don, earlier you brought up a point that they were looking
r- 16 at possibly siting their own gravel pit in this area? Has
17 there been any discussion with the county working with
18 them on that, and you know, hypothetically, if this was
19 approved, that then the county could maintain or take over
20 a gravel pit and work in conjunction with siting and doing
21 a pit?
22 MR. CARROLL : We discussed that a little bit . I
r-
�, 23 think what the question was, would the county sell them
24 any of our gravel . We do have a few pits up in that area.
25 I think there' s the M-key (phonetic) Pit .
eft,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY EOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r\
37
e,' 1 We have some pits down towards 14 . We did have
2 a pit , I think, off Highway 71, so there' s a few pits in
r-\ 3 the area.
4
I believe they've indicated to me that they' re
5 looking into possibly bringing some material in from Pine
6 Bluff . But we can certainly -- if they do find something,
7 we can certainly work with them on an idea like that .
8 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay. Thank you.
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Before we get to the
10 Powerpoint , Chris, I did have one other question.
r 11 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
e-
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Maybe between you and counsel .
13 The only thing we' re - - I want to make sure for the
14 record, we' re clear on what we' re hearing today. And that
,_ 15 is a corridor for a transmission line . This is not - -
16 this is not site specific . It' s a corridor; is that
17 correct?
18 MR. BARKER: It' s -- I think the best way to put
19 it is, it' s a corridor for that line, and - -
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : But it ' s not - - it ' s not
21 specific to the placement of the poles, but still has to
22 be worked out between the applicant and the landowners ; is
23 that correct?
24 MR. BARKER: I think that ' s correct . You may
25 want to have the applicant actually address that issue to
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
e'1
38
r"` 1 the timing and how it goes .
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The second question I had,
3 then, if we' re just talking about a corridor, then the
4 second question is -- and I guess that would then have to
5 come back before us when you have pole specific, or
6 facility specific, or not? I think we need to have some
7 discussion with the applicant to make sure we' re all on
8 the same line as to what we' re talking about .
9 The second, though, is the switching stations on
10 the project, is that site specific?
11 MR. GATHMAN: Correct . That is site specific .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Is the location of the
• 13 power structures , are they specific?
r- 14 MR. GATHMAN: They have a --
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Location specific?
• 16 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. I mean, it' s - -
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So this has all been worked out
.. 18 with the landowners?
19 MR. GATHMAN: They are - - as far as the
20 switching station, they -- I don' t know if they've
• 21 purchased land, yet . They' re in the process of doing - -
re
22 or record an exemption to create a 35-acre parcel , and I
• 23 believe that they' ve got a site in --
• 24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why isn' t that part of the
25 hearing? Why' s that not part --
eN
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
eN
r-
39
r` 1 MR. GATHMAN: Actually it is part of the
2 application.
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Then why are they doing an RE?
4 MR. GATHMAN: I believe they want to - -
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I guess we' ll find out .
6 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, I ' d ask them about that .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , if they' ve got an R- -r
�- 8 if they' re going to have to come back and do an RE, then
9 it isn' t part of this -- or is it part of this hearing?
10 MR. GATHMAN: It is part of it . The RE - -
11 they've already submitted the recorded-exemption
12 application but they do have - - it' s part of the
13 application, they' re showing the details of the switching
14 station.
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Getting back to the
16 structures themselves, as they move through on the 1041
17 process, is -- that they actually identified where these
.- 18 structures will be located, site specific, where these
19 structures will be located?
20 MS . GESICK: Turbines?
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I have another question but - -
22 MR . GATHMAN: Do you mean the turbines or the
23 switching station?
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , we talked about the
25 switching station. You said --
r-,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
^
e.
40
1 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
r
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- they' re going to come - -
p.
3 they have the area planned - -
4 MR. GATHMAN: Right .
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - where they' re going to come
6 back with an RE, which will be a separate land use
7 application.
r.
,., 8 MR. GATHMAN: Right .
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The question I have is have
10 they specifically identified the location where these
r, 11 turbines will - -
r-,
12 MR. GATHMAN: Turbines .
r\
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- be located?
14 MR. GATHMAN: They have identified them on the
15 map, and so -- which is - - now, okay, let me clarify.
r.
16 They - - I know that -- and I ' ll defer to the applicants on
r,
17 this, but I know that they are micro-siting the turbine
r., 18 locations .
O'` 19 So that' s basically where they' re going to be on
20 that map, but they may shift it over, ` cause they' re
r-,
21 looking at -- when they put the turbines in, they' re
22 looking at obviously they want to get as high a site as
r, 23 they can, because generally the higher you get , the
24 higher, the wind. And I ' ll defer to them on that .
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So you don' t know. Okay.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
p.
r\
r.
41
1 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, just have - -
r.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That ' s fine - - that' s fine .
r,
r. 3 MR. GATHMAN: Ask the experts that .
r. 4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : But along that line, I ' d like
5 to talk about the lines it will take to bring all of this
6 power together from these turbines . Has there been
r,
7 anything presented to you as it relates to the location of
r•
r.. 8 those lines, which would be designed to accumulate the
r' 9 power and bring it into the switching station?
10 MR. GATHMAN: Yes . The applicants have submitted
11 drawings for that .
r
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : They have drawings? Okay.
r
�- 13 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That answers my question then.
r 15 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Did you have a Powerpoint you
17 wanted to go through?
18 MR. GATHMAN: I could show some pictures , if
19 you' d like to -- all right .
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I think, Commissioner Vaad, you
21 wanted to see those?
22 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Please .
23 FEMALE VOICE : (Speaking away from microphone)
^ 24 Is it (inaudible) - - here .
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I'm sorry, but - - I ' m sorry,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/\
eeN
�\ 42
1 but we' ll get to the public hearing . This is not --
r\
2 FEMALE VOICE : I can' t hear you back here .
.-\ 3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
4 FEMALE VOICE : I can' t hear your questions or
r-,
5 comments at all .
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. I ' ll speak up.
7 FEMALE VOICE : Can you turn your mike up?
r,
,r\ 8 Thanks .
A 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you.
10 MR. GATHMAN: This is the intersection of County
A• 11 Road 122 and County Road 105 .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Can you hear him? Can you hear
f,
13 what he' s saying?
r' 14 FEMALE VOICE : I can hear him.
A,
A 15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
16 FEMALE VOICE : I can' t hear any of the
A,
17 commissioners .
A
18 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you .
20 MR. GATHMAN: The proposed substation would be
21 located approximately half mile just to the south of this ,
22 on that road. So obviously they' re going to have to
r•
23 upgrade that a little bit , but that is county road
24 right-of-way. Okay. Just a detail of the power line in
25 the wind farm.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
4-
P.\
r,
rm
43
1 Okay. This is the escarpment area along the
em
2 west side of the site . The Division of Wildlife and Green
r.
3 Light Energy went out and looked at most - - well , a lot of
4 the locations along -- that would be close to this
5 escarpment , and that' s where the whole issue with ten of
em 6 those sites came out , so - -
r,
7 Again, this is along the edge of the escarpment .
r,
8 So - - and this is looking -- this is looking to the west .
,0"‘
9 Okay. And this is -- actually, I believe this is one of
10 their existing wind gauges that are on the site .
es, 11 And again, this is looking to the escarpments .
r,
12 And I believe this is an existing Department of Defense
r,
r, 13 facility.
14 This is looking toward the Pawnee Buttes , so
15 this would be kind of in the southwestern portion - - or
16 the southeastern portion of the -- of the site . So
r..
17 that ' s -- those are pictures of the wind farm sites,
r 18 and then - -
19 And this -- I believe this is off of Highway 14 ,
20 east of Briggsdale, near the cross - - they' re going to
21 have a crossing over Highway 14 , so this is for the
22 transmission line - - again, transmission line, so - - and
23 that' s it .
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Any other questions of Chris or
25 staff? Counsel? If not, would the applicant please come
r,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r.
r`
A,
44
1 forth, or a representative of the applicant . And if you' d
2 please give your name and address for the record.
3 MR. STONER: Good morning. My name is David
4 Stoner . I ' m with Green Light Energy. Address is 310 - 4th
r. 5 Street N.E . , Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 .
r, 6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Could you give me an
7 approximation of how -- how long your presentation is this
r, 8 morning?
r 9 MR. STONER : I can make it as long or short as
r
10 the commissioners - -
11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : No . The reason --
•
12 MR . STONER : -- desire .
p-
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - the reason I 'm asking is, we
14 will recess at ten minutes to 12 : 00 .
15 MR . STONER : I easily can finish by then.
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
17 MR . STONER: Frankly, I was planning about a
18 15-minute presentation aimed at supplementing staff' s
19 comments and try to - -
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That gives me an idea, then.
21 We' ll - -
22 MR. STONER: - - address some of the questions
23 that were asked.
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you.
25 MR . STONER: Again, good morning . I wish to
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r\
r\
r, 45
1 thank the commissioners for the opportunity to present
r\
r 2 this project before them. I also want to extend a special
r, 3 thanks to Planning Staff and other staff of Weld County
r,
4 who've been so cooperative in helping us through the
r.
r\ 5 application process .
r' 6 As I mentioned, my name is David Stoner . I 'm
7 employed by Green Light Energy. Green Light Energy is one
r, 8 of the partners in Cedar Creek Wind Energy, LLC, the
r,
9 applicant under all three applications . Cedar Creek Wind
10 Energy is a partnership of Green Light Energy and Babcock
11 and Brown, and their Babcock and Brown representative is
12 here as well .
r,
13 I will give a short presentation about the
14 project . Chris did a good job and so I will try to not
15 repeat a lot of what he said, and instead try to
16 supplement that presentation and address some of the
17 concerns that were raised thus far .
r- 18 As was stated previously, our application is
19 actually a series of three applications that we' ve made,
20 1563 - - USR 1563 for the wind farm, and two applications
21 which were combined under USR 1562 for the transmission
22 line, the approximately 72-mile transmission line, and
23 then a third application for the switching station near
r•
24 Keenesburg, and a segment of the line that Xcel , Public
fir
25 Service of Colorado would rebuild. So those are the three
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
I♦
^ 46
1 applications . Those are still - - that' s what ' s before us .
2 I guess just to start with a little bit of a
/,
3 background and history of the project, and how we got to
4 here, we have been working on the project for about three
5 years , starting, of course, with landowner negotiations .
6 We've worked with county, state and federal
^ 7 government agencies in developing the project . We've
8 worked with potentially affected county residents,
9 initially, at our first public meeting held back in
10 December of last year. And then obviously with direct
^ 11 discussions subsequent to that, and also at the public
^
12 hearing that was held in front of the Planning Commission
/. 13 a few weeks ago .
e^ 14 Cedar Creek Wind Energy feels that all of this
15 work has culminated in a very responsible and compatible
16 project for Weld County.
17 I wanted to go through just some additions to
r. 18 what staff had said about the proposal . Again, shown here
19 is - - is the part of the proposal for the wind farm,
20 represented by USR 1563 .
21 The main components of the wind farm is up to
22 300 individual , three-bladed, wind turbine generators and
23 towers, towing a total capacity of up to 330 megawatts .
24 I' ll talk more about the size and individual capacity of
25 each generator in a moment .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/s\
ra\
^ 47
1 This drawing is an updated site plan, similar to
2 the site plan in our initial application, to respond to
3 the question of Commissioner Geile . Our application does
4 not request for approval of this time of specific wind
5 turbine locations .
6 We' re seeking approval for this permitted area.
7 We' ve given representative layouts in our application, and
8 one of the conditions that staff has recommended is that
9 prior to release of building permits , we will come in
10 showing specific plats with specific turbine locations ,
11 again, prior to release of building permits for the wind
12 farm.
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And if I could - -
14 MR. STONER : Absolutely.
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- that was part of my
16 question. Are we going to have to have final approval on
17 this, counsel?
r^
18 MR . BARKER : No. I mean, in essence, what you' re
19 doing today is , you' re approving the locations and the
20 corridor for the line, so it doesn' t come back to you for
21 any sort of final plat approval , like you normally do with
22 PUD' s or subdivisions and that sort of thing.
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you.
24 MR. STONER: Okay. In addition to the towers ,
25 other main components of the project will be access roads
r.
L-MAC R & T 303 .798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
48
r', 1 that will be constructed primarily along the strings of
2 turbines, both for access during construction, as well as
3 ongoing access for operations and maintenance .
e., 4 There will also be an electrical collection
A..
5 system, which will collect the power from each individual
6 wind turbine generator. That collection system will be a
A,
7 combination of both underground and overhead, 34 . 5 KV
8 cabling, primarily underground, along the strings of
9 towers , and then we' ve actually proposed two overhead
10 routes . I ' ll identify them on the map.
11 One that generally comes down 105 to the
12 substation, and another overhead that way, that will come
13 along roughly in this location, to the substation.
14 Again, the purpose of that cabling is to collect
15 the power generated from each individual turbine and
16 transmit it to the substation. And details of all that ,
A
17 yes, have been included in our original application both
18 underground and overheard collection system.
19 Another major component of the project is then
20 our project substation, again located here on the plat
21 thank you very much.
22 As staff indicated, our original application
A. 23 included locations for up to three project substations .
24 At the time of our application, we were still doing
25 detailed design.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
49
' ' 1 We' ve proceeded to the point that we are now
2 clear that we will only require one project substation,
3 and again, as staff indicated, that location is proposed
4 one-half mile south of intersection of 122 and 105 .
r,
5 A final component of the wind farm project will
6 be a permanent operations and maintenance building,
7 approximately 10, 000 square feet of offices , shops, et
8 cetera .
9 Overall , again as staff indicated, the project
10 area for which we' re seeking approval , encompasses over
11 31 , 000 acres . We've identified the statistic of once
12 completed, only 118 acres will be impacted by actual
13 footprint of roads, turbines and buildings . So while
14 we' re geographically disbursed over a large area, it ' s a
15 relatively large foot- -- small footprint of the actual
16 facilities to be constructed.
17 To address some of the questions, again, of
18 Commissioner Geile about the numbers and size of various
19 wind turbine generators , our application was for up to 300
20 individual towers , up to a total capacity of 330
21 megawatts . We applied in that way to give us flexibility
22 in terms of actual equipment selection.
23 There are various different manufacturers with
24 various different size generators out there, and we
25 required some flexibility in our final equipment
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
50
1 negotiations .
2 Depicted here are -- are several wind turbine
3 generator types that are available on the market today,
4 and that we were considering using for the project . At
5 this point in time, we are intending to use the GE 1 1/2
6 megawatt machine . Again, you can see the dimensions of
7 both the tower and the rotor there, and the Mitsubishi 1
8 megawatt machine in the project .
9 To go back to the site plan, again, it' s hard to
10 see, but there are red dots that primarily identify our
11 locations at this time of the Mitsubishi 1 megawatt
12 machines , which are slightly shorter, and the larger GE
13 machines are depicted in yellow here .
14 We are still finalizing our final details of
15 siting. As late as last week, we were still working with
16 the Division of Wildlife on potentially moving some of
rs
17 those turbine locations . But again, as I said, prior to a
0.,
18 release of building permits , we will come in with final
19 plats showing exact locations proposed of these individual
20 turbine generators .
21 Again, just to give you a feel for the
22 arrangement of these turbines,
g generally as you noticed on
23 the prior site plan, the turbines are arranged - - arranged
24 in rows . We typically -- those will typically be 7 to 8
25 hundred feet apart between individual turbines, and
-\
AgoN
A-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY HOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r\
i\
51
1 between rows of turbines will typically be one-third to
2 one-half , in some cases on this site, up to one-mile
3 spacing between the rows of the turbine generators .
4 Again, a little detail of our on-site
5 substation, and M building. As I mentioned this will be
6 located one-half mile south of intersection of County Road
7 122 and 105 .
�- 8 The underground collection system that I
9 discussed will collect the power from individual turbine
10 generators , though there will be a series of 34 . 5 KV
11 feeders that will come back to this substation; some
12 underground, some overhead. The purpose of this
13 substation is to gather all that power.
14 There' ll be step-up transformers here, at which
15 point the voltage will be increased to 230 KV, which is
16 the voltage of our transmission line and the voltage that
17 we will interconnect with Public Service Colorado .
18 In addition, at this location will be the
19 Operations and Maintenance building that I referred to
20 previously. And please, if you have questions, don' t
21 hesitate .
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The only question I have is ,
23 what size will be the transformers?
24 MR. STONER: There will be - -
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : How big - - how many of
r-,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
te\ 52
r 1 them will --
2 MR. STONER: There will be two, 165 MVA
r.
3 transformers at this location.
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Say that again? I 'm sorry.
r.
.-, 5 MR . STONER : There will be two, 165 MVA
6 transformers - - either 150 or 165 MVA. Quite frankly, I ' m
7 not exactly sure .
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you.
9 MR. STONER : But there' s going to be two
,., 10 transformers .
'' 11 To go on to the second -- our second
12 application, I ' ll start with a little bit of background
13 on the evolution of our transmission line routing.
14 Of course, in addition to generating the power,
15 we needed to get the power to Public Service Colorado' s
16 transmission system. That ' s one thing I forgot to say at
17 the beginning of my presentation.
18 Even though we' ve been working on this project
19 for several years, we signed a long-term agreement with
20 Public Service Colorado in December of last year, for
21 sale, long-term sale of the output of this facility to
A-
22 Public Service Colorado .
23 We started with the process where we engaged - -
24 excuse me .
oink 25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Could you inform us of the
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
SN
r.
53
'` 1 length of that agreement? Was it a 20 year agreement , 10
2 year agreement?
3 MR. STONER: Terms --
eN
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : What does "long-term" mean?
5 MR. STONER: Terms are actually confidential
6 with Public Service Colorado, but in that range .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is it over -- is it over 15
8 years?
9 MR. STONER: Yes . Thank you.
,., 10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you. Commissioner Masden?
"` 11 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Just to touch on that for
re.
12 a minute . Is this an exclusive agreement with Xcel or
r, 13 Public Service?
SN
14 MR. STONER : I 'm not exactly sure what you mean
15 by "exclusive, " but yes, it is an agreement between Cedar
16 Creek Wind Energy and Public Service Colorado specifically
rN
17 for their purchase of energy from this specific facility,
.-, 18 yes .
19 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay. ` Cause I was just
20 curious, because there' s other service providers that this
21 will be going through their jurisdiction. I was wondering
22 if they would have the opportunity to gain power off of
23 that line, or contracting for that?
24 MR. STONER: No, they will not . This will be a
25 direct line that will interconnect directly to Public
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
54
r' 1 Service Colorado, again as per the terms of our contract
2 with them.
3 Again, going back to the evolution of the
4 transmission line route, we started again from the concept
5 of the project , looking at a number of different elements .
', 6 We initially identified the five alternate routes shown
7 here, and each of those alternate routes considering - -
8 consisting of numerous individual line segments .
9 We did that based upon an analysis of land use,
10 geologic issues, cultural issues, locations of residents ;
11 a whole matrix of environmental , and cultural and economic
et,
12 and socio-economic factors .
,^-, 13 That analysis led us to what we call an
14 opportunity avoidance in exclusion, where we looked for
15 paths of opportunity, paralleling existing transmission,
es, 16 as we' re doing down in this location; areas that we would
17 prefer to avoid, due to proximity to residences , et
te. 18 cetera, or other areas which - - where we specifically
19 decided we didn' t want to go.
20 We went through a process, identified those
21 areas , and has essentially led us to this . Our
22 application, again, to just one of the questions -- our
23 application specifically is refer- -- is requesting
24 approval of a corridor . We' re not requesting approval
25 at this time of a specific alignment or specific
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
55
1 pole locations .
2 The corridors that were in our original
3 application, are shown highlighted in gray. We had a
4 primary route requested, and an alternate route, as
5 required by code, and that was shown in those gray areas .
6 We have continued to work with - - well , let me
r.
7 back up. The purple line, which is shown on this map now,
8 is our current proposed alignment based on continued work
r,
9 on analyzing all those factors that I mentioned before,
10 but primarily based on landowner negotiations .
11 We currently have about 60 percent of this line
12 under option, voluntarily with landowners . We expect,
13 within the next few weeks, to probably be at 80 percent ,
14 and we are continuing to have good dialogue with
15 landowners , and are confident that we' ll be able to secure
16 the rest of the right-of-way that' s required.
17 We are showing some alternate routing locations
18 here, as well as here . Our initial proposal included
19 coming directly off the escarpment . We have agreed to
20 re-route that . That ' s our current primary alignment .
21 We' ve agreed to re-route that , primarily, based upon
22 Division of Wildlife concerns , relative to the location of
23 that line .
24 We continue to show an alternate route there
25 we' re seeking approval for, because we do not have final
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
56
1 landowner agreements for this route . We do have final
2 landowner agreements for this route .
3 We' re seeking approval of both, subject to - -
I-
4 but subject to landowner agreement, it' s our intention to
r-
5 follow the route a half section south of 122 .
6 There' s two other areas like that where
7 primarily based on landowner concerns , in this area, we
0- 8 also had Division of Wildlife and some other environmental
.-
9 concerns , relative to a potential impact to the Crow Creek
,.. 10 area, so we' re currently working on alignments one section
11 to the east .
12 And there' s actually several - - there' s two
13 alignments there where we' re frankly trying to do work-
14 arounds , to address concerns of landowners in that area,
0-
15 and particular for this one, some environmental concerns
16 as well .
0-
17 Again, similar to this, we' re seeking approval
OW.
18 of both of those routes , in the shaded corridor, so we
19 continue to have some flexibility for final landowner
20 negotiations in that area .
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And again, how wide are the
22 corri- - - is the corridor? Between - -
23 MR. STONER: As stated in our application, the
24 corridor was essentially one section wide for most of the
25 corridor, plus 300 feet on each side of the section lines ,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
'a.
57
1 which gave us the flexibility of locating on either side
2 of section lines along that corridor.
3 And then in some areas particularly up here at
4 Crow Creek, and also down here near the Platte River
5 crossing, we' ve requested a wider corridor, again to
6 give us flexibility, primarily related to landowner
r
7 environmental issues with those two crossings .
8 The last thing I would say about this alignment ,
9 and it' s in our application, as well as shown shaded on
10 this map, we are still seeking approval for a primary but
�' 11 also an alternate route here.
12 The primary route comes over to the corner of
13 Public Service Colorado' s existing Fort St . Vrain to Green
14 Valley line . From that point , Public Service Colorado
15 would be doing a rebuild of that line, to accommodate our
16 conductors here .
17 The alternate route is an alignment , again -- I
18 apologize - - it ' s not shown on this map . It' s in our
e.
19 application maps -- which comes down along 76 , and then
20 sort of jogs southwest down to our substation location.
21 We are aware of the concerns raised by
" 22 Keenesburg and are happy with the condition suggested by
23 staff that that alignment also be approved subject to us
• 24 satisfying the Town of Keenesburg concerns .
„ 25 Again, to ans- -- address some of the questions,
A'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
58
'� 1 raised by Commissioner Geile, it' s an H frame steel
2 transmission line . Here are some examples of the types of
3 structures that we would be using; very typical to a wood
4 H frame that you see out there, except it' s a steel
5 construction instead of wood.
6 One other - - going back to the routing map,
7 again to address a question that was raised, and to
8 correct an error in staff ' s memorandum of yesterday, the
^ 9 transmission line will be owned and operated by Cedar
10 Creek Wind Energy, the same entity that will own and
11 operate the wind farm and the applicant under all three
12 of these applications . So Cedar Creek Energy will
13 continue to own and construct this line .
r.
14 The one exception to that is in our switching
r.
15 station application where the third application included
16 the switching station and if we choose this option, a
e.
17 rebuild of this line here . That line is currently owned
18 and operated by Public Service Colorado . After the rebuild
19 it would continue to be owned and operated by Public
20 Service Colorado, as would ultimately the switching
21 station would be owned and operated by Public Service
.,
22 Colorado.
23 Again, that' s the reason for the three
24 applications and the clarification in staff' s memorandum
25 of yesterday of requesting USR 1562 , even though they were
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
..
59
1 combined for this proceeding, to be issued as two separate
2 permits as per our original application, because
3 ultimately those permits would be transferred to Public
A 4 Service Colorado.
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Masden.
6 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Thank you. Talking about
7 that , you' re talking about the rebuilding of that line
8 going into that switching station? Is that the switching
r.
9 station right at Cowpine?
10 MR . STONER: No. This is a new proposed
11 switching station, which is the third element of our
12 proposal - - thank you -- which we would be constructing on
13 an approximately 35-acre parcel , again, in the location
r, 14 shown before .
fia, 15 It ' s just south of I-76 along the frontage road.
16 It' s an approximately 35-acre parcel and this is a copy of
17 the - - the landscape and the site plan that the switching
�, 18 station will essentially power from our facility, will
,
19 come either from our direct route, the alternate route
20 that I mentioned, or the rebuild of the Public Service
r\ 21 Colorado line, to this location.
22 And we are interconnecting to one of the Rocky
r,
23 Mountain Energy facility' s lines . Rocky Mountain Energy
24 facility is actually located over here several miles .
25 Their lines come just south of the switching station here,
r,
r.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY Bocc - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
Olk
60
1 along the railroad track, and one of those circuits will
2 be diverted into the switching station and that will
3 accomplish our connection to the Public Service Colorado
4 system.
5 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: So the switching station
6 will be built along the railroad corridor?
7 MR. STONER: Correct . It' s basically - -
es
8 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Tie into the line going
9 down south?
10 MR. STONER: I 'm sorry?
�' 11 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Setting up that switching
12 station and tying into where it goes south then?
13 MR. STONER: Correct . The switching station is
14 located right at the corner where the existing -- if you
15 know the area, where the existing Rocky Mountain Energy
r, 16 facility center lines come along to the south of the
17 railroad and intersect the other north/south Fort St .
18 Vrain Green Valley line, and turn south.
19 The switching station is located immediately to
20 the north of the railroad between those two lines . I 'm
�.
21 sorry I don' t have a good close-up map of that area here .
s
22 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Well , that is - - the road
23 coordinates on that would be -- is that 16 and 55?
e. 24 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, I believe so .
r,
25 MR. STONER: Yes . We currently have land under
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
61
1 option for that facility.
2 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: All right . Thank you.
3 MR. STONER: To finish off , our planned
e-
4 construction schedule is subject to, of course, approval ,
s-
5 potential approval here, and continuing to work with the
6 building department and other county groups in -- in our
7 building permits ; the erosion sedimentation control ,
8 offsite maintenance agreements, all the things that are
9 identified in the conditions to our approval of our
10 application.
11 We would intend to start construction in October
12 of this year. If you notice to proceed to contractors
13 both for the wind farm and the transmission line, onsite
' 14 work for both the transmission line and the wind farm
15 would start in the mid-October to early November time
16 frame .
17 We are intending to energize the line in June of
18 next year, to allow for commissioning and our first phase
19 of operations in summer of next year . Currently targeted
20 for sort of mid-July.
21 Our turbine delivery schedules are such that
22 there will be a few turbines arriving late next year, so
23 the last 20 megawatts or so would be commissioned in the
24 November time frame . The facility would therefore be
25 fully operational and commercial by the end of next year .
.-•
,^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
04..1
62
1 Just briefly to touch on what we see are some of
2 the benefits to Weld County, this will be over a four
-� 3 hundred million dollar investment in the county,
4 generating commensurate property tax revenues .
5 Landowners in the vicinity of the wind farm will
6 receive royalties based on energy production from the wind
7 farm. There will be over 200 construction jobs and
8 approximately 20 permanent long-term jobs for operations
9 and maintenance of the facility. All of that activity
10 will obviously create subsequent economic stimulus in this
^ 11 portion of the county.
12 And last but not least, as stated by staff and
13 in our application, this project is frankly being proposed
14 and implemented in response to Section 37 - - or Amendment
15 37 , the Renewable Portfolio Standard, passed by the voters
16 of Colorado .
0-
17 And it' s part of Xcel ' s plan for providing long-
18 term economical and environmental -- environmentally
19 sensitive power to their customers in Colorado.
20 That' s all I have in my formal presentation. I
21 guess I would like to make a couple of clarifications and
22 add one or two things to the record.
23 What I ' m handing out is a letter dated today
24 from Cedar Creek Wind Energy to the Division of Wildlife,
25 whereby the applicant is outlining a number of the
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
63
1 measures we've taken in our -- in our numerous discussions
2 and ongoing work with the Division of Wildlife, committing
3 to a series of setbacks that have been basically agreed
4 with the Division of Wildlife, primarily related to
5 setbacks from turbines from sensitive wildlife habitat .
6 And then further stating our willingness to
^
e. 7 continue to work as per terms of the special condition to
8 attempt to comply where we can with the Division of
9 Wildlife' s request in their referrals .
10 We feel we' ve had a good working relationship
11 with the Division of Wildlife, and we feel like we've
12 largely addressed all of their significant concerns .
13 I guess lastly, a couple of comments on the
14 August 1 memo that Planning submitted and entered into the
15 record. We' re largely in agreement with this memo, and I
16 have just a few clarifications , again. Some based on the
17 questioning of the commissioners .
18 First clarification is, again as I said in our
^
19 two applications under 15- -- that have been combined
A- 20 under 1562 , we' re seeking approval of the transmission
21 line in one permit , and the switching station in the
22 rebuild of the Public Service Colorado line to be issued
23 as a permit , a separate permit .
24 Secondly, as I stated, the ownership of the
25 transmission line will be Cedar Creek Wind Energy; not
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
64
1 Babcock and Brown. Babcock and Brown is one of the
2 partners in the project . Ownership will be Cedar Creek
^ 3 Wind Energy, the applicant .
4 With the exception of that portion of the line
5 rebuild, which will be -- is now and will be currently
6 owned by Public Service Colorado, as well as the switching
7 station will ultimately be owned by Public Service
^ 8 Colorado, not Xcel Energy.
9 We' re in agreement with all of the rest of this
10 memorandum and - - to address the question of Commissioner
"� 11 Long, we' re happy to leave the condition that was
12 suggested to be stricken -- or the portion of the
13 condition in 4B that requires us to give plot plans and
14 work with the Pawnee Fire Protection District .
15 I think there' s a separate condition that
16 addresses that requirement anyway, to work with them and
17 show that we satisfied their requirements prior, I think,
18 to release of building permits . Excuse me . It should be
19 prior to release of probably a grading permit , ` cause
e-
0- 20 again, as per this amendment there will not be building
21 permits for the transmission line or switch yard. We do
22 expect to have to pull grading plans for the switch yard.
e-
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. If I may, ` cause I think
24 we need to get to that point right now, but first of all ,
25 as far as the conditions of approval of development
a
or
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
tOk
r^
^ 65
1 standards , my question in a minute, do you concur with all
2 that' s been presented and is listed. And I think you' ve
3 pretty well said if the August 1st , 2001 , recommendation
4 from the Planning Department are in concur- - - that the
e. 5 commissioners concur with that . Is that correct?
6 MR . STONER: That' s correct .
r-
^ 7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. So - -
8 MR. STONER: Subject to the changes that I just
9 discussed.
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yeah. So really, I think that
11 the one that Commissioner Long had suggested, and that
12 would be 4B, which would be a plan review as required for
e- 13 each building. And then it goes on to say, "Plan shall
e.
14 bear the wet stamp of a Colorado Registered Architect or
r-
15 Engineer; two complete sets of floor plans , and plot plans
16 are required when applying for the permit . Building plans
^
17 shall also be submitted to the Pawnee Fire Protection
18 District . " So you concur with leaving that?
19 MR. STONER : The issue, and it' s related to
e-
20 wording, there won' t be a building there .
21 There -- we' re happy to provide a plot plan that
r.
22 shows the location of all the equipment , which I think is
23 the intent of the condition to say, "Here' s how equipment
24 will be arranged on the site, " so we can you know work
25 with them on emergency preparedness issues . The confusion
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
AN
66
1 was just that there is no building.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you get some language
3 put together, Chris .
4 MR . GATHMAN: Okay. And I can also add some
5 clarification. There are two conditions prior to
6 recording the plat .
7 One of them is that the applicant shall provide
8 written evidence from the applicable fire protection
9 district that there is a coordinated plan in place for
10 emergency responders during construction of the
11 facilities, and a plan for post construction activities .
12 So it' s somewhat covered, but I --
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : It ' s covered, so we can just
14 go ahead and scratch that, because it' s covered?
15 Commissioner, does that --
16 COMMISSIONER LONG: I would like to leave the
17 part in about the building plans and just the plot
18 structured, as a part of that - - maybe - -
r
19 MR. GATHMAN: We could add a sentence in - -
20 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- because I know sometimes ,
21 and I'm not faulting anybody - - but sometimes smaller
22 communities might not be aware of what they should have - -
.-.
23 MR. STONER: Yes .
24 COMMISSIONER LONG: - - you know, in regards to
25 creating a plan.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r\
r, 67
1 MR. STONER: The applicant is happy with that
r,
r
2 suggestion and --
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So we need to have Chris
4 develop some language .
5 COMMISSIONER LONG: Just add on that piece there
r 6 about --
r
r
7 MR. GATHMAN: Sure .
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. As far as the rest of it ,
9 the commissioner is pretty much in concurrence with what
10 staff has presented. So based upon that , you' re in
r 11 concurrence with the conditions of approval and
12 development standards?
13 MR . STONER: I have two minor issues just - - and
14 this is on 1562 , in the project overview section 2C . And
15 I ' m sorry, I don' t have -- don' t know if our page numbers,
16 are the same . There' s a reference to wood poles that ' s an
17 incorrect reference . They will be steel construction of
18 the transmission line .
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And you want the H frame?
20 MR. STONER: Yes . Steel H frame . Just a minor
21 clarification.
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Right .
23 MR. GATHMAN: I can do that .
24 MR. STONER: And also - - I'm sorry -- my other
25 comment in those same conditions is paragraphs 2J, 2R in
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
^
68
1 condition number 4 , refer to a quit claim deed for the
2 parcel where the switching station will be located.
3 Again, I ' m not sure if it' s an issue for the staff or the
4 county. We' ll probably be transferring that via warranty
5 or special warranty deed. Minor details . Other than
^ 6 that , we' re happy with all the conditions as - -
^
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We' d concur with that . Okay. I
8 did have just two other questions .
9 MR. STONER: Sure .
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : First of all , I ' d like to make
11 sure I understand the ownership issue . I guess I ' m a
12 little surprised that Xcel or Public Service Company of
.- 13 Colorado does not want to be the owner of that
14 transmission line, especially in view of the fact that
15 they have other major transmission lines in the area.
16 Usually what happens is , when you develop a
17 project like this, the deal is, you in essence transfer
18 ownership over to the utility. I guess I ' m confused as to
19 why that -- let me explain why I 'm concerned.
20 MR. STONER: Mm-hmm.
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If there' s a major storm that
22 comes through and takes that line out , that' s going to
,- 23 require significant investment to rebuild that line .
24 That' s usually one of the reasons why public utilities
25 have certified territory and also have certain conditions
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
69
1 and rules with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission so
2 that they have to go back out and rebuild those lines .
3 But what in this , as a private ownership, would
4 put your feet to the fire the same way it would be to the
5 utilities to rebuild that line if there' s a major event
6 that takes that out?
7 MR . STONER : Two issues , and I cannot, obviously
8 speak for Public Service Colorado, but I can relate my
9 understanding of their position on this issue . There are
10 some representatives here who may wish to speak to that .
11 What holds our feet to the fire is the fact that
12 we get paid based on energy delivered at this location. To
13 the extent there' s any issue or incident with this line,
14 that would prevent us from delivering power at this
15 location, it ' s up to us to fix that so that we can deliver
16 energy and receive revenue .
17 We obviously have, as I said, an over 400
18 million dollar investment , and so we are hugely motivated
19 to keep that line in service over the term of this long-
,-
20 term contract .
21 We did, early on, have discussions with Public
22 Service Colorado about potentially their ownership of this
23 line . I believe - - and again, I can' t speak for them; I
24 can just relay my understanding -- that their position is,
25 they' re buying power from us at this point .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
70
', 1 They were not interested in owning a dedicated
2 radio line to our generating facility that ' s not serving
3 other customers . A lot of this territory out here is not
4 served by Public Service Colorado --
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And that would be one of the
6 reasons why they would want an owner - - to own it , to get
7 past that radio feed problem.
8 But the other question I had, let ' s say the
r-
9 contract , whatever it ends -- whatever it is, there is
10 a timeline, and it will , in essence, come up for
11 renegotiation, or whatever. Let' s say you' re not able to
12 renegotiate an agreement with Xcel or Public Service
13 Company of Colorado, that, in essence, takes a lot of
14 major public utility systems out of play. Simply there
15 is no - - you would then, in essence, eliminate your
16 choices , as far as being able to sell your product to
17 anybody.
es
18 And if that were to happen, that could become
e-
19 a - - what they call a stranded asset, big time . In other
20 words, you don' t have anything that you can do with it .
21 MR. STONER: And clearly we' re making the
22 investment, you know, primarily on the back of the long-
23 term contract that we have with Xcel , and yes , once we
24 make that investment, it ' s clearly our intention, at the
25 end of the contract term, to either renegotiate - -
r-
r-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
71
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , let me tell you where I ' m
0-
2 heading.
e-
3 MR . STONER : -- with Xcel , or with - -
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If something happens where this
5 no longer becomes a viable project, would you agree to a
6 condition of approval that the developer or the owner
7 would be required to remove that line, if necessary?
i- 8 MR. STONER : Yes .
#-
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. That ' s where I was
10 heading . The other thing on the -- on the poles, why
"' 11 are you going with H frame and just not single pole
/-
12 construction? You know, there' s a lot of technology in
13 that area where - - and it' s used for 345 -- it' s huge
14 transmission lines . Why are you going with H frame and
e-
15 not single pole?
16 MR. STONER : H frame has been used, as I believe
17 you know, in applications across the country. There are
18 economic considerations relative to H frame versus single
19 pole . That, coupled with the fact that we feel like we' ve
r-
20 been able to secure right-of-way adequate for H frame
21 construction, has led us to the choice of H frame
ea
22 construction.
23 The portion of this line here is currently
24 single pole construction and would be rebuilt to the same
25 single pole construction configuration.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-•
r
72
1 [Background discussion. ]
2 MALE VOICE : Is it in the plan? You know, prior
3 to the - -
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Last question. As you know,
5 the way that major public utility facilities are assessed
r' 6 by the state, it' s a whole different formula than used for
r.
7 something like a house, or a major industry, or whatever
r- 8 it might be .
9 MR. STONER: Correct .
r"
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And some of that is based upon
• 11 performance . So if these turbines aren' t running, that
0-
12 could, in essence, reduce the value of the assessed value
• 13 of this equipment, especially as the state looks at it
14 with their -- with their formulas .
0-
15 What kind of -- what would be the worst-case
e' 16 scenario, if all of a sudden the wind doesn' t blow, the
17 facilities aren' t used, or Xcel doesn' t need the power and
r,
• 18 isn' t calling for them - - for it , what would be the worst-
19 case scenario, as far as the assessed value of this
✓
20 facility?
21 You said it' s 400 million dollars . If that' s
0,
22 assessed at the 25 or the 30 percent , you know, regular
23 figure that we have in Colorado, that brings that down to
24 about 125 to 130 million dollars of assessed value . But
25 that isn' t the way it works with major public utility
r-,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
n
73
1 facilities . So what' s the worst case scenario? Kind of a
2 tough question to throw at you right in - -
r 3 MR. STONER : Yeah. And honestly, I don' t know
' 4 that I can answer that adequately -- I guess what I , in
5 part could say is that the worst case scenario that you' re
6 outlining, the wind not blowing, I guess - -
r-
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I' m saying, or you' re not
r-
.- 8 selling your power or your facility isn' t working --
r
9 MR. STONER : I guess all I can say - -
r-
r 10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- for whatever reason.
r' 11 MR . STONER : Again, we will have a tax
r-
12 obligation to pay taxes based - - you know, as per any
13 taxpayer does here . You' re correct . We' re -- you know,
14 that is a state assessed property - -
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , you' ll have - -
r
16 MR. STONER : -- and we' ll have the obligation to
17 pay and - -
e-
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- you' ll have the opportunity
19 to come back before us, after we hear the public
20 testimony, but just to give me a feel for that, if you
• 21 wouldn' t mind.
22 MR . STONER : Sure .
r- 23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I would appreciate that .
• 24 MR. STONER: Happy to .
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any other questions
r•
r+
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
74
1 of the applicant? If not , thank you very much.
2 MR. STONER : Thank you.
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Masden?
4 MR. STONER : Sure .
5 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Thank you. I guess one
6 question I have, and it' s a bit of a reach here, but on
7 the transmission line, talking about the construction
8 and - - of it , and the design of it, and stuff , would
9 that line be set up, the poles, I guess to where
10 hypothetically, if this project were approved and
11 everything went well , and they looked at expanding this
12 and putting in more -- more turbines in the area, that
13 they could run more lines on the same poles?
14 MR. STONER: The line will actually -- and is
15 being designed to take additional capacity on the existing
16 construction -- conductor, with no changes to the
17 conductor at all . So there - - the line is being built - -
18 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: It' s oversized then --
19 MR. STONER: It' s oversized --
,_ 20 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: -- to handle additional --
21 MR. STONER : Correct .
_ 22 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay.
23 MR. STONER: But it is not being designed to
24 allow additional conductors to be hung on it .
25 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay. That was another
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r 75
.
''` 1 question I was wondering about . The redesign or rebuild
2 of the lines down south. Instead of running a new set of
3 poles , if those poles that were existing in that corridor
4 could be utilized for -- for that .
5 MR. STONER: In that option, Public Service
6 Colorado will actually be replacing on a pole per pole
7 basis, poles within that exact corridor. So the poles
8 that are there are designed for a single circuit . Those
9 poles will be replaced and redesigned to allow not only
10 existing circuit , our circuit as well as space for a
11 potential third circuit .
12 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Oh, okay.
13 MR. STONER: So they' ll essentially be replaced
14 on a pole per pole basis . They can' t use the same poles ,
15 but it' ll be complete within the same footprint alignment
16 as the existing line .
0-
17 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay. So you won' t be
18 putting in a second line --
0-
19 MR. STONER: No. The poles will be replaced.
20 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: All right . Thank you.
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any other questions
22 or comments? If not, thank you very much.
r
r^ 23 MR. STONER: Thank you.
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : This is a public hearing. We
25 will recess at ten minutes to 12 : 00 , and I would like to
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
r, 76
1 ask if there is anyone in the audience who cannot come
2 back this afternoon and would like to testify? If you' d
r• 3 please come forth.
4 Maybe right here, or - - right here . And then is
r,
5 there one other -- I saw one other hand go up . Why don' t
6 you come forth, and then when you get done, we' ll ask you
r..
7 to come forth and testify, and then we' ll recess for
8 lunch.
9 MR. PALMER : My name is Rob Palmer, and I 'm a --
r,
10 just a concerned citizen about the erection of the poles
r it along the escarpment .
12 I 'm a wildlife photographer . I spend an awful
13 lot of time on the Pawnee . I 've been out there for the
14 last 30 years .
15 You know, basically, I live in Milliken,
16 Colorado and the main concern is the raptor populations
17 out there, which are dwindling right now. They seem to be
- 18 a little bit lower.
19 And I know the Division of Wildlife has talked
20 about the issues with the turbines going there near the
21 escarpment . And my concern is that -- for instance, next
r
22 spring, they' re going to be building these turbines fairly
23 close to that escarpment, and we have nesting prairie
24 falcons, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks , and other --
25 and great horned owls; lots of different raptors that
r•
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
77
1 nest along that escarpment , including kestrels and the
2 sharp-tailed grouse, also, that are in that area.
3 During construction, that could be very
4 disruptive to that nesting population. After they' re
fi-
5 built , I think if they' re built far enough away from the
6 escarpment, that may not be as much of a concern. But I
e-
7 think during construction, next spring, if they' re
r
8 constructing from - - basically from February through June,
r 9 those birds may not nest there . They may be -- you know,
10 they may just vacate the area, go to another nesting area,
a 11 or they may not nest at all .
12 And that could have a big impact on those
r-
13 populations in that area . And especially along those
14 cliffs, you know, just east of Grover and along Highway
r
15 122 . I know that area very well .
'- 16 I 've talked to the rancher out in that area, and
a
17 my concern is that we definitely do not -- if we try to - -
18 if we build it , try to build those early or late, but try
19 not to build during the nesting season. And then,
0-
20 obviously, build them far enough away from the escarpment
e- 21 where it doesn' t affect their coming back to that area.
a
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you very much.
r
23 Are there any questions by the board?
e-
24 (No audible response . )
e-
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you very much, sir .
e-
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
a
78
1 MR. PALMER: Thank you.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If you' d please come forth and
3 give your name and address for the record.
4 MS . BOYLE : My name' s Julie Boyle, and I am a
5 resident of Gill , so I'm a Weld County resident . I 'm also
6 here - - I echo Rob' s concerns .
7 I applaud the installation of an alternative
8 energy delivery system; no question about it . However, I
9 believe we have the opportunity to plan these alternative
10 systems carefully and thoughtfully, in order to avoid the
11 disasters that we've all witnessed from petroleum drilling
e^
12 in this country for all the years that we' ve relied on
13 petroleum.
14 And I use the Pawnee Buttes for hiking and
15 birding, and I ' m very concerned about interrupting those
16 nesting sites for the raptors . And I would ask the
17 commissioners to require Cedar Creek Energy to comply with
18 the Division of Wildlife recommendations . I can' t imagine
19 why we wouldn' t ask that the company comply with those
20 recommendations from a state agency. So --
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Are there any questions
22 of Mrs . Boyle . Commissioner Long.
23 COMMISSIONER LONG: I don' t know if it' s a
24 question or a comment, because you probably haven' t had
25 the liberty to see what we were handed in regards to the
At-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
79
1 memorandum or agreement, or whatever, between Ce- -- the
2 Department of Wildlife and Cedar Creek - -
3 MS . BOYLE : No, I haven' t seen it .
4 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- ` cause it does establish
5 setbacks that I think -- it says they' re in substantial
6 agreement with the Department of Wildlife . And I ' ll just
7 go over a couple of them.
8 It says, 800 meters setback from identified
9 active and inactive golden eagle nests; 800 meters setback
10 from identified active prairie falcon nests ; 400 meters
11 setback from all identified active and inactive - - well , I
r►.
12 messed this name up -- ferringus hawk - -
13 MALE VOICE : Ferruginous hawk.
14 COMMISSIONER LONG: Ferruginous hawk, red tailed
15 hawk and Swaines Hawk site nests , so they've identified I
16 think a lot of those setbacks that you' re talking about .
17 MS . BOYLE : I believe - - as I understand it ,
18 there are still ten turbines in question close to the
19 escarpment that are a concern of the Department - - the
20 Division of Wildlife .
21 And the Planning Department , as I heard it, if I
22 heard it correctly - - the Planning Department ' s
23 recommendation is to put language in the application and
24 permit that would require the company to attempt to comply
25 with the Division of Wildlife' s recommendations . I 'm
'\ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
Aft,
80
1 requesting that they be required to comply with those
2 recommendations .
3 MR. GATHMAN: Perhaps I can address the ten
4 turbine sites . Additionally, in that letter -- it says,
5 "In addition to the above setbacks and after substantial
6 revisions to proposed layout incorporating Colorado
7 Division of Wildlife' s concerns . . . "
8 And it talks about the turbines that were
9 identified, turbine sites ; 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11, 15 , 39 , 45 ,
10 54 , 264 , 265 , 260 and 32 ; said they have reviewed the
11 locations jointly on site and have come to an agreement
12 on the location of those - - these remaining turbines that
13 the Division of Wildlife requested and agreed to at the
14 conclusion of that meeting.
15 MS . BOYLES : Great .
16 MR . GATHMAN: It sounds like they' re agreeing to
17 those setbacks .
.- 18 MS . BOYLES : Okay. That' s great . I didn' t hear
19 that in your presentation, so - -
20 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. Well , this letter was just
21 handed out by the applicant .
22 MS . BOYLES : Okay. Great .
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And for your information, and
24 since you won' t be here this afternoon, the applicant will
25 have an opportunity to come back and respond to all - -
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r'
,r.
81
1 MS . BOYLES : Good.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- the questions that come up .
3 And I 'm sure that' s one of the questions that they will
4 deal with this afternoon.
5 And also tie it back to what staff has related,
6 and also referenced the memo that -- memo of und- - - the
7 memorandum that Commissioner Long was referencing, so - -
r- 8 thank you very much.
9 MS . BOYLES : I would still encourage you to
10 change the language of that permit to require them to
11 comply with the Division of Wildlife . That' s - -
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you very much.
13 MS . BOYLES : -- the only other outstanding
14 concern I have . Thanks .
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : All right . Is there anyone else
16 who wants to testify before we adjourn? We will stand
17 adjourned until 1 : 30 . Commissioner Long, I ' m sorry. Did
18 I see your hand?
19 COMMISSIONER LONG: Yes . Just a comment on that,
20 ` cause there' s been a lot of times during - - lots of
21 different applications where somebody will request a veto
22 power, if you will , over some part of the development .
23 And the commission has always been reluctant to leave that
24 kind of language in to give some entity a veto power over
25 a part of that .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
4-
..I,
82
1 So we -- we strongly urge, when those - - when
2 the language of "attempt to" or "address , " it does fall
3 short of requiring them to follow through. But again, we
fieN
4 don' t want to be able to establish a veto power to some --
5 to an entity that collapses the whole application process
6 on that person.
7 But we do try to address to the applicants that
et.. 8 they work in the best efforts to be able to mitigate those
eoN
9 concerns . And I think I 'm seeing evidence right -- so
10 far, anyway, that that' s being done . So - -
""` 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , we stand in recess until
12 1 : 30 . And by the way, can you - - are we doing a little
fie\
\ 13 better as far as talking into the microphone, or are you
14 still having trouble hearing us?
e, 15 MALE VOICE : You bet .
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you. The board will
17 reconvene at 1 : 30 then.
es,
18 [Adjournment taken. ]
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We' ll reconvene the Board of
20 County Commissioner for purpose of hearing two land-use
21 cases today. All right . Let the record show that four
22 commissioners are in attendance with Commissioner Jerke
e.‘ 23 excused.
24 We did open this to public testimony. We had
25 two present public testimony prior to our break this
s
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
83
1 lunch, so I will go ahead and open it up .
2 All of you who would like to testify to the
3 board, this is your opportunity to do that . So if you' d
4 just please come forth, give your name and address for the
r,
5 record. And -- I think, why don' t we start with the
6 gentleman coming up the back, and then we' ll go ahead and
7 move on.
'' 8 MR. FLORIAN: Good afternoon. I 'm Troy Florian,
9 Colorado Division of Wildlife . I ' m the District Wildlife
10 Manager for the facility and most of the transmission
11 line . Larry Rogstadt is in the back. He' s the District
12 Wildlife Manager for the transmission line south of 74 to
13 Highway 34 .
14 First of all , I want to thank you for allowing
r,
15 the Division of Wildlife to provide recommendations on the
16 proposed 300 to 330 megawatt wind energy development in
r,
17 northern Weld County. We've reviewed the information
18 provided with numerous biologists and enforcement
19 personnel from the U. S . Fish and Wildlife Service,
20 biologists from the Colorado Natural Areas programs , the
21 Colorado State Parks, and numerous other wildlife and
22 habitat researchers throughout the nation and Canada.
�- 23 Over the last several months, we've met on
24 numerous occasions with Green Light and their consultants
25 to discuss the potential natural resource issues arising
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
84
1 from this development .
2 We plan to continue our dialogue in the
3 applicant -- with the applicant in an effort to resolve
4 outstanding concerns . And we' re hopeful that they will
5 continue to work cooperatively in minimizing risk to
6 wildlife .
e.
7 Wind energy is considered to be clean and
8 renewable energy resource and an environmentally friendly
e\ 9 technology. And as a source of alternative energy, that
10 has clearly been endorsed by the voters of Colorado.
^ 11 However wind farms may negatively impact
12 wildlife, especially birds, bats and the habitat of which
13 they depend on. Birds, bats -- okay.
14 As the industry grows, cumulative impacts may
r,
15 result in or contribute to declines in some wildlife
16 populations . Potential negative impacts to wildlife from
17 injury, direct mortality, nest abandonment and site
18 avoidance due to landscape alterations requires careful
19 consideration and evaluation, planning a proposed wind
20 facility, each based on analysis of local topography,
21 species and multiple others .
22 A carefully designed project can succeed in
23 providing clean energy, wind energy, while at the same
24 time minimizing impact to important wildlife species .
25 There are existing projects that have resulted in
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
p.
p
85
1 thousands of raptor fatalities , requiring costly changes
2 and modifications to those projects .
3 As a part of Weld County community, it is our
4 goal to be a part of a project that works for the
5 proponent as well as provide protection for the unique and
6 valuable species in a proposed area . In short , we believe
7 that working together will design a successful wind energy
8 facility that minimizes risk to wildlife .
9 A quick correction on Chris Gathman' s statement
10 earlier this morning . There are threatened and endangered
11 species in and around the project . These species include
es
12 burrowing owl , which is an endangered species , or a
13 threatened species . This includes sharp-tail grouse,
14 which is a state endangered species .
15 Species that was listed for the federal list :
16 Rocky Mountain Plover, species of concern; all the raptors
17 that were mentioned earlier as well . And I ' ll get to --
18 I 've got one other correction on that .
19 Unique plant life, structure and three-
20 dimensional component of the Chalk Bluffs escarpment is
21 one of a kind feature in this region, and provides some of
22 the best nesting -- nesting, foraging and cover habitat
23 features for numerous bats, birds and terrestrial wildlife
24 species, including golden eagles, falcons , hawks , mule
25 deer and sharp-tail grouse - - the other species I
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
.�
86
r-
1 just mentioned.
2 The edge of this short-grass prairie escarpment
3 not only has a high density of raptor nests - - nearly 60
r-
4 along the 13 to 14 mile stretch of the escarpment rim
5 edge -- but also has a unique and rare mountain plant
6 community found in less than 20 other similar areas in
7 Colorado.
8 This mountain plant community consists of few of
9 many of limber pines, cedars, junipers, mountain mahogany
10 and the rare plant , the Mountain Cat' s eye .
11 In an effort to assist Green Light and Weld
12 County in achieving the project goals , while at the same
13 time providing adequate levels of protection to critical
14 wildlife features, we have reduced our original escarpment
15 buffer recommendation down to 200 meters on several
16 turbine sites that are critical for and heavily used by
17 numerous wildlife species .
18 We are simply recommending that these turbines ,
19 re- - - that these remaining turbines, a total of 14 now,
20 be placed at appropriate locations that are no closer than
21 200 meters from the current rim edge as identified by the
22 plant -- by the applicant, with a background on the number
Imk
23 of turbines of concern.
24 We started with four - - we started with looking
25 at all turbines within 400 meters of the escarpment edge .
.. L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY 80CC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
a
87
1 After a site visit, we covered 39 out of 45 turbines that
2 we had to evaluate a little closer and meet , again, with
3 Green Light and discuss them.
r
4 As of last month we looked at the remaining six
5 turbines in the southeastern portion. So we covered the
6 total 45 turbines, and that' s what leaves us with the 14
7 numbers of concern that I ' ll address here in a second.
8 On the applicant' s list of turbines that fall
9 within 400 meters of the escarpment rim edge, our
10 recommendations that these 14 turbines be relocated away
11 from the rim edge . The range of relocation will only
12 consist of movements ranging from 15 to 140 meters beyond
13 their original proposed locations that we observed staked
14 out in the field in two visits , to provide adequate
15 protection for raptors, songbirds and bats .
16 The key threat to eagles , falcons and other
17 birds along the escarpment is the risk of collision with
18 turbine blades . Although it appears that the turbine
19 blades rotate slowly, the tips of the blades may spin in
20 excess of 200 miles an hour.
21 Improperly designed and poorly placed wind
22 turbines at other facilities including AltaMont Pass in
23 California, have resulted in thousands of raptor
24 mortalities, expensive litigation, costly retrofits ,
25 and shutdowns .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
88
r' 1 With a diameter of over 300 feet on each
2 turbine, placement of these structures any closer to the
3 edge, creates a very high risk of collision mortality; of
4 collision mortality on some of the most sensitive birds
5 and species in Colorado . Through proper placement of
6 turbines, it is our shared goal to minimize potential
p.
7 problems when Cedar Creek is in operation.
8 Each site that is proposed needs to be evaluated
9 on a case by case basis . I ' ll refer back to the letter
10 Green Light sent -- or distributed this morning, that I
• 11 first got as I walked in the door to the meeting today.
12 The top - - the 14 turbines referred in here were
13 not arbitrarily looked at . They were looked at case-by-
14 case basis , depending on -- we looked at the topography,
15 the potential wildlife use of the area, as well as the
• 16 pipe communities in and around the areas .
17 Therefore, we've disagreed with the bulleted
18 statement that a 50 meter setback from the rim edge be
^ 19 imposed. This 50 meter setback is kind of a one - - one
20 thing that concerns us . Not only is it based off studies
21 from a different facility out of Wyoming. And our concern
22 is that each site is looked at on a case-by-case basis .
23 That' s where we disagree with the 50 meters .
24 The other setbacks, I' ll cover throughout here,
25 or I ' ll come back to - - on our stance on that .
r-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
89
1 We can agree with the other turbine placements
2 of the 14 turbines of concern, if they are adjusted prior
3 to discussion with Green Light . This adjustment basically
4 means two will be affected by being relocated away into a
5 different site, out of the 200 meter range, because of
�• 6 either proximity to raptor nests or proximity to high use
7 areas with the topography that provides a foraging type of
8 circumstance for raptors . We ask for --
'' 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Could you tell us where these
10 14 are --
r
r, 11 MR. FLORIAN: You bet .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- located? You' ve got a
13 pointer?
14 MR. FLORIAN: I don' t --
15 MR. GATHMAN: We have one .
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We' ll need to keep you at the
17 microphone .
,. 18 MR. FLORIAN: Okay. Let me figure out your
19 pointer, first .
20 MR. GATHMAN: Good.
r,
21 MR. FLORIAN: Okay. Okay.
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : It ' s called on.
23 MR. FLORIAN: So turbine 54 , sits on state
24 Lamborn section here . We have an eagle' s nest that sits
25 down here . Although inactive, prairie falcons and eagles
r.
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
As-
so
r-
.- 90
r' 1 will rotate their use of nests in the area from year to
r
2 year.
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If you could just show us where
4 they are, it might be --
5 MR. FLORIAN: You bet . Turbine 54 is right here ;
6 260 -- 260 is this turbine right here . 31 is going to sit
r-
7 somewhere right in here . I ' d have to look at the maps . 31
8 is sitting right there . Number 2 --
9 MALE VOICE : (Inaudible) -- 2 is actually - -
10 MR. FLORIAN: What' s that - - yeah.
• 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We need - - we need to keep the
12 testimony so that we can --
r-
13 MALE VOICE : (Inaudible) sorry.
14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Please . So that we have it on
0
15 tape .
• 16 MR. FLORIAN: Number two is essentially located
17 in this area here - -
r
18 MALE VOICE : Is it -- no, that ' s not right .
19 MR. FLORIAN: In this area here .
20 MR . GATHMAN: Yeah, they highlighted a lot of
21 those pink and blue so - -
r
22 MR. FLORIAN: That' s -- that ' s not - -
• 23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Chris - - Chris , if you' re going
24 to speak, you need to - - okay.
25 MR. GATHMAN: All right . Okay.
r-
r-
r-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r^
91
1 MR. FLORIAN: -- number two must be sitting
2 right here . That' s it right there .
3 [Background discussion - - whispering. ]
4 MR. FLORIAN: Ten is this one here . Six, seven
5 and eight are these three here . Eleven, fifteen and
6 thirty-nine - - eleven and fifteen, I believe, are here .
7 Thirty-nine, forty-five -- thirty-nine - -
8 [Background comment - inaudible . ]
9 MR. FLORIAN: Okay. So that -- that must be 39 ,
10 yes . That' s 39 there . 45 , 264 -- 45 is - - help me out ,
11 Kevin. The ones that are highlighted in blue here are the
12 ones we are looking at, as we looked at the 39 first
13 turbines . So we identified ten turbines .
14 The remaining four turbines of concern are in
15 this area right in here . And the one that sits right on
16 top of the rim edge, and the other two sit close enough
r..
17 that all we have asked is that they be bumped back 125
18 meters and 150 meters .
19 During site visits -- let' s see . By minimally
r-
20 relocating these 14 identified turbines out of the
21 proposed 300 total project wide, the voters of Colorado,
22 residents of Weld County and the developer will continue
23 to have an opportunity to benefit from this project , while
24 at the same time, providing a reasonable level of
25 accommodation to critical wildlife habitats .
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY HOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r
ea,,
92
1 All of these adjustments and recommendations
2 have been verbally agreed to by Green Light and CDOW. I
3 believe there' s only one correction. 265 , is that - -
4 should actually be 266 on what Green Light handed out
.-. 5 this morning .
6 Would request the opportunity to comment on
r^.
7 future site turbine changes from current staked locations
8 that we have visited, that - - that get microsited beyond
9 20 meters , and request an opportunity to review the plat
10 maps of both turbine and transmission locations .
11 The raptor nest buffers that are included in
12 here are what we have asked for; the 800 meters for
13 prairie falcon and golden eagle nest buffers , and 400
14 meters for all other raptor nest buffers , including red
15 tailed hawk - - ferruginous hawk, red-tailed hawk and the
es, 16 like .
17 Although some of these nests are identified by
18 the developer as "inactive, " it must be clarified that
19 species such as golden eagle and prairie falcon will
20 alternate their use of these locally occurring nest sites
21 from year to year, meaning all identified nests , whether
22 active or inactive, are equally important ; should be
23 uniformly buffered from the turbine sites .
24 A little bit about plain sharp-tailed grouse .
25 They' re not only -- they are listed as a Colorado
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
93
1 endangered species .
2 Their courtship sites , called leks, and that
3 what - - one of our questions were this morning, the "lek"
4 sites that they actually display on is what we' re asking
5 for a buffer on - - have been identified and previously
6 recommend - - we previously recommended that a 1 . 2 buffer
7 be given to wind turbine placement . That' s based off the
8 figures that studies show 80 to 90 percent of hens will
9 nest within two kilometers or 1 . 2 miles from their lek - -
10 from a lek site .
11 Fish and Wildlife Service, however, asked for a
12 five mile buffer and provide support , background
. , 13 information on that study.
14 During negotiations with Green Light, it was
15 agreed that the buffer from wind turbine - - let' s see - -
16 during the negotiations with Green Light, it was agreed
17 that a reduced lek buffer of no less than one-half mile,
r, 18 with the exceptions of three known leks, would be
19 considered only if the developer commits to provide
20 substantial support for an in-depth, long-term study on
21 impacts of wind farms on plains sharp-tailed grouse .
22 It is the hope that both - - it is both of our
23 hope, Green Light and Colorado Division of Wildlife - - let
24 me back up -- that the results of this study can be used
25 for future wind farms and serve as a resource for
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
0.
1 94
1 developers, planners and resource agencies, and
2 facilitating future wind energy development .
r. 3 Green Light has also agreed to developing and
'- 4 implementing mitigation efforts in the form of habitat
5 improvement and population supplementation. Daily
6 construction activities during courtship behaviors should
7 be - - should occur after peak morning and before peak
r
8 evening display periods to minimize avoidance of leks and
9 normal courtship behaviors .
10 As far as groundbreaking; groundbreaking
• 11 construction activity we believe should be scheduled
r-.
12 outside of critical nesting periods for neo-tropical
13 songbirds , including lark bunting, plover, Rocky Mountain
14 Plover, McAllens Longspur and the like . Fish and Wildlife
15 staff recommend this , as well as a way to avoid violation
16 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act .
17 If it is anticipated that groundbreaking
18 construction cannot occur outside of the critical nesting
r' 19 period, we encourage the developer to blade out areas
0-,
20 where roads and other infrastructure will be located prior
r
21 to the nesting season. This will decrease the likelihood
22 of ground nesting birds establishing nests in this area,
• 23 with the exception of the Mountain Plover. Even though
• 24 bare ground of bladed areas might appeal to plover, this
25 will greatly increase the ability to detect ground nests
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
95
1 and reduce the man hours required if nest surveys are
2 performed in a grassy and weeded area .
3 The developer should consider employing seasonal
4 shutdowns of turbines that cause significant bat and bird
5 mortality collisions with turbine blades . This measure of
6 protection has been cited by the developers consultants
7 and is a measure taken by other corporations within the
8 industry as an option that could minimize the impacts to
es 9 birds and bats during peak migration and periods when
10 substantial impacts are observed, once the project is
�, 11 operational .
12 These critical - - a little bit about the
r,
,-. 13 critical wildlife, or the critical habitat features .
14 These areas include the rocky and cliff escarpments - -
15 there was a question earlier -- because of the forested
16 plant communities that are in this area of the
17 escarpments , as well as the topographic features , it
18 makes it a - - more or less a super highway for wildlife in
'a' 19 this area .
r\ 20 Habitat features not only include the
21 escarpments but Crow Creek, north of Highway 14 , which is
22 listed by Weld County as an important wildlife habitat ,
23 also includes ephemeral ponds, dens, hibernacula and
24 wetlands, and all should be identified and avoided by
25 construction and infrastructure .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
Ogak
96
1 In selecting sites for construction, we
2 recommend that the developer should focus on options that
3 avoid critical wildlife habitat over the an- - - over the
4 use of negation strategies .
5 The developer is encouraged to provide ongoing
6 support, as they have committed to with the sharptail
7 grouse, and habitat impact research, as well as provide
8 Colorado Division of Wildlife with all forms of raw data
9 collected at onset , during, and post-construction surveys .
e-
10 Request that the applicant allow CDOW staff to access the
11 project site, and -- before and after project is
12 operational , for monitoring wildlife impacts .
13 Agreements between the developer and operator
14 and the landowner should include a clause recognizing the
15 access provision for Division of Wildlife personnel for
16 monitoring purposes .
17 Operation considerations : during construction,
e.
18 crews should be encouraged to carpool or bus
19 transportation to provide --
e-
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I ' m hearing an awful lot of
21 testimony that really should be worked out with the
22 applicant .
r, 23 MR. FLORIAN: Right .
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And I wonder if maybe you could
25 summarize or get to the end of what your --
0,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
,r.
r.
97
1 MR. FLORIAN: Okay. On the - -
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- point is .
3 MR. FLORIAN: -- operational considerations ,
4 what we' re hoping for is that we can reduce the duration
5 and frequency of vehicle visits to avoid direct -- or
e' 6 impacts on wildlife .
7 As far as weed management we hope that -- we
8 recommend that a weed management and re-vegetation effort
9 plans should be implemented and employed throughout the
10 life and five years after.
'� 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , that' s in the conditions
12 of approval - -
13 MR. FLORIAN: Mm-hmm.
14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- and development standards .
15 MR . FLORIAN: We request that hunting be
16 retained at the landowners discretion, and the last little
17 bit here - - because of negotiations between us and Green
18 Light and the issues yet to be resolved, we feel that the
19 wording in 3C and D, of the Department Planning Service
20 Staff recommendations is not adequately defined in a way
'' 21 that binds past and future agreements .
22 Chris mentioned earlier that we suggested
23 "attempted" be listed. That is not the case . It is
24 current - - the current wording of this is that the
25 applicant shall demonstrate an attempted level of
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
98
1 compliance .
r•
2 We recommend that the "attempted" be replaced
3 with "significant , " or some other word, that would bind
4 not only past efforts and agreements that have been made,
r . 5 but foster future agreements and negotiations as well .
6 It needs to be mentioned that - - I ' ll brief
r-,
7 through here . We strongly believe the recommendations
8 found in our letter that has been submitted to the County
9 Planning Department should be considered the absolute
10 minimum standards, and should be applied when citing
facility infrastructure along the escarpments .
r.
12 Our final recommendation on turbine siting and
13 transmission routing impacts a very small amount of the
14 proposed infrastructure to insure viability of the
15 project, as well as wildlife resources in which we all
16 share the responsibility to protect .
17 And lastly, it must be mentioned that migratory
18 species , songbirds , raptors, and most wildlife, are
19 protected by federal and/or state law. Through proper
20 design and intelligent placement of facilities , much can
21 be done to minimize the risk of negligent take .
22 The aim of all involved should be to absolutely
Int
AO's 23 minimize the unfortunate take of wildlife, as a resort of
24 this facility.
AP„ 25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any questions of the
r,
r'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,.
i1
r
r-
99
1 Department of Wildlife? The only question I have is ,
2 you've gone through so many areas, you know - -
0 -
.- 3 MR. FLORIAN: What' s that?
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : You've gone through so many
r, 5 areas --
r' 6 MR. FLORIAN: Mm-hmm.
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- that have been negotiated
r. 8 with you and the applicant; areas which we have codes ,
9 like noxious weeds --
P.\
10 MR. FLORIAN: Mm-hmm.
r' 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- re-vegetating the land.
A,
12 MR. FLORIAN: Mm-hmm.
r. 13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I ' m not sure what I ended up
00,
14 with. But my question is : you have been working with the
15 applicant and the applicant has been working with you to
00,
00` 16 resolve these issues; is that correct?
�\ 17 MR. FLORIAN: That' s correct . And I only until
18 this morning received this, so I wasn' t --
e, 19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Right . And there' s only one - -
20 MR. FLORIAN: -- so I didn' t understand where
21 they were - -
r.
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- item in that memo that --
PA
23 MR . FLORIAN: Correct .
es. 24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- you are concerned with, and
e.
r. 25 that is the 50-foot setback.
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
ice,
^
100
1 MR. FLORIAN: That' s correct , as well as the - -
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So in summarizing everything
3 we' re talking about , we' re really down to that item; is
4 that correct?
5 MR. FLORIAN: We' re down to that item; we' re
6 down to the modification of the sentence as far as
7 "attempted compliance, " and our -- our recommendation of
8 them doing groundbreaking construction outside of nesting
9 periods .
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. I 've got that down.
11 MR. FLORIAN: Mm-hmm.
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any questions of the
rN 13 Division of Wildlife? Thank you very much for your
S'N 14 testimony.
15 MR. FLORIAN: You bet . And I ' ll be available
16 afterwards , if you have any further questions .
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you. Is there
18 anyone else in the audience that wishes to provide
19 testimony? Please come forth and give your name and
20 address for the record, and then any comments you wish to
eN 21 make .
22 MR. NEBB : My name is Don Nebb . I live at 17485
/1
23 County Road 11 , Fort Morgan, Colorado . I ' m currently the
e` 24 president of the Bijou Irrigation District .
25 We have a -- our major - - our intake canal is
e.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
00"
f^
101
1 south of the river and north of Highway 34 . This line,
6
2 the transmission line will be crossing our intake canal
3 at some point . I ' m not sure exactly where .
.-
4 But the problem we -- we may have with this
0-
5 transmission line, the -- on the previous hearing, and I
6 heard this morning that there would be a 14-foot maximum
7 working height underneath this line, and some parts of our
8 canal in that area, we can only access it on one side of
9 the canal . It' s not accessible on the other, and we have
10 to get in there with long-reach tract hose, a lot of time .
11 And that 14-foot height is going to cause us
12 some problems in some areas , to be safe . And whatever we
e. 13 come up with, I would ask that the post - - post those
e` 14 areas with safe working heights . But 14 feet isn' t very
15 much when you get in with that kind of equipment, to try
16 to maintain the canal .
17 So that' s our main concern at this point .
e.
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Are there any questions
19 of Don? If not , thank you very much.
20 If there' s anyone else, please come forth and
21 give your name and address for the record.
22 MR. STURROCK: Charles James Sturrock, Lonesome
23 Pines Land and Cattle Company, Pawnee Bluff , where they
24 call them the Chalk Bluffs, Grover, Colorado .
25 My ranch is divided by 122 . It is highly
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-.
102
1 impacted by this construction. I extend two miles north
r ..
2 and two miles south. All these sheer cliffs are part of
e, 3 my ranch.
4 [Background conversation - inaudible . ]
„^ 5 MR. GATHMAN: Were these the ones you passed out
6 at the Planning Commission? Is it the same packet?
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : You can leave them with the
., 8 Clerk over here if you want to hand them out , but - - is
9 that what you' re trying to do is to hand them out?
10 MR. STURROCK: No. I was informed that you five
11 gentlemen, and someone else in legal told me .
e.
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
13 MR. STURROCK: I brought 15 of them.
e. 14 MR. GATHMAN: Oh, that ' s - - yeah.
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you.
16 MR. STURROCK: I have ten turbines , I have the
17 transmission line crossing my property. The ten turbines ,
18 some of them are under the ones that the DOW has requested
eN. 19 to be put back.
20 There are a few that are right within 50 meters
21 of the drop off and when I first started this with the
22 first landman, and then with Kevin, my question to them at
23 that time is , how far are you going to stay back from the
eN 24 edge? And he informed me "We' d stay back a ways . "
25 I did some more research. I evaluated from the
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
i
103
'' 1 financial and frankly, I said, "No, I didn' t want to have
2 anything to do with it . "
�,
3 Everything was confidential . You couldn' t speak
4 to your neighbors, because " . . . it was confidential . . . "
5 You couldn' t find out how much they' re going to pay you,
6 because it was confidential with Xcel .
e.
7 With the "No, " I was advised I needed a 50 to 75
�N 8 thousand dollar war chest to fight it under eminent
9 domain. The only thing my attorney advised me of, he' s
r. 10 going to have a good Christmas vacation.
11 So with that in mind, and then finding that
12 without a lease or nothing taking place, they were going
13 across my property and they were also making test holes ,
e‘, 14 which to me emphasized my rights were going to go through
,," 15 eminent domain.
16 So I reopened up negotiations . We talked about
17 money, and I finally signed. But my lease, royalty lease,
eN
18 or whatever you call it , does not have a confidentiality
19 clause in it .
e. 20 You were asking how long this contract is with
'" 21 Xcel , going through Xcel ' s corporate papers and reports,
22 it looks like the first section will be 20 years at a
23 flat fee . In essence with 10 or 11 turbines, I will
inN 24 receive 50 thousand a year; 50 thousand the first year
25 and 50 thousand the 20th year, and that , to me, was not
rS
ors
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
"S
r•
104
1 a good investment .
r
2 Then I always -- looked at land values . I feel
3 land values will decrease . I have proof that land values
4 decreased. I bought 440 acres farmland adjacent to me at
5 auction for $200 an acre . That' s wheat ground. If there
6 was nothing else in it , it probably would have brought
7 five to six hundred.
8 If the people that were selling it included the
9 royalty, it could have brought a thousand to fifteen
10 hundred. But the point being, it does devalue land.
11 Now, on three of these that I ' m very concerned
12 about are 42 , 43 - - 44 originally was placed on top of my
13 water line . They have now moved back a few feet .
14 Then on the south side, 38 , 37 - - 37 ' s been
15 omitted for the transmission lines . So I ' ve got 36 and
16 35 . Now, they claim to me that these that I ' ve listed are
/, 17 within 50 meters or 54 yards of the dropoff , and they' re
18 needed to be there .
19 But yet I 've got others that are as much as a
,, 20 mile behind the escarpment, especially in this 440 that I
21 bought . All I 'm requesting is that they move them back to
22 my property line . My property line on the top is only
23 about a quarter of a mile back; it' s along the section
24 line 103 .
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : You know, could I ask you to do
--
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r'
105
1 us a favor?
2 MR . STURROCK: Yes , sir.
r^
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Could we give you a spotter and
4 maybe you could --
r 5 MR. STURROCK: If I can find it - -
r 6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - just kind of point - -
r-,
7 MR. STURROCK: You' re asking a whole heckuva
8 lot of --
9 MR. GATHMAN: - - them out . What was it -- I
10 understand, it' s 42 , 43 and 44?
11 MR . STURROCK: Yeah. Can you help me find these
es
12 bloody things?
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And I need to keep you at the
14 podium. That' s why I gave you the pointer.
15 MR. STURROCK: Now, I know.
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : ` Cause that' s the only way she
17 could hear you.
18 MR. STURROCK: Give me your glasses . I 'm going
19 to need them. I just learned how to use a computer in
20 April to get online . So you' re asking a whole lot of --
r` 21 first , can someone help me find where Road 122 is up here?
r, 22 MR. GATHMAN: Right there . That line right - -
23 MR. STURROCK: This one?
24 MR. GATHMAN: Just half mile to the north of
r, 25 that (inaudible) - -
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r�
106
1 MR. STURROCK: Half mile . Right there? Okay.
2 All right . 122 , the first ones I mentioned are - - are
,.. 3 north. There' s four of them that goes along here .
4 They' re -- that one is the furthest away from the
r
5 escarpment , and I figure it' s about three-quarters of
6 a mile .
7 My property line runs right along 103 . 103
8 there is just the right-of-way, it is not a developed
9 road. What I 'm requesting, that these all be moved back
10 to this line . That will have the least amount of impact
sI'
-' 11 on my land, and I can continue to do ranching .
'� 12 The number two, which is way up here, I --
,• 13 that' s DOW is covering that . If it goes off of my
• 14 property, I don' t care . I don' t need that royalty.
15 On the south side, there should be three coming
'1
• 16 right along down through here . I ' ve got a water line that
17 goes right between 38 and 36 .
eN
18 So when they develop these towers , they will
F' 19 have, on a straightaway, a 15-foot wide, fully improved
1 20 road, and then subterranean - - someone was asking about
- 21 the transmission lines - - they are buried in the ground.
a 22 So with Peter' s Principle and my luck, where I 'm
- 23 going to have a leak is under that road and under those
24 transmission lines . So I ' ll be a crispy critter one of
25 these days , probably.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r•
107
1 So there again, I ' d like to have -- my son' s an
2 electrician. That' s where I learned the definition. So
r
3 there again, I ' d like to go against the property line .
4 Now, I practice holistic resource . Where I ' m
r.
5 dressed the way - - in here, my kilt is the past . The hat
6 is the present , and I , hopefully give you the future .
7 Because what I ' d rather leave to future generations is
8 something that is unique, and my land is unique . I don' t
9 want it to be interfered with and I want to continue to
10 operate .
An" 11 To get along with coyotes , I have gone to cattle
..
12 that are a little bit on the hunky side . You ask Troy, he
13 about met psycho cow, ` cause he was getting between her
14 and her calf . He turned his back to her, and he about got
15 taken.
16 So now I've got all these people coming on
1^ 17 board. Now, while they were doing the, more or less ,
,eN 18 research, I tried to keep the hunkiest ones down below,
19 and tried to find out where they' re going to be, and where
20 my cattle are, so the two don' t get intermixed.
21 Now, is this holistic resource? I have advanced
22 my pastures back to the future . Under NCRS Guidelines, a
23 pasture should have four-wing saltbush, winter fat,
24 western wheat , blue gramma .
25 In the last four years, I brought on western
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
108
1 wheat easily, winter fat has come on board, and now four-
2 wing saltbush is coming on. That four-wing saltbush is
3 working its way up over the escarpment where the power
4 lines are going to be coming down. So there is a
5 possibility they' ll set me back.
6 I also have a permit with U. S . Forest Service,
�\ 7 and I have written my grazing program, and we' re going
8 through the necessary steps on that .
9 Now, on this transmission line, I have a missile
,..
10 silo, an agreement with the Air Force, that when I move
0.
.. 11 the cattle into that pasture, I notify them, because
r\ 12 otherwise they come in and inspect their silo with
0. 13 helicopters . Cattle and helicopters don' t get along.
'. 14 So with the transmission coming down half a mile
r•
15 south, or half a section south to 122 , and that' s the
e.
16 elevation and I know they' re working with the Air Force,
#. 17 so the decision would be there, but the green second
18 Louise for a juvenile, or sub-adult flyers , have to go
'^ 19 over that power line, come into the wind and land.
20 Now once I have cattle in there, then they make
21 land inspections . I do have my problems with land
22 inspections .
23 Two Fridays ago I was going to go to a
24 conference on range management in Keystone . I start out
25 the gate at 10 o' clock, I replace the chain and et cetera
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
109
A` 1 on the main entrance into the silo. I check all my fences
2 around there, and I think I 'm secure, because that gate
3 had been to the point where if the chain was fastened, it
4 would open this much, and these heifers were - - have it
5 going through.
6 Somewhere after my departure, they probably land
7 inspected it , the GI ' s got overrun with 110 heifers . They
8 were out in the road, so they closed the gate . They went
`.1 9 around where one of my access gates, and dropped it three
10 or four feet . So for Friday night, all day Saturday, and
r` 11 part of Sunday, I had 110 heifers going up and down 122 ,
ra,
12 and Rode 95 , breaking into neighbors pastures to get
13 to water .
14 I had a son go out there on Saturday and I said
15 "Check that GI gate . " He found it in perfect order.
16 Sunday morning here comes about 100 heifers up the road.
r-%
17 While he' s getting them in by opening the gate, they came
18 out and everything went fine .
19 So now, my eastern border is going to have all
ea, 20 kinds of gates . And the only thing they' re promising me
21 is that they' ll attempt to keep the gates closed.
I1
22 Now, I can just see me walking up to the judge
23 and saying, "Judge, I attempted to slow down for that
24 speeding zone, " and he would just love me .
25 So -- and one thing that hasn' t been mentioned
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r'-'
110
1 is migration, or migratory routes . Several years ago,
r.
2 while working on the water line, I hear thud-thud-thud.
3 And I finally looked up and about that high up are geese,
4 and they' re coming in, in V' s over where these towers that
5 I 'm requested to be moved back.
' N 6 And they' re coming like this , and they' re just
7 moving and going higher . Finally they were like this .
s` 8 They break off in their V' s .
9 Now, these three towers I ' ve mentioned, I was
10 put down by west -- they say, "Well , how often does that
11 happen?" I 've only been there 11 years . I don' t know how
r.'
12 often it happens . They've only been there 11 days .
0. 13 Now, going through and trying to get an unbiased
0.
14 opinion of wind turbines, the effects on wildlife, the
15 effects on birds, I came across this study, a statistical
" 16 study by the United - - out of England.
17 They took 142 reports from around the world. In
0.
0. 18 those, there were about five from AltaMont Pass, talking
19 about the number of bird kills .
Ank
20 Their recommendations, and I will give it to
0. 21 you, the whole report - - impact on bird abundance are to
22 be avoided. The available evidence suggests that wind
/.
0. 23 farms should not be sited near populations of birds of
24 conservation importance . And of course they've got a
25 fancy word from ducks . Ducks must take a heckuva beating
,,� L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY 80CC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
00 111
1 with them.
2 What I ' d like to suggest , if at all possible,
3 on my land, only my land, ` cause that' s what I ' m
4 representing, before p g, you would say "Yes, " as far as their
,. 5 turbines , have them say they' ll go back to my fence line
" 6 or have an impartial panel review this statistical report
/,
7 made up by a representative from Green Light, Cedar Creek
0.
w^ 8 combination, Audubon representative and those two then
0. 9 pick a third neutral , evaluating this statistical report
,. 10 and seeing how their locations will affect my land and the
11 birds on my land.
r1
12 I ' m not sure if you would postpone it or get it,
/.
.. 13 but I will give you this study.
0. 14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Does that conclude your
r.
,. 15 comments, Mr . Sturrock.
16 MR. STURROCK: Yes, sir . I will get out of your
0. 17 hair before you pull the hook.
0.
.. 18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : No, that' s okay. I do need to
19 ask, though, if there' s any questions by members of the
A.
0. 20 board concerning your comments . Thank you very much, sir,
0. 21 for your coming --
22 MR. STURROCK: I appreciate your time and
23 patience .
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If we' d go ahead, and Mr .
,, 25 White .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
i+
112
'" 1 MR. WHITE : I ' ll only take about two or three
2 minutes . You happen to have a map for corridor - - Map
3 Three that you could put up?
4 MR. GATHMAN: Transmission line?
-S
,N 5 MR. WHITE : Yes .
eN 6 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah.
�\ 7 MR. WHITE : Thank you.
/\
-' 8 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm.
e, 9 MR. WHITE : I 'm going to have to stand close
eN
10 enough I can see it . I own some property, Section 6 , 7 ,
11 61 . I have sold the right to -- an option to purchase on
e
12 the eastern side of this southeast quarter .
13 This map here shows the corridor coming down
14 right in the center of the section. It does - - the
15 property listed is on Range 62 . It' s not on Range 61
"0` 16 where this corridor is .
17 In other words, the corridor is one place they
18 want to reserve the land on the -- a mile to the west ,
19 which goes about twelve miles through there . You
r
e‘ 20 understand what I 'm saying?
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , I ' m trying . I wonder,
22 Chris , if maybe you could work with Mr . White in pointing
PS
.. 23 that out to us . Why don' t you get the pointer, Chris,
24 and - -
e,
e, 25 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
'.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
0,
113
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- just hit it up here . It
2 might just be easiest . You got a pointer?
..,
3 MR. WHITE : I can show you right here .
4 MR. GATHMAN: It' s here .
,•••• 5 MR. WHITE : You see it' s all in Range 62 .
is^ 6 MR. GATHMAN: Is this your --
7 MR. WHITE : This is in Range 61 .
/.
e. 8 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
9 MR. WHITE : This is 62 here .
A\
10 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
11 MR. WHITE : This is --
12 MR. GATHMAN: All right . So you were notified.
.. 13 Okay. Let' s see . What ' s your property? Oh, 14 here - -
4- 14 MR. WHITE : Down to 86 .
eN
15 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. 86 . Okay. So Section 31 .
I` 16 Okay. So -- that in here .
A.
17 MR. WHITE : I also own the property in Section
18 46 , 862 . So I already sold one option. And they say it' s
fiN 19 going to be someplace else, and pyet they want to reserve
20 the land someplace else . I'm confused. So I ' d understand
s, 21 if you are confused.
22 Say they need three -- a one-mile corridor. My
23 deal says the most easterly 300 feet of the southeast
24 quarter of Section 6 , Township 7, North Range 61 , West of
25 the 6th Principal Meridian. I would suggest that they
i,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/.
/,
114
1 obtain somebody that understands legal descriptions and go
2 over the whole thing, and make sure it' s correct, before
s,
r, 3 you approve it .
e. 4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Are there any questions
5 of Mr. White? Thanks , Bob.
6 MR. WHITE : You bet . Thank you.
�\ 7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Anyone else that wants to
., 8 provide - - you know, you' ve been trying to get up . Why
9 don' t you come on up . You' ve been up several times .
/,
10 MR. KROSS : My name is Burton Kross, K-R-O-S-S .
11 My address , 6933 Sedgwick Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado . I
12 submitted a letter on behalf of five landowners in the
13 Crow Creek vicinity to the county commissioners . I ' d like
O'N 14 to make sure that that' s referred to as part of the public
15 record.
16 We heard testimony from the Division of Wildlife
r
17 that continues to say that they feel that a buffer of
18 about a half mile from the Crow Creek critical habitat is
e", 19 still an important condition.
eN
e‘ 20 We also heard from Green Light a proposal today
00� 21 that they have expanded the corridor in this area by
22 approximately - - to approximately two miles . I 've been
23 assured verbally, but I ' d like it to be a part of the
24 public record, that the letter that I submitted to them
25 and also to the commissioners that identified three
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
,,N 115
1 possible corridors across our land would also be - - is
2 within that two-mile corridor .
�• 3 So fundamentally I 'm trying to make sure that as
AN 4 we pin down what you approved today, that that does
5 include allowing us, as landowners, to negotiate directly
6 with Green Light and their energy company, for a specific
�• 7 pathway across our property. That' s point number one .
ON
-, 8 Number two, I would like to ask that there be
9 clarification again put into the public record about the
On
10 ownership of the transmission line . I believe I understood
11 from this morning' s transmis- -- this morning' s hearing
12 that it will be Cedar Creek Wind Energy LLC .
13 My question is , and I ' d like in the public
14 record, is this entity a public utility registered in the
15 state of Colorado? If so, the documentation that proves
�` 16 that should be something as a part of this hearing.
e,
17 And that of course is relevant , as Commissioner
18 Gurley (phonetic) mentioned earlier, if it' s not a public
� , 19 utility, how will the operation and maintenance of this
20 transmission line be maintained in the future . I think
21 it ' s equally important to individual landowners who are
r
22 negotiating for easements across their property whether
eN
.• 23 Cedar Creek Wind Energy LLC has right of eminent domain.
24 And earlier I understood they did, because they
e•
25 were associated with Xcel Energy, and I ' d like to know
s'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
..'
ON
116
1 specifically whether that has changed because of the
2 ownership change .
frn. 3 Third point, just for information, I am an owner
e.
4 of some property that is under lease with this project , so
5 I 'm not opposed to the project verbatim, but I am
'"` 6 concerned about the specifics . Quite often, as you know,
7 the devil is in the detail , and the Crow Creek area is the
8 area specifically where there are some concerns about the
eN 9 critical habitat .
10 So with those questions, I would respectfully
11 ask that those questions be answered.
12 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Thank you very much. Are
/O. 13 there any questions? Thank you, sir. Would anyone else
14 wish to testify? If so, please come forth and give your
15 name and address for the record.
ON
16 MR. STROM: My name is Ken Strom. I live at
17 4225 Weld County Road 1 1/2 , Erie, Colorado . My job is
-. 18 Director of Bird Conservation for the Audubon Society in
19 Colorado, and I 'm a wildlife biologist who works on a
fro‘. 20 variety of conservation projects with - - around the state
'" 21 with ranchers, public utilities , private corporations , and
22 so on. And as I said, I 'm a Weld County resident . My
23 comments today are on behalf of both Audubon, Colorado and
24 myself .
e.
25 Make no mistake about it, we, Audubon and I ,
IN
'a.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
I1
I,
117
1 favor wind energy and are very happy to see a -- proposals
2 for developments that intend to bring wind energy to our
eN
I\ 3 state and to the people of our state . But the key issue
4 is how that energy is developed, how the facilities are
I\
I, 5 constructed.
I` 6 And we' ve been working for a number of years
7 with the National Wind Energy Association, and they agree
en.
I� 8 with us that the key to the future of wind energy is that
I\ 9 it' s done well . There have been black eyes for wind
eN
10 energy by not doing it well , by not planning adequately,
" 11 and running into conflicts with environmental laws .
12 So the whole point of the recommendations from
e. 13 the Division of Wildlife and others who are concerned
14 about wildlife and wildlife habitats , and natural
15 resources , is that doing it right on the front end,
or
I` 16 guarantees that wind energy has a good future, doesn' t get
17 locked into legal battles, becomes the kind of resource
ArN
• 18 that Weld County will be proud of, and be able to build a
19 future around.
20 As it turns out , Weld County is steward of some
• 21 critically important habitats, and that' s something that I
22 want to underline . You hear generally the talk today
• 23 about birds, and so on, but I want to give you some kind
e, 24 of context .
25 The short grass prairie here in Weld County
p,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
.,
^
118
1 is - - probably constitutes as good a complex of that
2 ecosystem that' s rapidly dwindling, as there is anywhere
3 on earth. And the raptors that nest on that escarpment
4 constitute as good a concentration of those kinds of birds
eN
5 nesting in this ecosystem as you can find.
6 We have rare and endangered species here, and
7 the entire complex has added up to a continental committee
8 of scientists that designate important bird areas around
9 the world, designating the Pawnee National Grasslands as a
/.
10 globally important bird area, one of only two, so far,
^ 11 designated in Colorado. What we are protecting here is
12 really something of worldwide significance .
13 And because of that, people come here . There
14 are tourists who come here, there is a growing wildlife
15 tourism industry. I work with ranchers on -- across the
16 eastern plains who are finding that they have a bright
17 future in diversifying their operations to include bird
18 watchers and wildlife enthusiasts . And Weld County needs
19 to be thinking about that kind of a future and holding
A,
20 onto those resources that sustain something that is
1.'‘ 21 growing rapidly now.
22 And again, to put a measure on it , wildlife
F-'
23 tourism - - wildlife watching and bird watching in Colorado
24 makes as big an economic contribution to this state as
e.
25 hunting and fishing do on the one hand, and as the ski
i,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ON
ON
119
1 industry does on the other. In Weld County, we don' t have
2 much of a ski industry, so the tourism potential of people
3 who come from other countries and from other states is
4 enormous .
5 The - - what it really comes down to today is
6 that the decision is a local one . You, our commissioners,
7 are the stewards of our resources on behalf of the people
8 who live here in Weld County. And for us, the essence of
9 local control comes down to you guiding development in
10 such a way that it' s assured that it won' t run afoul of
11 state and federal laws , that would end up bringing in
r.
12 enforcement and legal actions from outside the county
eN
13 that can be avoided simply by doing - - following the
14 recommendations that have been brought to you today.
eN
15 So from our point of view, the Division of
16 Wildlife recommendations are a minimum that should be
r�
17 followed and should guide you in your decision making, in
• 18 order to make sure that we don' t have people running afoul
19 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act , the Endangered Species
re,
20 Act and things like that .
• 21 For all of these reasons, after Amendment 37 was
22 passed, we worked with other interests in the state,
• 23 including, again, the wind industry to develop language
24 for the Public Utility Commission, which they modified and
25 adopted again this year, and includes wording that
n
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
120
1 requires that the developer of the wind energy facility
2 makes publicly available site specific avian and other
3 wildlife surveys conducted on the facility site, prior to
4 construction.
^ 5 While that information is of value, really, to
6 the decision making process, I hope that you get that
7 information in order to tell the people of Weld County the
8 basis for the decisions and restrictions that are placed
' ' 9 on a facility, or the guidelines on it , that the people of
10 this county ought to hear and the people of the state
�� 11 ought to know.
12 So our request, as a final thing, is that prior
13 to granting a permit, or as a part of granting the permit ,
14 that Green Light Energy make publicly available the
15 results of the surveys that they' ve been doing, so that
r"N
es, 16 the public and you can judge what needs to be done out
17 there, from the point of view of the environment ; that
FeN
18 they commit publicly to following the Division of Wildlife
19 recommendations .
20 This is a voluntary act on their part , and the
,1
21 letter that we received this morning does address some of
22 those concerns , and we' re very pleased that both Green
.- 23 Light Energy and Xcel Energy are committed to working
24 toward the best possible protection of wildlife out there .
25 But what I heard from the Division of Wildlife
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
s.
121
es.
1 is that there are still areas of disagreement, and in fact
^ 2 that letter addresses one out of ten recommendations ; that
r
ea 3 is to say, the siting recommendations . But it does not
4 address, in writing, the other issues about timing and
r-
�, 5 construction, and so on.
6 And I think what I heard the Division of
e.
7 Wildlife individual say is that there' s been verbal
i'eN
8 statements of agreement, and the people of Weld County
" 9 ought to see something in writing, or hear something from
10 you that says there' ll be a commitment to those things ,
11 rather than simply verbal statements that we don' t know
iN
12 about .
rte.
r. 13 And finally that as the Utility Commission
14 requires , that Green Light Energy certifies that they are
r.
15 using the results of the surveys for the siting and the
16 placement and design of the facility. That' s all that I
17 need to say. I ' m happy to answer any questions . Thank
0^
18 you very much.
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any questions? I did
20 have one . The surveys and the studies that you' re
21 referring to, why are they important to you? Or do you
22 have - - do you not have confidence in this - - in the
4.11/4
23 applicant that you think they might be doing something
., 24 that' s improper?
OIN 25 MR. STROM: No. But for the public to be able
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
'" 122
1 to make a -- I mean, it' s like when people are asked - -
.. 2 based on the letter this morning, do you agree with
.- 3 everything that' s said in there? We would depend on the
4 biologists who are experts on this to provide us with the
5 information that helps us judge the impact of these .
�• 6 And all -- and the studies and the surveys that
7 are done prior to construction are required because it' s
r-.
8 that information that has to guide decisions by the public
e.
9 on what - - what the impacts are, and decisions by the
10 people building the facility, and I would hope your
11 decisions .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : What - - what kind of studies
r�
rte. 13 are you talking about?
14 MR. STROM: Surveys on everything from the nest
15 counts , that we've heard some talk about , to the presence
f1 16 of other types of birds and wildlife in the area, to
r-�
17 vegetation surveys --
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So maybe you' re talking about
^ 19 the ecological side of it , the EDAW side?
20 MR. STROM: Yes, yes .
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Okay. Thank you.
22 Please give your name and address for the record.
•• 23 MR. JONES : Oh, yeah, you didn' t invite me up
24 here, did you?
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I was about ready to.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
.01
e.
123
1 MR. JONES : Okay. I' m Steve Jones . I live at
2 3543 Smuggler Way - -
,. 3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I didn' t get your name, I ' m
4 sorry.
5 MR. JONES : Steve Jones --
r, 6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you, sir .
7 MR. JONES : - - in Boulder . I 'm speaking now,
r, 8 really, on the raptor issues .
9 I 've spent 25 years studying cliff nesting
r.
10 raptors in Colorado . I wrote the raptor monitoring
11 protocols for the state park system. And I also helped the
12 City of Boulder, and Boulder County develop their nest
011
13 protection and monitoring protocols .
14 I ' m also interested in the prairie . I ' m author
15 of six books on the prairie, including the short-grass
16 prairie, which is mostly about the Pawnee, and the
17 Peterson Field Guide to the North American Prairie .
r"'
18 I' d really like just to address the first
19 recommendation of this letter, that was released just
20 today, which is the minimum of a 50-meter setback from the
21 rim edge, and just talk about my personal experience with
22 falcons and eagles .
- 23 First of all , a windmill that' s 50 meters from
24 the edge of a cliff , actually the blades would extend over
25 that cliff . Raptors use thermals along cliff edges to
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
124
1 gain elevation. And young raptors , after they leave the
2 next , typically will fly along the cliff , either
3 direction, and will catch a thermal and they' ll ride up
4 into that thermal . So I think anything that close would
e-
5 really represent a significant danger to young raptors .
6 Secondly, one of the consultants for the
7 applicant suggested "Well , that' s covered because of the
e-
8 800 meter setback from nests , from active and historic
9 nests . " One problem with that is we don' t know where the
10 historic nests are, always .
„\
11 We had a case in Boulder recently where we had a
/\ 12 Golden Eagle nest that we' d been monitoring for 25 years .
.‘ 13 And one year, the eagles didn' t nest there; they
14 disappeared, and the nest monitors thought they had died.
15 Well , later in the season, someone found them on
16 a cliff that was about half mile to the south. Well , we
e, 17 went back and did some research, and we found that that
18 nest that was a half mile to the south had been documented
19 in 1885 by a naturalist named Dennis Gayle, and we didn' t
20 know about it .
21 There are limited nest sites along these cliffs ,
22 because - - especially for Falcons , it has to be just the
23 right ledge, just the right aspect , just the right place .
24 But only the Falcons and the Eagles know where they are;
25 we don' t .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
125
1 So you could build a windmill 50 meters from a
2 clifftop thinking that it wasn' t a historic nest site, and
3 then birds could nest there a few years later, and young
4 birds could fly up into those propellers .
5 So I would really recommend that you consider
r-
e- 6 adopting the Division of Wildlife' s recent recommendation.
7 I know they recent - - they came in originally with a
8 quarter of a mile but recently they said they' d be
9 satisfied with 200 meters . As I understand, that only
r-\
10 affects 14 turbines, and I understand there' s verbal
11 agreements between the division and the applicant on most
eN
12 of those turbines already.
e.
13 I think by doing that, you' re going to create a
14 win-win situation, where we' re all working on wind power,
15 we' re also heeding the Division of Wildlife recommendation
16 so if something goes wrong, we have at least followed
Al.
17 those recommendations .
ArN
▪ 18 Now, if we ignore that one recommendation and
'^ 19 build these turbines next to the cliff, and someone goes
20 out there and picks up 20 Golden Eagles that are dead, or
• 21 ten Golden Eagles, that' s going to be on the front page
22 of the New York Times . It' s going to give wind energy a
23 really bad name, and I 'm - - I think it will set the whole
'� 24 project back.
25 So that ' s just my one recommendation that if you
,1
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
126
1 could include adherence to at least that one Division of
2 Wildlife recommendation in the permit process, then I
^ 3 think we' re all covered and we can see how this goes .
4 It seems to me if we just proceed with caution
5 here and see how the birds react in the beginning, maybe
6 later on we will be able to place some turbines closer to
r
7 the cliffs . Thank you very much.
r 8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you. Are there any
0-` 9 questions of Mr . Jones? Thank you, sir .
10 If there' s anyone else wishes - - please come
11 forth and give your name and address for the record, and
12 then any testimony you' d like to provide .
r, 13 MS . HAHN: I 'm Sharon Hahn from 52701 WCR 124 ,
eN 14 and my husband' s family has lived out in the Grover area
15 since 1916 , so they can very well verify that it' s a
e,
16 country that there' s lots of wind. We live -- we' re 20
17 miles from - - or eight miles from the Wyoming border, and
18 you know what Wyoming - - it' s a state that blows .
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Now, watch it . I 'm a native of
20 Wyoming.
21 MS . HAHN: So am I .
e^ 22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : ust kidding .
0-‘
23 MS . HAHN: But anyway, you made the comment
24 earlier that "What if the wind stops?" And I thought to
25 myself , there' s no danger --
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
1
e,
127
1 [Background comments - - inaudible . ]
2 MS . HAHN: -- there' s very few days that it
3 doesn' t blow.
4 Wind is unlimited energy; it is free . It is a
5 good alternative to the rising fossil fuel costs . Unlike
6 many fossil fuel power plants, wind farms do not require
7 the water for cooling, which is an important benefit to
8 our drought-stricken area, up in that area.
9 The Cedar Creek Wind Farm will give a much
0.\ 10 needed boost to the drought stricken economy of our
11 eastern Colorado plains . The wind farm will generate both
12 revenue and electricity while keeping the energy dollars ,
e.
e. 13 and not polluting the air and water.
14 It decreases revenue on the fossil fuels ,
eN 15 creates less dependency on foreign oil . It extends the
16 supply of petroleum fuels for our future generations .
0, 17 The desire for cleaner, healthier air has
18 increased the demand for wind as a renewable farmed
01 19 resource for generating electricity. This wind farm will
20 help Weld County, the front range of Colorado, the whole
1- 21 state of Colorado by producing electricity.
`^ 22 We know with all the housing development in
F1
23 Colorado at some time in the future there will be a
24 shortage of electricity if we do not include the wind
25 farms . The construction of wind farms will bring
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
a'
128
OWN
1 employment to many during and after the construction.
.. 2 There will be economic benefits for the area
3 landowners , dollars to the businesses of the area for
4 services and products that they will need, the schools
p 5 will benefit from the taxes and the increase of students .
6 The wind is not being used for anything in our
7 area but pumping water, so let' s let Green Light Energy
8 develop the Cedar Creek Wind Farm and pump clean, clear
IPIN
9 energy power for Colorado.
e. 10 Green Light Energy has been a top company to
'. 11 work with from day one . They have kept us updated as to
Ann
12 the progress since they started and I ' m sure they will
13 continue in the future . Thank you for giving me time .
�� 14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : If I might ask you - - Chris ,
r.
,. 15 could you bring her the pointer, or ask -- could you point
'1 16 out up here where you' re --
,I1
17 MS . HAHN: Where -- where I live?
[1
,� 18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yeah. Put on that other
19 exhibit , if you wouldn' t mind, with a --
,-, 20 MS . HAHN: Okay. I 'm on 124 - -
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- which shows the whole area .
22 MS . HAHN: Okay. I' m -- where to put it . 24 .
alak
.. 23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Would you point out your --
24 where you live?
,-. 25 MS . HAHN: Where we live? It' s on 124 .
6
n
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-0
r--,
e.
e. 129
1 MALE VOICE : (Speaking away from microphone . )
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
r•
.• 3 MS . HAHN: Right in that area .
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Thank you very much. Are
^
,,� 5 there any questions? Thank you.
6 MS . HAHN: Thank you.
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is there anyone else that
8 wishes to address the board this morning? If you' d please
9 come forth and - - I think there' s a gentleman that just
,,, 10 stood up behind you very quick, but if you - - could you be
'' 11 next , then? Okay. If you' d please give your name and
12 address for the record?
13 MR. OSOSKY: My name is Matthew Ososky. I' m the
14 Grover mayor. My address is 225 Chatoga Avenue, Grover,
15 Colorado .
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Welcome, mayor . Thank you for
17 joining us today.
18 MR. OSOSKY: Good afternoon. I have a couple
19 comments I ' d like to make about what I know so far, and
20 things that I ' ve heard. I would say that Grover' s
21 attitude toward the project is overwhelmingly in support
r.
22 of it .
23 We would like to see this development come up
24 here . We feel that it' s a very compatible project for the
25 area that we' re going into .
eN
IoN
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
130
1 The area in and about Grover is very limited,
2 and what it probably will ever become - - we have an
3 agricultural base out there, but it' ll always be limited
4 by the lack of water we have out -- there' s very little
5 surface water in the area .
^
^ 6 So we see this as a development where people
7 want to come in and build infrastructure that' s not going
�. 8 to be taking anything away from the community as a very
9 positive development .
10 I would like to speak specifically about the
11 concerns I 've heard about the wildlife in the area . You
e-
12 heard the member of the Audubon Society come up with
13 concerns about how this might affect .
14 I would like to say, as an avid hiker in the
e-
15 area, I also appreciate the great space that we have out
16 there . It truly is unique, as far as one of the areas
17 I ' ve seen in Colorado.
18 If you guys are not familiar, to give you an
' 19 idea of the area up there, the escarpment extends
r.
20 basically from Pine Bluffs about 20 miles due south
"• 21 around the Keota area. And there is escarpment like
e.
22 terrain basically proceeding east for a number of miles,
r^.
23 and more escarpment terrain that' s to the northwest , over
eN 24 the Wyoming border.
25 I can' t see this few miles of the escarpment
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY HOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r•
^
131
1 that they' re taking over going to have a large impact on
2 the raptor population up there . There is such a wide
3 range of territory that these birds can cover the
e, 4 distances .
n
5 We have basically a thousand square miles of
6 undeveloped territory up there . And much of it is like
7 the escarpment terrain that they' re going to build on.
8 Again, I would like to refute the notion that
9 the wildlife tourism industry having a significant impact
10 on the communities up in this area. The wildlife tourism
11 in this area cannot be measured in the terms that you
12 would have as an Aspen or an Estes Park. There is no
Ala 13 comparison. We simply do not get the number of visitors
^ 14 and the amount of commerce - -
r-
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Excuse me, Mayor . I need to
16 ask that you shut off that cell phone . I do appreciate
17 your cooperation. Thank you. Excuse me, Mr . Mayor .
18 MR. OSOSKY : We don' t -- we simply do not get
19 anywhere near the amount of commerce that is generated in
20 other parts of the state, due to wildlife tourism. And I ,
21 you know, I boldly would say that if all wildlife in the
22 area were simply gone or moved away, that the economic
23 impact on the people in Grover and the surrounding
24 communities of the grassland like New Raymer, Riggsdale
25 and Nunn, the impact would be minimal . There just is not
eiN
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
132
rk
1 the commerce generated around the wildlife that there is
2 in other parts of the state . I really would like to make
r. 3 that clear .
4 I frequent the, you know, the Pawnee Buttes a
5 lot, I would say. There is just not a lot of people out
6 there . There is not the tourism.
7 And I can' t say that I am fearful for the
8 raptors , as far as the danger posed to them by the wind
9 turbines . I 've seen one of these large raptor birds
10 sitting in the middle of the road, with my car barreling
11 down it at 60 to 70 miles an hour, take off within a half
12 a second, straight up, and dodge my car. And I feel that
r-
r- 13 the raptors are intelligent enough and swift enough to be
14 mindful of the wind turbines .
e-
15 Green Light Energy has been so proactive in
16 their approach to dealing with the nesting sites, and
17 where they' re placing their turbines that I would gladly
18 see them have a freer hand, not a more restrictive hand,
19 on where they' re going to place their wind turbines .
20 I hold no fear for the raptors as far as where
21 they' re putting those turbines , and how it will affect
22 their populations . Again, I would just say that the area
23 up there is so large, I can' t imagine that whatever they
24 would do would have a significant effect on those raptors .
25 I believe that ' s all I have to say.
00\
..
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
I\
/1
133
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Are there any ques- - -
2 Commissioner Vaad.
3 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Thank you for coming, Mr.
4 Mayor . I appreciate your comments , and I don' t work that
5 quickly in figures, but given that -- we' re told that this
6 is 31 , 000 acres, I think --
7 MR. OSOSKY: Mm-hmm.
8 COMMISSIONER VAAD : - - and that only 118 acres,
9 I believe is involved with the turbine area proximity.
10 And then you mentioned an area that goes 20
11 miles south of Pine Bluff , and it extends somewhere
^ 12 northwest . And you mentioned thousands of miles , I think
13 it was you said.
14 MR. OSOSKY : I would say that there is
15 approximately a thousand square miles centered on the
16 grassland area that is completely undeveloped in nature .
17 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Okay. So the percentage of
'a.
18 the area we' re talking about doesn' t reach to one digit ,
19 yet, does it?
20 MR. OSOSKY: I would say that it' s minuscule . I
.-,
r. 21 would say that there is some prominence of the nature of
22 the escarpment in that area, but there is a large amount
r, 23 of escarpment-like terrain surrounding this entire
24 thousand square miles .
25 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Thank you.
e\
AIN
L-MAC R & T 303 .798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
134
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any -- any other
2 questions of Mayor Ososky? Mr . Mayor, thank you - -
^
,-, 3 MR. OSOSKY : Thank you.
00.
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - very much for coming down
5 today. Is there anyone else? Please come forth and give
6 your name and address for the record. And thanks for your
^
7 patience today.
8 MS . REETZ : My name is Polly Reetz . I live at
9 470 Clayton Street , and that' s in Denver, Colorado . 80206
10 is the zip.
11 I ' m here because I'm active with the Audubon
12 Society of Greater Denver, which is the local chapter down
13 in Denver . And our chapter has a long history of activity
14 and interest on the Pawnee Grasslands .
15 One of our founders collected the first
0.
16 information on Mountain Plover that was ever used for any
17 kind of a study. Lois Webster was her name . She spent a
/\ 18 lot of time up here .
19 And partly due to her, we initiated for 17 years
AnN 20 a week-long seminar out on the Pawnee, and the base was at
21 Crow Valley campground. And we had people out there for a
22 week looking at the ecology and geology and human history
23 of the area; not just specifically the public land but
24 also the private land. So we were out there . We had 35 to
25 40 people out there every summer for 17 years .
PN
r-,
L-MAC R & T 303 .798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r1
AdoN
^ 135
1 Our chapter still runs field trips up to the
2 Pawnee . We run, usually twice a year in the springtime
3 about 30 people each time . So we send 60 people up there .
4 And then there are the people who call us and
5 say, "Where is a good place to bird?" and we say, "You
6 should go up to the Pawnee, because there are birds up
7 there that don' t occur anywhere else . "
8 And I wanted to read to you this one paragraph
9 that' s very short from Peter Dunn' s book. It' s called The
10 Feather Ouest . And in this book, he describes about 25
11 top birding spots in the country, and the Pawnee is one
4-
12 of them.
r•,
,-, 13 He says here : "When we had planned our travels ,
r.
14 we had allocated ten days for Colorado; five to be spent
15 in the grasslands and five in the Rocky Mountains . The
16 fact of it was that we spent nine days in the grasslands
17 and one day in the Rocky Mountains . " If this does not
18 attest to the magic of the high plains, I can' t imagine
eN 19 what does .
20 So I just wanted to read that to you because
0. 21 people do come out here from not just other parts of this
22 country but other parts of the world. It' s a world
23 renowned birding area and it' s -- that' s why I think - -
.•-, 24 we' re not against the development , but we want to see it
r%
25 done really carefully, because you have such a great
/�
r,
L-MAC R & T 303.796.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r1
r
136
1 resource here .
2 And we want to see it integrated -- see the wind
3 energy project integrated into the resource, rather than
4 just kind of bashing across the landscape, which they' re
5 not doing, really, but - - anyway, that' s our concern.
6 And for that reason, we fully support the
7 recommendations of the Division of Wildlife and would even
8 suggest that they be incorporated into the permit that you
9 give them.
^ 10 I have one exception which was something that
11 immediately sprang to my mind when I saw this .
12 Ferruginous hawks which nest along the escarpment are
�. 13 extremely sensitive to human presence . They' re unusually
14 so. Red-tailed hawks, no. Swainson' s -- Swainson' s hardly
15 care if you' re there or not , but ferruginous will fly off
16 the nest when you get fairly -- when you get close . They
17 don' t like human disturbance .
18 Therefore, our recommendation would be that the
19 same buffer be applied to their nests as applied to Golden
r 20 Eagles and to prairie falcons .
21 Other than that , we - - I just want to say that
22 we do support the Division of Wildlife specifically.
23 Some of their points I think are really important .
24 The protection of the Chalk Bluffs natural area,
25 the monitoring that should go on after the project starts ,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
0.
0.
137
1 and through the life of the project . That' s one of their
.. 2 recommendations and we certainly agree with that . And we
e,
.. 3 agree with them fully. There are ten items that they list
4 in their letter, and we support all of them.
5 So I know that coming up here from Denver,
6 people will think that we have some kind of arrogance, but
7 we do come up here frequently. And we love the area, too .
0. 8 It' s a beautiful area .
'' 9 And one last point , the view shed in the area of
e.
10 the Pawnee Buttes is really something unique . And we' d
11 like to see it at least partially protected, so that you
12 can still get those sweeping views of just the land and
13 sky. That' s also another very important resource that you
r. 14 have, and it' s up to you to protect it . Thank you.
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , we do appreciate you
ea,
16 coming up to our beautiful county from Denver .
es` 17 MS . REETZ : Okay. Thank you . Any questions?
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any questions by any
19 members of the board? Thank you very much.
20 Is there anyone else in the audience that wishes
•ON 21 to testify? If you' d please come forth and give your name
22 and address for the record.
..
/. 23 MS . STURROCK: Diana Sturrock, 5001 Weld County
24 Road 122 , Grover, Colorado . I am by trade a Spanish
r.
25 teacher, and I never thought I ' d be up here testifying
0.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
138•-•
1 for nature .
2 If you' d be so kind as to go to the third to the
^
3 last page from the book that my husband gave you while I
4 read this? "When the last individual of a race of living
5 things breathes no more, another heaven and earth must
�„
6 pass before we can -- before one -- before such a one can
7 be again. "
8 How can we stand here and judge what those
r• 9 birds , how they' re going to disappear? We have to respect
10 the birds , we have to respect their environment , and that
11 is our obligation as stewards of the land, to take care of
12 those birds .
13 We are not stating that we don' t want that wind
14 farm. We are not -- as somebody that lives from the land,
r-
15 you have to respect the land. And if you respect the
16 land, then you respect that wind power could help .
17 But all we' re asking for is that those birds are
18 not going to disappear from the face of this earth,
19 because we can' t bring 'em back once they' re gone . Thank
20 you.
r, 21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you very much. Are there
22 any questions by any member of the board? Is there anyone
r,
r. 23 else in the audience that wishes to provide testimony
24 today concerning this case?
r,
25 Let the record show that there is not , and we
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ON
°' 139
ON
1 will close the public portion of this case .
2 I will invite the applicant to come back for - -
r
.. 3 back before us and provide any closing statements that you
"" 4 might have . There might also be some questions from
5 members of the board.
0. 6 MR. STONER : Sure .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So if you' d please go ahead.
8 You've heard the testimony. Maybe you could start dealing
0.
9 with some of the questions and concerns that came up .
10 MR. STONER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the
ow
11 interest of time, I will not try to respond, point by
12 point , to all the testimony raised. I will touch on a
13 couple and instead then rely on the commissioners
14 discretion to respond to questions that you may have based
r,
15 on the testimony provided.
16 A couple that I would respond to. Mr. Nebb of
0-‘
17 the Bijou Irrigation District, as we stated earlier in, I
18 think, my testimony. We are now aware of their concerns,
0,
19 and clearly we will work with them to ensure that we have
/.
20 adequate clearances for their ongoing maintenance
f. 21 activities there . We, of all people, are not interested
0% 22 in developing and building a line that would create a
0% 23 liability for ourselves .
24 So we have no problem with the condition as
fiN
25 stated in the - - in the application -- were not in the
0%
/.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
.
i
0.
/.
140
1 application and staff recommendations that we' re required
2 to obtain their consent , and satisfy their concerns in
3 that regard.
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : As a matter of record, do you
5 think we ought to establish that as a condition of
^ 6 approval to ensure that they' re --
.. 7 MR. STONER: I don' t think it' s required,
,.. 8 because we will do that .
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So we' ll just make sure - - it' s
10 on record, it' s on tape, so you' re -- that you will go
11 ahead and work with them --
12 MR. STONER: Correct .
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- in dealing with their
0-, 14 issues?
15 MR. STONER: Secondly, to respond to Mr . and
16 Mrs . Sturrock' s comments, two very brief points : one,
r.
17 just that it ' s our understanding that the Division of
,.\ 18 Wildlife is comfortable with turbine locations that we
19 have proposed on their property, number one ; and number
20 two, we' ve heard their concerns and we will continue to
ON 21 try to work with them to resolve issues that they - - they
22 may have .
r�
23 With respect to Mr. Kross, and the landowners
24 that he' s representing up in the Crow Creek alignment , he
r.
25 has three specific questions . The first one was just to
e.
F1
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
e-
141
1 confirm the alignments and the map is actually - - let me
2 see if I can - - the alignments in this area. I don' t have
3 the pointer, excuse me?
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Would you please give him a
5 pointer? We like to use pointers up here because it - -
r.
^ 6 MR. GATHMAN: Yes .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- makes us feel technologically
8 competent .
9 MR. STONER : Yeah. That the alignment in this
10 area, as you can see, is a shaded area, and on the map
11 that I provided -- this is staff ' s map - - we are actively
12 working on alignments to the east of Crow Creek there . So
13 yes, just to confirm that that alignment is an alternate
14 alignment, that we' re attempting to negotiate with
15 landowners and seeking approval for both of those
16 alignments . This one and another one that I had showed
17 one section to the east .
18 Number two, he asked whether Cedar Creek Wind
19 and Energy is a public utility or not . No, we' re not a
20 public utility. We will be FERK (phonetic) regulated as
21 an exempt wholesale generator but we are not regulated as
22 a public utility under Colorado.
23 The third question he asked about our -- whether
24 we do or do not have the power of eminent domain with
25 respect to the transmission line, we do have the power of
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY 80CC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
..
142
1 eminent domain. I will say, though, it is our strong
2 desire not to have to exercise that, as can be shown by,
3 again, the multiple additional alignments .
4 I talked about the additional alignment here,
5 the additional alignment here, that we' re trying to work
6 cooperatively with landowners to avoid that .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Could you maybe expand a little
8 bit upon the power or the regulation of statutes that
9 actually give you that power of eminent domain, since
10 you' re not a public utility?
11 MR. STONER: I 'm not prepared today to quote
12 chapter and verse of statutes, but it - - we've done
13 significant research in this area, and it is our
^ 14 understanding that - -
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is it by a statute, or where
16 does it come from?
17 MR . STONER: It' s by statute that since we' re
^
18 engaging in activities of building transmission lines --
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : For public utilities?
•
20 MR. STONER: Correct . That we do therefore have
21 power of eminent domain. There' s a lot of case law out
22 there .
^
23 Similarly, with respect to other companies that
24 are private entities building gas lines , for example,
25 those entities similar - - similarly have the power of
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
001
143
^ 1 eminent domain. I can' t quote you the statute, though.
2 And I guess in closing, I would just like to
3 thank, once again, the commissioner' s staff , and frankly
4 everyone who' s provided comment on behalf of our
5 application. Thank you.
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Vaad.
7 COMMISSIONER VAAD : I had three questions , maybe
8 two for you. The alignment options , ` cause we had a
9 couple questions from people in the audience who had
10 questions about the alignment options in this way. How
11 long before you make a final decision? I mean, it' s not
12 options . Now we know where it' s going to be, so that the
r. 13 rest of the unanswered questions go away, because the
14 alignment isn' t there .
ow-
15 MR. STONER : Again, the -- the decision before
16 the board, we've asked for permitting a specific corridor,
17 and the alignment that we've shown -- and again, I need to
18 go back to my presentation, if you would like me to refer
19 to a map, but conceptually, we've asked the board to
20 permit alignments in a corridor around that to give us
21 some flexibility.
22 We anticipate over the next 60 days, hopefully,
23 to finalize all landowner negotiations , so that then
24 there' s a final alignment shown and I think we' re required
rN
25 in our plat, as one of the special conditions, to come in
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
P
144
1 and show that final alignment to the Planning Staff, under
r. 2 the terms of our permit .
3 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Okay. So then if we approve
4 a corridor and then you say in 60 days , or some time,
ess
5 you' ll have an alignment , it doesn' t say that within that
0.
6 corridor in subsequent you might decide, "Well , we' ll put
r.
7 in some more facility and take up more of that corridor?"
8 MR. STONER: No . Our absolute intention is to
" 9 build a single transmission line within the corridor that
10 we've requested.
0,
11 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Okay. And then somewhere in
12 the presentation, or maybe thinking about this - - I
13 thought I heard it -- but it' s important to place the
" 14 turbines where you get the most wind effect . And so if
15 you move back from the escarpment for good and sound
16 reasons, is there a proportionate reduction in the
17 efficiency of catching the wind and generating
0-
18 electricity, or --
r 19 MR. STONER: That' s exactly correct , and that' s
20 what a lot of this frankly debate is about is the wind
r-, 21 resource is typically better in the northwestern part of
22 the site, closer to the escarpment . We' re sensitive to
23 the raptor and the bird issue and so it' s a balancing
24 effect of -- of our desire to have turbines sited closer
25 to the edge of the escarpment for maximum efficiency and
0
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
145
1 capture of wind energy, but at the same time, you know,
2 being sensitive to risk to wildlife, which in several
ION
.w. 3 locations , many locations, have caused us to either
4 eliminate turbine locations completely or move them back
5 off the edge of the escarpment .
^ 6 COMMISSIONER VAAD : If I may continue, I guess
7 my question is , how steep is that curve in loss of
8 efficiency, like 50 feet you lose 50 percent of the
9 efficiency, or --
r 10 MR. STONER: It' s nowhere near that steep . I
11 don' t know that I can quote specific percentages . It' s so
12 site specific dependent on each turbine location.
13 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Okay. And then if I may,
14 Mr . Chairman, ask --
rN
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Vaad.
16 COMMISSIONER VAAD : - - I know since eminent
17 domain has come up, I ' d like to direct a question to
eN 18 counsel .
19 Who decides in the matter of fair market
20 value - - this is under an eminent domain or condemnation
/\
Ons 21 scenario - - who decides in the matter of the fair market
22 value of the property taken and also the value of any of
fiN
e. 23 the -- diminishing it at a value of the remainder of the
24 property?
25 MR. BARKER : Sure . It really comes down to a
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY 80CC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
q
/,
eN
omik
eiN
146
1 question first of a letter or an offer from the company. I
2 can tell you what our experience is , as a government , and
3 I think their experience would be roughly the same, ` cause
^ 4 the process would be similar.
r- 5 If the offer is not accepted, which includes a
6 fair market value and then any diminution of value to the
7 remainder of the property, any damages that could occur
8 that would not be covered by the value of the property, if
9 that' s not accepted by the landowner, then the company or
10 the government might, in our case, has the ability to go
11 ahead and bring an action in eminent domain.
12 In that instance, for the county there is a
13 process by which we go through where there are some jurors
14 that are - - actually, they' re called "commissioners . "
15 They' re hired by the court to go ahead and establish a
16 land value .
#P. 17 I think for a private company, they use roughly
., 18 the same process . So it really comes down to who makes
19 the decision, and it' s either going to be a group of
20 individuals who are appointed by the court to make that
21 decision, and then recommend that to the court , or the
r'
22 court itself makes that decision.
r'
,N 23 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Okay. Then - - Thank you,
24 Mr . Chairman. That was partly rhetorical .
25 The point is that the applicant doesn' t make
r-'
r.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
i.
eft
147
1 that decision if it goes to condemnation; the court makes
e-
2 that decision aside from that . Everybody presents their
e,
3 case, and the effort is always to get the fair market
i^ 4 value or the fair return to the property owner, which we
,, 5 all feel very strongly about . So thank you.
r' 6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Masden.
7 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
8 I guess one question I have is , is this the first
's 9 transmission line you guys have built .
10 MR. STONER: No . For other wind projects we
11 have developed, we have -- you know, typically have an
12 associated interconnection line with the wind farm, ` cause
13 typically there' s not transmission - - you know the
14 customer' s transmission is typically not located
15 immediately adjacent to the wind farm.
16 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Okay. I was just curious
17 what your, I guess, safety record and working with DOW and
e.
18 the Audubon Society and everything has been in the past .
19 MR. STONER : Again, I guess - - I guess both in
e.
20 the past and prior developments that we' ve been involved
e\
21 with, as with this one, I don' t know that I can quote a
22 safety record, specifically, other than I think it ' s our
eN
�♦ 23 approach to try to work as cooperatively as we can, as we
24 believe we have here, frankly, and intend to continue to .
25 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: And, you know, I think
/♦
i.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ft'♦
148
1 that the - - you know, with everything that ' s been talked
2 about today, there' s been a lot of good discussion on that
3 from the standpoint of the audience, and then the people
4 who live up there and own property, and from yourself ,
5 to try and mitigate as much - - problems, I guess, or
6 perceived problems from everybody. And I feel you' re
es
7 doing a good job on that .
r
es 8 And that ' s why I was curious too, about -- with
9 the conditions up there, and saying some of the -- moving
10 some of the wind turbines, be willing to do that, and work
11 with that on what the DOW has, you know, provided to us .
12 MR. STONER: Again, I feel like the letter that
es,
r, 13 we entered into record earlier today, I think, evidences
14 what we' ve done in terms of moving turbines , I think it
15 evidences the setbacks that we' ve agreed to in terms of
16 any of our final site arrangements of setbacks that we' ve
17 agreed that we will not go into .
18 So I think, yes , we feel like we' re largely
19 there, in terms of those efforts, but of course we' ll
rN
20 continue to comply with those setbacks as we finalize our
r.
21 site design.
eN 22 I guess - - if I may, Mr . Chairman, the one issue
23 that I did want to make in closing is I wanted to - - given
24 there was so much focus on avian issues , we do have one of
/.
25 our consultants here who is going to make a few short
el
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
/''
149
1 remarks with respect to the avian work that we have done
2 so far, and intend to do in the future . So if I may - -
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , what I would like to do
4 is to finish the questions, and then we can bring your
5 consultant up - -
6 MR. STONER : Thank you.
^
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- if that' s your choice .
8 MR. STONER: Thank you.
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Any other questions --
10 Commissioner Long.
11 COMMISSIONER LONG: Thank you, Mr . Chairman.
12 Mr . Stoner -- Mr. White had some -- was testifying about
• 13 some confusion, I think, on Green Light' s part in regards
14 to -- or where some clarification might be needed in
15 regard to corridor and exercising potential extra corridor
16 outside of a mile, or something. Can you clarify that for
17 everybody?
• 18 MR. STONER: To be honest, I 'm not exactly sure
19 of specifically what Mr. White' s concern is . I guess Mr .
20 White has entered into an option agreement for an
r, 21 alignment .
22 I believe the source of his -- of the confusion
• 23 may be that when - - we are now working on some alternate
24 alignments up here, there were some notices that were sent
25 out about those alignments, and so I think there may be
p.'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
150
IN 1 some confusion over -- he signed an option for one
2 alignment , and now there's a notice for another alignment .
3 I guess all I can say is, you know, obviously,
4 he' s someone who signed an option with us for an alignment
5 and we' ll work with him to try to understand and then
6 resolve those issues . I don' t fully understand the
r
7 concern.
r
8 COMMISSIONER LONG: I ' d be curious to listen to
9 the expert when we get to that . I may have some questions
10 there . Thank you.
11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yeah. Just a couple questions ,
12 maybe, to carry on from Commissioner Vaad. You purchase
13 your right-of-way in fee simple, right?
14 MR. STONER : Correct .
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And what are you purchasing;
,r.
16 150 feet?
17 MR. STONER : Yes .
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I 'm sorry?
19 MR. STONER: Yes .
20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : 150 feet . Whatever it is , once
21 you purchase that, then the rest of the corridor goes
�� 22 away, and it no longer applies . You purchase your 150
23 feet, and that ' s what you want, that' s what you end up
24 with, and that' s what you build your line in.
25 MR. STONER: Correct . We end up with a
�•
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
151
1 permanent easement of - -
r.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. All the corridor is --
3 MR. STONER: -- 150 feet .
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- is to give you the
5 flexibility of where to put that line, but when you get
6 down to the brass tacks, it' s a matter of purchasing that
7 land in fee simple, based upon fair market value . So you
., 8 own that land that the cor- - - that the - - that 100 feet ,
9 150 feet that that line is built in, you own that land?
10 MR. STONER: Let me make a clarification. We
11 are purchasing an easement for construction --
r
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
13 MR. STONER : -- of the transmission line .
14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That' s a little different .
15 MR. STONER: We' re not purchasing fee simple - -
16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
17 MR. STONER: -- the land. We' re purchasing
.N 18 easement rights to --
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Let' s move back to the
20 easement . The people who own the land -- but still the
"" 21 corridor goes away?
es.
22 MR. STONER: The wider corridor, yes . We' ll
.\ 23 end up with - -
e.
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yeah. I mean, all you do is
25 end up with that 150 feet - -
0.•%, L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
PK
152
' 1 MR . STONER : -- the 150 foot - -
e-
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- and you usually make an
3 arrangement with those landowners, they can continue to
4 use that land.
5 MR. STONER: Correct .
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : There' s nothing to prevent them
7 from continuing to farm, ranch -- whatever they might be
8 doing within that land.
9 MR. STONER: Correct .
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The other question I had would
11 be in reference to the Department of Energy - - Department
12 of Energy, now you got me doing it -- Department of
r, 13 Wildlife letter.
14 The 50 foot setback on that first bullet that' s
r'
r, 15 brought out by the Department of Wildlife, Division of
16 Wildlife, that 50-foot setback, and I 've heard some
17 numbers clear up to 200 meters .
r, 18 Is there -- is there an ability to -- for you
19 and the Division of Wildlife to come to an agreement in
20 that area, and then to carry that a little bit further
21 with these bluffs, the setbacks from the bluffs that we' ve
22 heard a lot about, is there -- is there - - do you really
23 feel confident you can come to an agreement? Is the way
e\ 24 you put your facilities , or how they' re structured, or - -
r.
/. 25 MR. STONER: I think we feel we are largely in
r.
'.
r. L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
153
1 agreement with our location of the turbines with the
2 Division of Wildlife .
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
4 MR. STONER : Specific to your question about the
5 50 feet, again I would defer to our avian consultant --
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
7 MR. STONER: - - who I was hoping could speak and
8 may shed some light on that issue .
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , then -- let me ask you
10 the last question, and then you can bring him up. And
11 that has to do with the studies?
12 MR. STONER: Yes .
13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The studies that you' ve done,
14 mainly the ecological , and I don' t know who your
15 consultant is , EDAW or somebody, but there was a request
16 that those studies be made public?
' 17 MR. STONER: I think, largely we have no issue
18 with sharing our wildlife studies on the project , with the
fre' 19 exception we are aware, and I think the Division of
.10
O'N 20 Wildlife would share this concern, of not publishing
21 specific maps and locations of certain species nests - -
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : For the protection of the
23 species?
/\
24 MR. STONER: -- sensitive species , as a
25 protection measure .
eN
.,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ow
154
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
2 MR . STONER: I think in terms of sharing
3 information --
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : But if you had a request from
5 the Audubon Society, or someone, you would make those
6 studies available?
7 MR. STONER: Absolutely. Again, subject to
8 honoring the Division of Wildlife' s confidentiality as a
^` 9 protective measure .
e
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : That answers my question. Did
11 you want to bring your -- you know, if we could, this
12 is -- anybody need about a five minute break or is
r,
13 everybody okay? Esther, could you use five minutes? All
r.
14 right . So we' ll just - - one thing we've got to do is make
r.
15 sure everybody is happy, so we' re going to take a five
16 minute break. We' ll be right back.
r.
17 MR. STONER: Thank you.
r.
18 [Break taken. ]
el 19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We' ll reconvene the Board of
r.
20 County Commissioners and continue the hearing. Let the
21 record show that four commissioners are in attendance,
22 with Commissioner Jerke excused.
r,
23 If we could go back to the applicant , you had a
e.
24 witness you wanted to provide testimony, and perhaps
25 answer questions . If you could please give your name and
e,
r,
i,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
155
1 address for the record, please .
2 MR. GOOD : Certainly. My name is Rhett Good,
3 and I work for Western Ecosystems at 2003 Central Avenue,
^ 4 Cheyenne, Wyoming.
5 And I thought today I ' d give you a little bit of
6 background about where we started and where we' re at now
7 with this -- the wildlife in this project . Green Light
8 brought us in to help design a wildlife study and to help
9 site turbines away from high risk areas .
10 Our first move when we were brought into this
11 project was to call up Troy in the Division of Wildlife to
0.4
12 get them involved early on, and we've had several meetings
13 as you've heard today. Several turbines have been moved
14 based on their recommendations , and all the survey
15 protocols follow the Colorado Division of Wildlife
16 suggestions .
17 So a number of surveys have been done for this
e. 18 project, including surveys for raptor nests, sharp-tailed
19 grouse, mountain plover, swift fox, bats, amphibians,
reN 20 reptiles , breeding songbirds and habitat mapping.
^ 21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Vaad.
22 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Yes . You talked about the
23 raptor nests up there, and it was inferred that sometimes
24 weather, something, the raptor nest wasn' t there . Is there
25 something you look for to determine whether there probably
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
IN
0.
eN
156
1 was a raptor nest here at one time, or --
2 MR. GOOD : We can' t guess where a raptor is
3 going to nest next year .
4 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Okay.
5 MR . GOOD : There' s a lot of habitat out there,
6 but what we did do was identify inactive nest structures,
7 which are, you know, stick nests that didn' t have birds in
8 them. So those were identified and protected as well .
9 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Thank you.
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Go ahead.
11 MR. GOOD : So based on the results of the
12 baseline study, as well as the -- several studies that
13 have been conducted across the U. S . , the series of
' 14 setbacks were formulated. These setbacks, as we've said
15 before, were mutually agreed upon by the Division of
16 Wildlife and Green Light .
17 I ' ll run through these real quick. Minimum of a
eN
e, 18 400 meter, which is actually a quarter mile, setback from
'" 19 all active ferruginous hawk nests , red-tailed hawks, and
20 Swainson' s Hawks . Quarter mile from all of the inactive
eN
21 nest structures, and those were the empty ones .
e" 22 A minimum of a half mile setback from Golden
e,
23 Eagle, active and inactive nest sites . Half mile from
', 24 prairie falcon nests and 75 meters from burrowing owls .
i"
25 Now the important one to point out here is the
0,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
157
1 setbacks from the inactive nest sites . We've been
r-
2 involved with 20 to 30 wind projects across the U. S . and
3 this has never been done at a wind power project before .
4 And what this does is really protect not only nest sites
5 that are currently occupied but future nest sites for
6 raptors .
7 In addition, we' ve also instituted a minimum of
8 a 50-meter setback, which is actually 150 feet . And there
9 are also several other site specific modifications that - -
es
10 such as based on topography or narrow ridges , and that
11 sort of thing .
12 We've heard a lot of talk about the 50-meter
r,
• 13 setback, and it was based on a four-year study conducted
14 at Foot Creek Rim in Wyoming, which has a similar
15 topography where you have a long, north-south running
16 ridge, which is perpendicular to the prevailing wind
17 direction. What we found was 50 -- what we found was
• 18 within 50 meters of that rim edge, ran about 90 percent of
19 the use by raptors . And this is because they' re just
„, 20 using those same updrafts as they' re coming up off the rim
21 edge . They' re using that same updrafts that the turbines
22 are trying to catch.
• 23 Now (clearing throat) -- excuse me . What we --
24 what we suggested to the developer at Foot Creek Rim, was
r,
25 that they move the turbines 50 meters off the rim edge .
rrN
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
0-N
0.
158 0. 1 At Foot Creek Rim we had one of the highest
2 golden eagle uses ever documented at a wind power project,
.- 3 yet we only picked up one fatality in two years . So
4 this - - you know, this setback really reduced the
0-
5 potential mortalities at this site, and we thought it was
6 a good idea to do here .
7 Now, although it' s a minimum of 50 meters , with
8 all the other setbacks that have been included, we' ve only
9 got two turbines between 50 meters and 100 meters from the
n
10 rim edge . So 99 percent of these turbines are over 100
11 meters from the rim edge .
12 In edition to the other commitments, Green
13 Light' s already committed to moving another 14 turbines .
14 This says 12 but there were 13 more that just got moved.
15 A half mile from grouse leks, an extensive
16 study on wind power and grouse to determine what the
e\ 17 potential impacts are .
fr, 18 Post construction monitoring, and as well as - -
19 they' re exploring conservation easements, habitat
20 improvements and some population supplementation.
21 Now, we've talked a lot about birds , and nobody
r
22 can really come out and say just how many birds are going
23 to be killed at this project . Every project we have bird
e•• 24 and we have bat kills . But anytime you stick up any
OnN
dr% 25 structure in there, you have the same thing .
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
159
1 As you can see from this graph, wind power does
r•.
^
2 kill birds . However, there are several other sources of
3 mortality throughout the U. S . Wind power, if you look at
4 the overall mortalities throughout the country, really
5 comprises a very small portion of those - - those overall
^ 6 mortalities .
7 Now, we've also talked a lot about AltaMont .
8 Now AltaMont Wind Project is probably the project that
9 gave wind power a bad name . This is a project that kills
r•
10 hundreds of golden eagles a year.
11 But there' s one thing you need to keep in mind
12 is, that there' s several factors that go into why birds
13 are getting killed at Altamont . One of the most obvious
14 ones is turbine design. You can see that at AltaMont , the
,, 15 majority of - - let' s see here - -
16 [Background conversations . Inaudible . ]
17 MR. GOOD : Oh, there we go . Okay. Thanks . The
18 majority of these turbines at AltaMont are these small
19 turbines with lattice towers . Now, these lattice towers
r.
20 provide incredible perches for raptors . In addition, these
''` 21 turbines are much smaller, they spin very fast, and almost
r.
22 look like a fan.
r.
r. 23 Another thing we have going at AltaMont , we have
r` 24 these huge prairie -- not prairie dog colonies but ground
25 squirrel colonies, all throughout this project . In
r.
r.,
r.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r.
160
1 addition, we' ve got about 2 , 000 turbines out there, so
2 they pretty much have the perfect storm at AltaMont ; did
.-. 3 everything wrong that they could.
4 Now, wind developers have really learned from
5 AltaMont and have really changed a lot of the things that
6 they do when they' re designing a wind power project .
7 You know, the other thing I guess I should
8 mention is these newer generation turbines . They - - you
9 know, they' re T-belly (phonetic) towers . There' s no place
10 for a raptor to perch on these towers .
^, 11 They' re bigger, and although at the tips they
12 are turning at 200 miles an hour, they just appear to turn
13 slower. And raptors seem to be able to pick them up and
14 avoid them a little bit better than these smaller
15 generation turbines .
16 So that' s a quick run through about what we' ve
17 done and a little bit of background.
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Vaad.
19 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Yeah. I 'm trying to figure
20 out the dynamics of this whole system. And you said
21 something when you talked about the thermals, and do I
r
22 understand correctly a thermal is a vertical? The air
23 rises so you get an upward wind. But then you went on to
24 say the same thermal that the turbine is trying to catch.
Ala
25 MR. GOOD : Well , we need to separate out a
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r, 161
^ 1 couple of things . But I was talking about updrafts .
2 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Okay.
3 MR. GOOD : So as wind is coming and hitting the
4 ridge, it comes up vertically and then starts rolling - -
5 COMMISSIONER VAAD: Okay.
^ 6 MR. GOOD : -- over the ridge, and as it rolls ,
r,
7 that ' s what the wind developers are trying to pick up .
8 Now, thermals are -- whenever the sun reaches
9 rocks and heats the ground, and you see birds start
10 circling above, that' s a thermal . So that ' s kind of a
11 different situation.
r.
12 Now, these updrafts -- you know, when I say
13 they' re catching the same updrafts as the turbines are,
14 maybe that ' s probably -- a little bit of a misstatement ,
15 because it' s the same wind, but it' s starting to roll over
�'• 16 the ridge .
17 The raptors are catching, as it comes straight
18 up vertical . So they can fly along these rim edges and
19 never have to flap . It' s really kind of an energetic
r
20 thing for them.
21 COMMISSIONER VAAD: And so they' re not caught
22 up when the move -- when the circle starts to move
23 vertically - - or horizontally toward the turbines then?
24 MR. GOOD: Most of them are not , no . And based
25 on the results of Foot Creek Rim, shifting the - - shifting
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r•,
162
1 the turbines back a minimum of 50 meters , greatly reduced
2 the potential mortalities at the site .
3 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Thank you.
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Are there any other questions?
5 If not , thanks - - oh, one question I had.
6 So in -- just to summarize what you' ve been
r•,
7 doing with the Division of Wildlife if I heard you,
8 there' s - - where you' re moving right along, and you' re in
9 essence to make agreements, come to understandings,
10 conclusions , and you don' t see a problem, especially as
'' 11 it relates to number one, which would be the minimum of
12 50-foot setback from the rim. It sounds like you've dealt
r-. 13 with that , or you are dealing with that, and that
14 shouldn' t be an issue .
15 MR. GOOD: Right . And I think as the turbines
16 are staked in the field now, it ' s my understanding the
17 Division of Wildlife is currently in agreement that
18 they' re okay with those turbine locations .
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : All right . Are there any other
0-
20 questions? Commissioner Long.
es 21 COMMISSIONER LONG: Yeah, one did come to mind.
0-
22 In talking about commitments to Cedar Creek in the future,
23 and monitoring, is -- and you might be the wrong person to
24 ask. You might -- let me just say you' re the wrong person
s-
25 to ask. I ' ll ask - -
r-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
163
A' 1 [General laughter . ]
2 COMMISSIONER LONG: I don' t want - -
3 MR. GOOD: I think - -
4 COMMISSIONER LONG: - - to put you on the spot
�., 5 for something --
6 MR. GOOD : I think Dave will --
r,
7 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- you don' t know about .
�-. 8 So, thank you.
9 MR. GOOD : -- agree with you. So - -
10 COMMISSIONER LONG: But if I - - if you' re
�' 11 through - -
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yes .
13 COMMISSIONER LONG: - - if there' s no other
14 questions, if I could ask Mr . Stoner to come back up .
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Sure .
16 COMMISSIONER LONG: In the future commitment for
17 monitoring, what' s - - what' s going to be your process?
18 Are you going to hire somebody to come and do that ,
19 continue the monitoring, or --
e-
20 MR. STONER: Yeah. We --
0- 21 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- what' s that look like?
22 MR. STONER : -- I think, the first step in that
23 monitoring, and there' s two main elements of a monitoring .
24 One is a fatality monitoring program to look at potential
25 impacts out there . A second part of the monitoring that
.-
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
164
1 we' re intending to do is to monitor potential impacts to
2 sharp-tailed grouse, and we talked about concerns there .
r, 3 Our first step is really going to be to sit
4 down with the Division of Wildlife and try to look at
,., 5 monitoring protocols , and frankly come to that decision
ea, 6 of what makes sense in terms of monitoring scope for
7 either of those, but we will be doing those types of
8 post-construction monitoring. .
r,
9 COMMISSIONER LONG: Thank you.
,., 10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I just have one question.
�` 11 MR. STONER: Sure .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : 300 turbines , 330 megawatts of
13 generation. 300 turbines will be somewhere between 1
14 megawatt, 1 1/2 megawatts , is what you said. Couple
15 questions along this line .
16 MR. STONER: Sure .
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : What we' re actually approving
18 is 330 megawatts . So if technology comes along and all of
19 a sudden you can buy towers that ' ll produce 5 megawatts,
10. 20 it might make sense to go in and make a change and put in
eft 21 a 5 megawatt or replace a 1 megawatt with a 5 megawatt
22 generation tower .
23 The fact of it is, you' re only approved up to
24 330 megawatts . But I assume that once you make these
25 agreements with these landowners, you pretty well - - I
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
I'
r, 165
1 guess what I ' m -- kind of flipping around with this .
2 But you make an agreement with the landowner,
3 and you put a one megawatt structure there, you' re pretty
4 well committed to that structure in that location, aren' t
5 you, for the duration of your contract?
6 MR. STONER : These turbines have 20-year design
7 lives , and we' re making this investment based on using
8 these types of turbines for that design life, and --
.- 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I just wanted to make sure that
�, 10 we' re clear. We' re talking about 300 turbines, and we' re
'' 11 talking about 330 megawatts; that ' s what - -
12 MR. STONER: That' s correct .
.- 13 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- we have in front of us .
14 The other question I had is , it seems like
15 everybody is running -- running along into this whole
ANOlk 16 venture of wind turbines . Are there 300 turbines
17 available?
es. 18 MR. STONER: I --
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Can you purchase 300 turbines?
20 Is the market starting to saturate the supply, or - -
21 MR. STONER: The -- two responses . Number one,
.. 22 yes , the partnership does have contracts in place for
23 turbine supply for the project to meet our construction
24 schedule .
fiN
25 And secondly, yes, the market is such that
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-.
166
1 there' s a lot of wind power being developed and turbine
_ 2 supply is tight, but we do have contracts in place with
3 turbine vendors to supply this project .
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And I guess just maybe a
5 curious question is, as you go down the road, and this
6 becomes a successful venture, are you talking about or are
e-
7 you thinking about expanding your wind farm?
8 MR. STONER: We have --
^ 9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : The wind project ; let me
^ 10 restate that .
11 MR. STONER: We' re here before the board - -
0-
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is that a possibility down
es 13 the road?
14 MR. STONER: We' re here before the board with a
e-
15 specific request for 300 turbines at the 330 megawatts .
• 16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I was just thinking about the
0-
17 future .
/-
.- 18 MR. STONER : I will say, you know, future
19 expansion is always a possibility. That ' s really going
0-
20 to be up to market conditions, customer - - you know,
• 21 requirements , et cetera, so we have no current plans for
22 that , but I won' t stand here and say that that' s not
23 something that could happen at some point .
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , as I understand 37 , ten
25 percent and I assume that' s a total generation or total
/.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
4-
4-
167
1 load in Colorado which would be what , about 15 or 16
^
2 thousand megawatts? So the REA' s most of them have opted
3 out of this, so it really leaves Xcel .
4 But are they going to have to -- are they
5 committed - - do they have an obligation to do the full
6 18 -- full 15 or 18 thousand megawatts , or do they just
7 have a commitment to do 10 percent of what their load is?
.- 8 MR. STONER: I don' t know that I can speak
9 specifically to what Xcel' s --
0
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Well , it ' s an interesting
^ 11 question, but it gets back to my last one . Either way you
12 look at it , there' s going to be a need for further wind
13 energy projects --
r, 14 MR. STONER: Again, I think --
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- such as this . Okay. Are
• 16 there any other questions of the applicant? If not , thank
17 you very much.
�-, 18 MR. STONER: Thank you.
frr
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Don, is there any other comment
20 from Public Works?
0-, 21 MR. CARROLL: No, there is not at this time .
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Char, Health Department?
r.
r. 23 MS . DAVIS : No, sir.
r' 24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Do you have any comments,
25 Chris?
0-\
,.,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
p.'
168
1 MR. GATHMAN: If you want to go over any
2 potential amendments to the resolution, based on --
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is that that --
i- 4 MR. GATHMAN: -- items that have come up .
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- 3B, 4B, or whatever it was ,
6 4B?
•.-
r
7 MR . GATHMAN: Yeah. Well , and also Don Carroll
8 and myself had talked about a condition in regards to the
9 signage along the county road, the haul routes that
10 Commissioner Long had brought up earlier in the hearing.
11 So we do have a condition that would cover that .
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you go ahead and read
r. 13 it, Chris?
14 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. We' re proposing this as
15 condition 3S for the USR 1563 Resolution, and - - I don' t
16 know if our pages match up . I have it on page 10 of my
17 resolution. Yeah, at the very end.
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Fine, Chris . Page 9 of ours .
19 MR. GATHMAN: Page 9 . Okay. It' s -- would be
20 under Prior to Recording the Plat . It' ll state that the
21 applicant shall install appropriate signing -- signing on
22 the designated haul and site locations , and then "The
23 applicant shall also provide a plan showing sign locations
24 to the Department of Public Works . "
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Chris , maybe we better stop.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-
169
1 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : First of all , let ' s get -- are
3 we talking about 1562?
4 MR. GATHMAN: Actually 1563 .
,. 5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : There we go .
6 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. Sorry.
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Now we' re getting to the right
8 place . And give us that number, again?
9 MR. GATHMAN: It would be under Condition 3 , and
10 then we' d add it as an Item S . So it ' d be at the very
11 end of - -
r
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : R, S . Okay. So if you' d go
13 ahead and read it .
14 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. "The applicant shall install
15 appropriate signing on the designated haul and site
16 locations . " And then, "The applicant shall also provide a
17 plan showing sign locations to the Department of Public
18 Works . " Okay.
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. And you had some other
,., 20 language?
21 MR. GATHMAN: Let' s see . On 1563 , I don' t have
r.
22 any - -
r
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Were you going to come up with
24 some language that dealt with Commissioner Long' s
25 question?
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
e.
170
1 COMMISSIONER LONG: That was it .
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : We already did?
3 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, that' s the one with the
r-
4 signs . And --
5 CHAIRMAN GEILE : There was another one that
6 dealt with Pawnee Fire Protection District and things of
7 that nature . Are you satisfied that that' s covered in
8 Prior to Filing --
9 MR. GATHMAN: Actually, yeah. We've got that
10 to -- hold on.
r' 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So you' re satisfied, or do you
12 want to add - - I think we want to add something, Chris .
13 MR. GATHMAN: Right . And actually I thought I
r,
14 had that -- hold on. I thought I had that written.
r••
15 Okay. Okay, here we go. Let' s see, and that was under
16 Condition 3C --
r•,
17 CHAIRMAN GEILE : First of all , are we talking
r, 18 about 1563 or 1562?
19 MR. GATHMAN: It would be 1562 .
r•'
,., 20 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you.
21 MR. GATHMAN: It would be Condition 3C . Let' s
22 see here - - 3C.
r, 23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Page 13 .
r\ 24 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
.r.
25 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Go ahead.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
171
" 1 MR. GATHMAN: Oh, okay. Hold on. Let me --
2 I 've got the wrong resolution to -- now, I 've got to - -
r
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : But you've got the right place?
4 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. Okay. We proposed to add a
5 sentence on the end of that that states the applicant
6 shall submit plans to the applicable fire protection
7 district or -- I guess we could put the "S" on the end of
8 there, ` cause it would be multiple fire districts through
9 the corridor there, but "The applicant shall submit plot
10 plans to the applicable fire protection districts for
11 their review and comment . "
r.
12 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Does that solve your question,
r,
r, 13 or answer your question, Commissioner?
r, 14 COMMISSIONER LONG: I 'm not sure, ` cause I was
15 speaking, I guess, mainly to the building --
16 MR. GATHMAN: Right .
17 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- in addition to maybe the
18 corridor. But the building itself, the building plans be
19 given to Pawnee .
20 MR . GATHMAN: Okay.
21 COMMISSIONER LONG: That way they' d know if
22 there was something going on, they' d know what it looks
23 like inside .
24 MR . GATHMAN: Okay. Well , in the - - it' s my
25 understanding, as far as the transmission goes, I don' t
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
e-\
172
1 believe - - I mean, you've got the transmission lines and
2 you've got the switching stations, but it ' s my
3 understanding - - and I can have the applicant clarify
4 this -- but I don' t believe there are any buildings, per
5 se, out there, unless there' s like a --
6 COMMISSIONER LONG: The administration building.
7 MR. GATHMAN: Oh, okay. And actually that will
8 be covered -- that' s already covered under a build- - -
^' 9 that would already be covered under a building permit ,
10 ` cause all the turbines will have to get permits , and also
11 the operations and maintenance facility for the wind farm,
12 those would require building permits .
e, 13 The only exception to that is the transmission
14 line and the switching station portion of the project .
15 COMMISSIONER LONG: But those plans then are
16 submitted to the fire district?
17 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. With --
18 COMMISSIONER LONG: I'm just trying to make that
19 linkage .
r-,
^, 20 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
21 COMMISSIONER LONG: That' s all .
22 MR. GATHMAN: We can add a - - actually that' ll
-, 23 be under 1563 - -
24 MALE VOICE : Which one?
25 MR. GATHMAN: Let me check here . I think I 've
'a'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
F-,
r
173
1 got something - - okay.
r
2 COMMISSIONER LONG: I don' t think it' s a huge
r
3 thing. It' s just making that link --
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Oh, no . Let' s make sure .
5 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- to the fire districts , so
6 they know what the building looks --
r
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Sure . We need that extra --
r
r.. 8 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- like, and a prepared --
r' 9 maybe do a training exercise around it, or something like
r,
10 that , so everybody' s familiar.
r, 11 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Probably 3K, page 8 , on the
r,
12 second one, on the 1563?
13 MR. GATHMAN: Let' s see . I ' m looking at --
e 14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Yeah. On what pagem,
r,
r, 15 commissioner?
r` 16 MR. GATHMAN: - - we could do it on page 8 .
17 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Mr. Chairman, I might suggest
r. 18 that you use the term, " . . . as constructed plans . . . " I
19 think that will cover that --
r.
20 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah.
A"\ 21 COMMISSIONER VAAD : -- for the -- for that
r,
22 building, and be submitted to the fire district . That ' s
e.
e. 23 what the -- I think that' s what Commissioner Long wants .
24 COMMISSIONER LONG: That ' s fine . Yeah.
..
25 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. That' ll work. Okay.
r.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r,
174
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : You got that, Chris?
2 MR. GATHMAN: So we' d add - - okay.
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I wonder if the applicant could
4 come back to the podium, please .
�. 5 MS . GESICK: I don' t think I 've got it .
6 COMMISSIONER LONG: She doesn' t have it .
7 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Well , wait a minute .
.-. 8 Let' s just hang on for --
9 MS . GESICK: Three page --
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : - - just for a minute .
�' 11 MR. GATHMAN: Page 9 - - page - - or is it page
12 10 - - page 8?
es
13 MS . GESICK: What' re -- what are we doing?
14 COMMISSIONER LONG: Prior to recording of the
.r,
15 plat, 3K is modified to add: " . . . as constructed, plans
16 for the building will be submitted to the Pawnee Fire
17 District . "
rN
., 18 MS . GESICK: As a new second sentence?
19 COMMISSIONER LONG: Yes .
'a,
20 MS . GESICK: Okay.
21 COMMISSIONER LONG: I 'm sorry to take that
r.
22 liberty, Mr . Chairman, but I --
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : No . Thank you. Thank you.
24 MS . GESICK: Thank you very much.
r.
25 COMMISSIONER LONG: -- think that' s where we
'a.
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
'a.
r-,
.-A
175
1 wanted to go.
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Have you heard those
3 modifications or changes, and are you in concurrence
r
4 with them?
r
r 5 MR. STONER: Yes .
6 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Thank you. Is there anything
r
7 else, Chris?
8 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, there was another issue that
9 the applicant had brought up in their presentation
10 originally dealing with -- you've got the preferred route,
11 and then you've got the alternative route, and in the
12 vicinity of Keenesburg, spoke about either rebuilding
13 the line going down County Road 55 into the switching
^
14 station site .
15 But they still wanted the possibility of - -
'" 16 if they obtain an agreement with Keenesburg to go the
17 alternative route, which would go off of County Road 24 ,
18 and follow along Highway 70 -- or Interstate 76 , and then
19 come into that -- to that station.
20 So I don' t know if you wanted a condition. You
21 know, it' s one of the --
22 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I don' t - -
23 MR. GATHMAN: I 'm sorry. Go ahead.
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. I don' t think we need a
25 condition. I think that' s pretty well understood that
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
176
1 that - - that opportunity is open, if in fact it' s possible
a
2 or feasible .
3 MR. GATHMAN: If they ever get it -- all right .
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Any other comments, Chris?
5 MR. GATHMAN: Just make sure I ' ve got everything
6 covered here for you. The other item that you' d brought
7 up previously, Commissioner Geile, was dealing with the - -
.. 8 in the event that their contract does not get renewed with
9 Public Service, that they remove, you know, the lines .
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Right . I think they concurred
11 to that -- concurred with that .
12 MR. GATHMAN: Okay. All right . So we' ll just
13 leave that as - -
r- 14 CHAIRMAN GEILE : So I guess we need to figure
15 out where that' s going to be put .
^ 16 MR . GATHMAN: I' d say that' d have to be a
a'
17 development standard, ` cause that' s the - -
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you figure out where
19 it is, so that we can get it to Esther and she' ll have it
20 for her record -- for the record.
21 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah, and I 've actually got some
22 language on that , so I can propose that to you .
23 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Why don' t you. Where will it
.- 24 be, first of all?
r
25 MR. GATHMAN: Okay.
4-
a'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
a'
r-
r'
^
177
1 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Where will it be?
2 MR. GATHMAN: It would be under - - it' s under
3 USR 1562 - -
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay.
5 MR. GATHMAN: -- under the "Development
6 Standards" -- okay. And I would recommend that it be
7 added as Development Standard No . 34 , and that - -
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : And then renumber?
9 MR. GATHMAN: And renumber subsequently.
10 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Okay. Would you read it ,
^ 11 Chris?
12 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. And what I had is that , I
13 mean -- "The applicant shall be responsible . . . " Okay.
14 Well , what I ' ve got is, "In the event the use of the
15 transmission lines is ceased on a permanent basis , the
16 applicant shall be responsible for the removal of
17 transmission lines , and reestablishment of the site to
18 its original state . "
19 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Counsel, could you comment on
r 20 that?
21 MR . BARKER : I think that would work. I suppose
r
22 the only question is " . . . to require the applicant . . . "
23 ` cause by then --
24 MR . GATHMAN: Or designee maybe?
25 MR . BARKER: -- it' d be better to say the
r
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
178
1 property owner .
2 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. But they' re going to have - -
3 it' s going to be an easement .
4 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I 'm not sure it applies ,
5 because of the fact there is a purchased easement . I 'm
6 not sure we could require that , counsel .
7 MR. BARKER: I guess the question is --
r
8 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I think we' re getting into a
9 landowner issue --
10 MR. BARKER : -- who is it -- no. Actually, who
^ 11 is it who has the responsibility of removing the line - -
12 MR. GATHMAN: Mm-hmm.
13 MR . BARKER: -- and if you say the applicant at
14 that time, it presumes that the applicant will still be
15 operating and running the power line at that time .
16 COMMISSIONER VAAD : The owner - -
r
17 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah.
18 MR. BARKER: So it may be that the owner or
19 operator of the line --
20 MR. GATHMAN: Right .
21 MR. BARKER: -- is responsible - - so substitute
22 that for "the applicant . "
23 MR. GATHMAN: Yeah. "The owner op- - - "
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : I think I ' ll just - - counsel ,
25 I'm not sure that maybe we shouldn' t just read - - that
r
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r
r-
r-
r- 179
1 maybe we ought to just scratch that request, ` cause it ' s
2 got so many complexities to it with -- you know, purchase,
3 and easement , and right-of-ways, and successors and
A
4 assigns and all that . Might be a little - - it might be
5 complicated and I was just thinking of the courts .
6 I ' m not sure that the courts -- it might be a
r
7 pretty difficult thing to defend for the county attorneys,
8 so maybe it' s something we ought to just leave for the
A
9 future . So I would - -
A
10 MR. BARKER: I think, as a practical matter - -
r 11 CHAIRMAN GEILE : -- be willing to remove my
12 request , if the board please . I think we' ve just added
13 too many complexities to the land-use part of this .
r-•
14 COMMISSIONER LONG: The wind will blow.
A,
15 [General laughter. ]
A' 16 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Is there anything else, Chris?
17 MR. GATHMAN: That' s all I have at this time .
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Counsel , did you have anything
A
19 you wanted to add?
F-.
20 MR. BARKER : Nothing else .
21 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Good. I ' ll bring it back to
A•
22 the board. Comments .
23 COMMISSIONER LONG: Mr . Chairman, I wouldn' t
r-
24 mind starting out on the comment part of it .
r-
A 25 I think we've seen a lot of due diligence on the
r
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BCCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
A
r
r
^ 180
e-
1 part of the applicant in regards to trying to come in, in
2 a favorable note, and mitigate any concerns to the best of
3 their ability. You know, to try -- with the demands of
.-
4 Amendment 37, four million dollar investment, multiple
5 royalties going to multiple owners .
6 I think of the wind farm facility down in the
7 southeast part of Colorado, and it' s primarily on one
8 landowner as being able to reap that benefit . The nice
r
9 thing about here is it goes to multiple owners . It' s
r
10 going to help with the general economic outlook of their
A� 11 livelihood; give them some -- some breathing room, if you
r
12 will , in the game of life, and being able to promote
• 13 agricultural production. And this is another way to be
14 able to generate some income off their land.
15 It' s going to do great things for the Grover
✓ 16 community. Pawnee School District will reap great benefits
17 from it . Twenty jobs, we've heard, so I would have to
18 imagine that Grover might be able - - hopefully be able to
r
19 be the recipient of that local potential for jobs and home
✓ 20 growth.
21 Regarding the raptors , and things like that , you
22 know, I 'm struck, having lived in the area for 26 years,
23 and living in Colorado for 33 years , and being in that
24 area multiple times on horseback and on vehicles . And I 'm
r
25 struck with the Mayor of Grover' s comments regarding the
r
r L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r
r-
r
r- 181
r 1 vast area of -- or the vast topography of a thousand
2 square miles, probably, of that whole area.
3 I think if we were looking at an area where the
r
4 wind farm was going to be located directly on the only
5 existing escarpment type of areas that are -- that are
6 good for repairing and habitation, and what not , I think
r 7 we' d be looking at a different situation, a different
8 philosophy, at least from my perspective .
r-
9 Given that there' s a vast amount of area for
r
10 location for that habitat , and this is a small percentage
11 of that area, I think there' s great opportunities, if
r
12 there is somebody there -- something there, that they
• 13 would be able to find suitable habitat in the near
14 proximity.
r
15 I think that with what I ' ve seen and have had
16 demonstrated that the applicant has gone -- and like I
r
17 said, originally, due diligence in trying to work with the
• 18 applicants . I would be hesitant to further restrict , you
r-
19 know, from the 50 meters , and make it 100 or 200 .
20 Given that they have a lot of different
21 flexibility opportunities available to them maybe not
22 moving back, but maybe moving linear. `Cause those cliffs
23 aren' t , you know, straight, and there' s nothing that is
r
24 totally uniform. It' s all over the place in regards to
• 25 where the hills are and where the escarpment faces and
�,,, L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r-
r-
r 182
1 what not . It' s very winding up there .
2 And I think from what I 've seen, that they would
^ 3 still give due diligence to the placement of those towers,
r^
4 if there was a site nest, or potential for a site nest in
5 a given area . And somebody might ask them to go back 100
6 meters .
^
7 It might be more beneficial , both economically
8 for the tower placement and more suitable for the habitat
9 if they moved linear along the cliff or the escarpment
.• 10 area, as opposed to moving back. I think those potentials
'' 11 might exist if we don' t limit that , and just say -- you
12 know, I think they' re already going to work towards that
13 end, but I would hate to take away that flexibility for
14 them to move sideways as opposed to just automatically
15 having to move back in certain areas . I think there' s a
16 lot of flexibility there .
17 But overall , I think it' s a win-win for Weld
18 County and the local community up there, and I would hope
r-
r-
19 New Rayner benefits from this somehow.
20 I think, you know, from what I hear that the
21 towers are going to be spinning and we should be cooler - -
^
22 [General laughter. ]
fir
• 23 COMMISSIONER LONG: You know, it -- I heard that
24 with some - - not anybody in this area, but in different
r-
• 25 areas , somebody' s comment, they thought that was going to
,,,,, L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r
r�
r 183
1 be the output of these -- they were cooling fans .
2 No, I 'm not saying that . I totally understand
3 that , but I just find that remarkable and have to joke
r
4 about it .
✓ 5 But at this point , unless I 'm really convinced
✓ 6 otherwise, I ' m in support of this project , of all the - -
r 7 of the two USR' s that we' re dealing with today, at this
r" 8 point .
r
9 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Commissioner Vaad - -
10 Commissioner Masden? Commissioner Masden?
r 11 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Thank you, Mr . Chairman.
r..
12 Yes, I concur with Commissioner Long on the - - I believe
13 Green Light has done a lot of due diligence here and has
r
14 gone a long ways to work with DOW and everyone -- the
r
15 landowners and has -- that area in there, the corridors in
e- 16 there, and they' re still researching those .
r
17 They haven' t nailed those down yet to try to fit
✓ 18 it in the best area, even with a line coming down to
19 Keenesburg, dealing with them. Some of the landowners ,
r
20 some of the disputes, I think those are pretty well
e- 21 resolved. I think there' s probably a couple still left
r
22 out there, trying to find the best placement to be the
23 least in- - - you know, intrusive as possible .
24 This is a vast area up there . And like
.. 25 Commissioner Long said, the wind will keep blowing,
r
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
r^
r- 184
1 because you know, it comes out of Wyoming, and something
2 about Nebraska with his (inaudible) --
3 But anyway, yeah, I think this is a - - this is
r
4 a very good project , and you know, with - - with the people
5 of Colorado mandated to - - to happen with the energy
6 companies, with Amendment 37, this is a part of that .
7 And I see Public Service or Exxon - - or Xcel ,
8 you know, doing their part to acquire that and work with
9 the counties, and the municipalities and the landowners
10 and everything else, and DOW and all the associated
11 jurisdictions , and everything.
r`
12 I know some wanted more say-so in it, which we
13 could allow, but I don' t -- I 'm not in favor of that ,
14 basically giving a third party veto to some jurisdictions .
15 I think that we' re working with them as much as possible,
16 as is Green Light .
17 And I am not in favor of third-party veto . I
^ 18 think that is above and beyond, and I think this is - -
19 this is a good project and will serve the area well .
r.
20 You know, agriculture is such a unique business
21 to be in and this will help diversify. And like a lot of
22 people down in this area, where they' re drilling so many
23 wells , it ' s helping you know people to stay on the farm
24 and ranches and help pay the mortgages and do different
25 things . And this will help some of the farmers with
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
e-
es 185
e-
1 relief there, too . So I am in support of this project .
2 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Well , I've -- I 've been
es
3 impressed with the process used by the applicant , ` cause
4 I know that siting a major public utility facility is
5 extremely difficult , to say the least . It takes an
6 awfully long time, as related by the applicant .
7 It also takes several hours , hundreds of hours
8 in a lot of cases , to have public meetings and to hear
r
9 that input, to bring on economic -- or I mean
10 environmental experts, to analyze the area, and to make
11 sure that you' re dealing with all the issues associated
12 with the area, and I 'm talking about the environmental
13 issues .
14 It also talks about the project itself , which is
15 in essence, 118 acres will be impacted out of 21 , 000
16 acres .
17 It talks about working out agreements , which I
18 think there' s been a remarkable effort on both parts, the
19 Department of Wildlife as well as the applicant, in coming
20 to understandings as to how this will work and where the
21 structures will be located.
22 There was a lot of work, as I said, through the
23 public -- through the public process to coming up with
24 preferred guar- - - coming up with a preferred quarter.
25 It ' s not an easy process; it requires an awful lot of work
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
186
1 and input for the people who are impacted with it . And I
2 think the applicant has done an excellent job in bringing
3 those comments forth from those meetings and coming up
4 with their preferred quarter .
5 I ' m not concerned about the south part of it ,
6 whether they enter into an agreement with Keenesburg or go
7 the other route . I know that that will happen.
8 It' s also very complicated because you' re
9 talking about switching stations; you' re talking about
10 substations ; you' re talking about a system inside this
11 project, which more or less gathers the power and brings
^
12 it into the substation.
13 You' re talking about putting in very complex
14 types of transformers and through it - - bringing it into a
15 transmission system, and stepping it up to the 230 KV
16 voltage that they' ll need. All of that has been, really
17 in my opinion, well -- well thought out .
^ 18 You' re also talking about a 400 million dollar
19 investment , even though there' s a question as to how that
20 will really assess . It' s still in the neighborhood of 90
21 to 100 million dollars that will be assessed, and that
22 will have a huge impact on the school districts , the fire
23 districts and everybody; the county and everybody else .
24 So there is certainly a great opportune - - financial
25 opportunity to the people of Weld County.
^
^ L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
187
1 The main question I had, though, was the
2 ecological . I do appreciate the people who have come here
3 from other parts of our state to provide testimony. That' s
4 always important .
5 But I think that has been dealt with - - has been
' 6 dealt with, most of it , and is being dealt with through
7 that partnership that' s being created through the two
8 entities , namely the applicant as well as the Department
9 of Wildlife .
10 So based -- and the fact of it is, they did
11 follow the provisions and the rules associated with our
12 1041 . And I think they did that very well , because as I
13 said, the complexities, you can certainly fall off line
14 because of what you have to do . But they certainly
15 followed that .
16 Our staff, I think, did an excellent job in
17 working them through those issues . Counsel , I know you
18 were involved with that , so I ' d like to compliment and
19 thank you. So based upon my findings, I will certainly
20 support this project , because I think it is a good --
21 Well , then I wanted to -- one other part . You
22 know, 13 , when it was approved by the voters a year or two
23 ago, put the state of Colorado in a position that they' re
24 going to have to do alternate energy. One of those is
25 wind power, and the 10 percent of the generation is going
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
r
,. 188
1 to have to come from wind power by 2015 , or 2012 , or
2 whatever it is .
3 It' s not going to be the last of these projects
4 that come before jurisdictional bodies in northern
5 Colorado, but I think this is a good baseline . I think
6 we' ve established a good baseline for other projects to
7 come forth. So based upon that, I will -- I will be
r" 8 supporting the project . I would entertain a motion.
9 COMMISSIONER LONG: Mr . Chairman, if I may, I ' d
10 like to move for approval of Docket 2006-45PLA1845 , a Site
11 Specific Development Plan, and Use by Special Review
12 Permit, 1562 for a major facility of a public utility, a
13 72-mile 230 KV transmission line, and one new switching
r.
14 station in the A (Agricultural) zoned Cedar Creek Wind
15 Energy LLC, and Green Light Energy, Inc . , along with the
r, 16 amended development standards and conditions of approval .
17 COMMISSIONER VAAD : Second.
18 CHAIRMAN GEILE : It' s been moved by Commissioner
19 Long, seconded by Vaad, to approve Docket No. 2006-45 , a
20 Site Specific Development Plan and Use by Special Review
21 Permit , 1562 , together with the conditions of approval and
22 development standards as amended. Is there any further
23 discussion?
24 (No audible response . )
r,
r\ 25 If not , all in favor of the motion signify by
r,
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD Cr( BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
s.
r.
r-
189
'� 1 saying "Aye" .
2 COMMISSIONERS : Aye .
3 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Opposed the same . Motion
�-
4 carried. I would now entertain a motion on Docket No.
r.
5 2006-46 .
6 COMMISSIONER LONG: Mr . Chairman, if I may, I ' d
7 like to move for approval of Docket 2006-46 PO, 1846 , a
8 Site Specific Development Plan Use and Special Review
9 Permit , 1563 , for a major facility of a public utility of
10 up to 300 individual three-bladed wind turbine generators
11 in the A (Agricultural) Zone District , Cedar Creek Wind
12 Energy LLC, and Green Light Energy, Inc . , along with the
13 amended conditions of approval and development standards .
14 COMMISSIONER MASDEN: Second.
s
15 CHAIRMAN GEILE : It was moved by Commissioner
16 Long, second by Masden to approve Docket No . 2006-46 , a
17 Site Specific Development Plan Use by Special Review
18 Permit 1562 together with the conditions of approval and
eN
19 development standards as amended. Is there any further
on, 20 discussion?
21 (No audible response . )
22 If not , all in favor, signify by saying "Aye . "
r1/4
1.1 23 COMMISSIONERS : Aye .
24 CHAIRMAN GEILE : Opposed, the same? Motion
25 carried. Again, I ' d like to thank everyone who has sat
r-'
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
J".‘
r
r-
190
"" 1 here very patiently all day to help us through this
r-
2 project . Thank you to the Division of Wildlife, thank
3 you to those of you who came from long distances, we know,
4 and also thank you to the applicant for a very, very
5 professional presentation. Thank you. We are adjourned.
6 [Weld County Board of Commissioners Hearing
r 7 Certification USR #1562 and #1563 adjourned. ]
0-, 8
r, 9
r'
10
A'\ 11
�\ 12
OP, 13
' 14
15
r' 16
17
Ink 18
19
20
21
22
I\
23
24
r�
25
\
rS
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY BOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
ry
P1
191
1 CERTIFICATE
('1
() 2
O 3 STATE OF COLORADO )
fl 4 ) ss
( � 5 COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE)
P1 6
7 I, Laura M. Machen, an independent transcriber
8 and notary public within and for the State of Colorado,
("5 9 certify the foregoing transcript of the tape recorded
10 proceedings, In Re: Weld County Board of County
("1 11 Commissioners Hearing, Cedar Creek Wind Energy LLC & Green
() 12 Light Energy Inc. , (USR #1562 & #1563) August 8, 2006 and
0
O 13 as further set forth on page one. The transcription,
0 14 dependent upon recording clarity, is true/accurate with
0
15 special exceptions (s) of any or all precise identification
C, 16 of speakers, and/or correct spelling or any given/spoken
0 17 proper name or acronym.
18 Dated this 11th day of September 2006 .
19
0
20
e) 21
22
C' 23 My commission expires June 21, 2008
C 24 ORIGINAL ( )
c 25 CERTIFIED COPY
(' 26
L-MAC R & T 303.798.0380 WELD CTY SOCC - Cedar Creek 8-2-06
e
Hello