Coburg power plant issue goes before public.

Byline: Joe Harwood The Register-Guard

Lane County commissioners will hold a public hearing tonight on a controversial power plant proposed on farmland two miles north of Coburg.

The evening hearing will have limited scope. Commission members will take testimony only on the land use rules state officials will use to approve or deny the project.

The county officials will use public comment from the hearing to develop a list of criteria for the state to consider in its decision.

The West Cascade Energy natural gas-fired power plant would be built on 107 acres of land zoned exclusively for farming. South Dakota-based Black Hills Corp. wants to build a plant that could eventually produce 900 megawatts of electricity on the parcel. Black Hills recently took the reins of the project from a local energy developer.

Under the county's land use code and state land use rules, a major power plant can be sited on land zoned for exclusive farm use only if officials make an exception to planning regulations that prohibit the development of farmland.

In an application submitted to state and local officials, Black Hills officials argue that 55 of the 107 acres will be used for a wetland mitigation area, which is an outright allowed use for agricultural land. County regulations also allow power plants to be built on up to 12 acres of farmland through a conditional use permit.

Excluding the 55 acres for wetlands and 12 acres the county already allows leaves only 40 acres of farmland that would require an exception, according to the application.

In order to win the exception, Black Hills will have to provide reasons to justify waiving state planning goals; prove that it can mitigate significant adverse environmental, social and economic adverse impacts; and show that the power plant would be compatible with adjacent land uses.

Commissioners decided last month to accept only testimony related to the land use criteria that will be used to judge the merits of the proposal.

Under state law, the developer of a power plant can choose between allowing the state Energy Facility Siting Council or the local government with jurisdiction over the land to decide whether the plant meets land use regulations.

Black Hills elected to have the siting council make the land use decision. That leaves the Lane County Board of Commissioners to act in an advisory role to the siting council.

Commissioners will use testimony from the hearing to develop a list of criteria - based on county code - that the siting council will take into consideration when it rules on the project's land use application.

In related news, Gary Marcus, the Eugene-based energy developer who initially proposed the plant, has turned over his interest in the project to Black Hills.

Marcus, who has spent years developing the plans for the Coburg power plant, said he always planned to sell his interest in the project once the permitting was complete.

"We just sped up the time line a little bit after I had a heart attack this summer," Marcus said. "The project is in a slow period right now, so I felt it was a good time to shift responsibility over to Black Hills."

PUBLIC HEARING

Commissioners consider proposed power plant north of Coburg

When/where: Today, 6:30 p.m., Commissioners' conference room, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave. in Eugene