The EFSEC Recommendation

to the Governor

Draft Decision Documents Released April 1, 2024

In response to public requests, EFSEC released the draft decision documents listed below.  Public comments are due no later than April 10 5 PM.  

EFSEC will review comments received by COB 5 pm April 10 and then will make decisions to revise or keep what they have.  They will finalize these and vote on April 17.  If the Council votes to approve, they will be transmitted to the Governor. Here are the links to the documents.

The Recommendation to the Governor (link)

Revisions to the draft Recommendation to the Governor 

  • Revised or new explanation of why things are being prohibited or mitigated.

The Draft Site Certification Agreement (SCA) (link)

Revisions needed to the draft SCA

  • Requirements that need to be added to the document before it goes to the Governor.

  • Requirements and Stipulations that need to be completed before construction can commence.

  • Requirements and stipulations that need to be completed within a specified period of time after construction.

TCC Guidance to Commenters

 Comments need to be short. They need to provide the revision or replacement language text. They also need a regulation citation. Comments expressing support for the mitigations really will not help create revisions if they are needed.

Here are some examples:

  • The draft SCA needs to list the turbine numbers and the impact class and other project components to be removed specifically before it goes to the Governor. (TCC will be providing such a list)  

  • Before commencing construction, the applicant must demonstrate compliance with the requirements of WAC 463-60-165 to identify the sources of water for the Project.

WAC 463-60-165(1) - Water intake and conveyance facilities. The application shall describe the location and type of water intakes, water lines, pipelines and water conveyance systems, and other associated facilities required for providing water to the energy facility for which certification is being requested.

  • The draft SCA needs to expressly state that the Applicant needs to provide documentation that it has identified off takers in Washington before they begin construction of the project. 

  • The Draft Recommendation to the Governor needs to state that the project needs to provide documentation demonstrating they will provide a reliable source of renewable energy and provide quantitative evidence showing how the project helps meet the state’s energy goals. (RCW 80.50.10)

Submit your comments to comments@efsec.wa.gov

The Tri-City Herald published an article on April 5, 2024 containing a summary of the Draft Recommendation and what people are saying about the issues.

You can read the article and download a pdf file here.

Understanding the Draft Recommendation

The Draft EFSEC Recommendation to the Governor relies on the identification and analysis of the severity of the impacts described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The FEIS contained maps for Turbine Layout Option 1 (the 499 ft high turbines) and Turbine Layout Option 2 (the 671 ft high turbines). These maps graphically depict and color code turbines to classify them into a classification by the number of significant negative impacts cause by each turbine:

Green = 0 Impacts Yellow = 1 Impact Orange = 2 Impacts Red = 3 of more Impacts

The Draft Recommendation proposes to eliminate the Class 3 Impacts shown in red - 113 turbines. They propose to allow construction of the remaining 111 turbines (Green, Yellow & orange) as shown on this image.

Google Earth Pro - Geographic Interactive Model - Free Download

When a wind farm is first proposed, the almost universal reaction by people living in the affected community is “What will it look like from my home?” If there is a visual impact assessment, it will contain photorealistic simulations from a few viewpoints selected by the developer’s consultants. However, these viewpoints are selected by the developer’s team and it is almost certain that none of them are from your home.

The goal of these instructions is to get you up and running on Google Earth Pro to visualize the Horse Haven Hills Wind Farm from your home. One big reason to use Google Earth is that it is that the software is totally free and will run on any PC, Mac or Linux computer. After completing the steps discussed here you may want to explore the view from other locations, as well as other features of Google Earth Pro.

This free pdf file download contains instructions describing how to:

  1. download Google Earth Pro

  2. download the Interactive KMZ file

  3. how to use Google Earth Pro

This information is being made freely available to the public here:

Download Link Google Earth Pro Instructions & KMZ file