Final Order on Site Certificate

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Final Order on Site Certificate 1 2 3 4 5 BEFORE THE 6 ENERGY FACILITY SITING COUNCIL 7 OF THE STATE OF OREGON 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION ) 21 FOR A SITE CERTIFICATE FOR THE ) FINAL ORDER 22 GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT ) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Issued by 37 38 Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council 39 40 May 15, 2009 41 - i - 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 3 GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT ............................................................................................... 1 4 I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 5 II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY ............................................................................................................ 2 6 A. COMMENTS ON APPLICATION FOR A SITE CERTIFICATE ..................................................... 4 7 B. COMMENTS ON DRAFT PROPOSED ORDER .......................................................................... 5 8 C. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT PROPOSED ORDER ................................ 7 9 III. GENERAL FINDINGS ............................................................................................................... 13 10 A. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED FACILITY ....................................................................... 13 11 1. Project Overview ........................................................................................................ 13 12 2. The Energy Facility..................................................................................................... 13 13 3. Related or Supporting Facilities.................................................................................. 14 14 B. LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED FACILITY ........................................................................... 16 15 C. THE SITE AND SITE BOUNDARY........................................................................................ 16 16 D. CONSTRUCTION DEADLINES ............................................................................................. 17 17 IV. COUNCIL FACILITY SITING STANDARDS: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................ 18 18 A. INTRODUCTION: GENERAL STANDARD OF REVIEW, OAR 345-022-0000 ......................... 19 19 B. ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERTISE, OAR 345-022-0010 ........................................................ 19 20 1. Applicant Qualification and Capability, OAR 345-022-0010(1) ............................... 20 21 2. Applicant Qualification and Capability: ISO Programs, OAR 345-022-0010(2)....... 20 22 3. Third-Party Services and Permits, OAR 345-022-0010(3) and (4) ............................ 20 23 C. RETIREMENT AND FINANCIAL ASSURANCE, OAR 345-022-0050 .................................... 22 24 D. LAND USE, OAR 345-022-0030 ....................................................................................... 29 25 1. Applicable Substantive Criteria .................................................................................. 32 26 2. Applicable Statewide Planning Goals ......................................................................... 58 27 3. Goal 3 Exception......................................................................................................... 73 28 4. Additional Land Use Conditions ................................................................................ 76 29 5. Land Use Conditions Specifically Requested by Sherman County ............................ 76 30 E. SOIL PROTECTION, OAR 345-022-0022 ........................................................................... 78 31 F. PROTECTED AREAS, OAR 345-022-0040 ......................................................................... 81 32 G. SCENIC RESOURCES, OAR 345-022-0080 ........................................................................ 85 33 H. RECREATION, OAR 345-022-0100 ................................................................................... 89 34 I. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS, OAR 345-024-0010 .................................... 94 35 J. SITING STANDARDS FOR WIND ENERGY FACILITIES, OAR 345-024-0015 ....................... 98 36 K. SITING STANDARDS FOR TRANSMISSION LINES, OAR 345-024-0090 ............................ 105 37 L. THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES, OAR 345-022-0070 .................................... 106 38 M. FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT, OAR 345-022-0060....................................................... 112 39 V. STANDARDS NOT APPLICABLE TO SITE CERTIFICATE ELIGIBILITY ...................................... 128 40 A. STRUCTURAL STANDARD, OAR 345-022-0020 .............................................................. 128 41 B. HISTORIC, CULTURAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES, OAR 345-022-0090 ......... 132 42 C. PUBLIC SERVICES, OAR 345-022-0110 ......................................................................... 136 43 D. WASTE MINIMIZATION, OAR 345-022-0120 ................................................................. 142 44 VI. OTHER APPLICABLE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ............ 144 45 A. REQUIREMENTS UNDER COUNCIL JURISDICTION ............................................................ 144 46 1. NOISE C ONTROL R EGUL ATIONS, OAR 340-035-0035 ............................................ 145 GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT FINAL ORDER – May 15, 2009 Page ii 1 2. REMOVAL-FILL LAW ................................................................................................. 157 2 3. GROUND WATER ACT ................................................................................................ 158 3 4. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY .................................................................................... 158 4 B. SUMMARY OF MONITORING REQUIREMENTS .................................................................. 161 5 C. REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE NOT UNDER COUNCIL JURISDICTION .................................. 161 6 1. FEDERALLY DELEGATED PROGRAMS ......................................................................... 161 7 2. REQUIREMENTS THAT DO NOT RELATE TO SITING .................................................... 161 8 VII. CONDITIONS REQUIRED BY COUNCIL RULES ....................................................................... 161 9 VIII. GENERAL CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 168 10 IX. ORDER ................................................................................................................................. 169 11 12 Attachments 13 Attachment A: Wildlife Monitoring and Mitigation Plan 14 Attachment B: Habitat Mitigation and Revegetation Plan 15 16 GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT FINAL ORDER – May 15, 2009 Page iii 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 2 3 APE Area of Potential Effect 4 ASC Application for a Site Certificate 5 BBS Breeding Bird Survey 6 BLM Bureau of Land Management 7 BPA Bonneville Power Administration 8 BPAE BP Alternative Energy North America Inc. 9 Council Energy Facility Siting Council 10 CREP Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program 11 CRGNSA Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area 12 CRMP Cultural Resource Management Plan 13 CRP Conservation Reserve Program 14 CSZ Cascadia Subduction Zone 15 CWEC California Wind Energy Collaborative 16 dBA The “A-weighted” sound pressure level. The sound pressure level in decibels 17 as measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighted filter network. The 18 A-weighted filter deemphasizes the very low- and very high-frequency 19 components of the sound in a manner similar to the frequency response of the 20 human ear and correlates well with subjective reactions to noise. 21 Department Oregon Department of Energy 22 DEQ Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 23 DOGAMI Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries 24 DSL Oregon Department of State Lands 25 EFSC Energy Facility Siting Council 26 EFU land zoned for “exclusive farm use” 27 ESCP Erosion and Sediment Control Plan 28 FAA Federal Aviation Administration 29 GHWF Golden Hills Wind Farm LLC (or “Applicant”) 30 Golden Hills Golden Hills Wind Project 31 IBC International Building Code 32 IBR Iberdrola Renewables 33 kV kilovolt or kilovolts 34 KVAs key viewing areas 35 LCDC Land Conservation and Development Commission 36 MCE Maximum Considered Earthquake 37 met tower meteorological tower 38 MW megawatt or megawatts 39 MPE maximum probable 40 m/s meters per second 41 NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 42 NH natural hazards 43 NOI Notice of Intent 44 NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 45 NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service 46 O&M operations and maintenance GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT FINAL ORDER – May 15, 2009 Page iv 1 ODA Oregon Department of Aviation 2 ODFW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 3 ODOE Oregon Department of Energy 4 ODOT Oregon Department of Transportation 5 ONHIC Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center 6 ONHP Oregon Natural Heritage Program 7 PGA peak ground accelerations 8 PUC Oregon Public Utility Commission Safety and Reliability Section 9 RAI ODOE request for additional information 10 SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition 11 SCCP Sherman County Comprehensive Plan 12 SCZO Sherman County Zoning Ordinance 13 SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer 14 USACOE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 15 USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 16 WEST Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. 17 WMMP wildlife monitoring and mitigation plans 18 WSR federal Wild and Scenic River GOLDEN HILLS WIND PROJECT FINAL ORDER – May 15, 2009
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