On Sept. 23, the Board of Skagit County Commissioners adopted a six-month moratorium on the acceptance of applications for electrical energy storage or generation facilities on county land zoned for agricultural uses.
The county planning commission will host a public hearing on Oct. 8 for a code amendment that will effectively prohibit large electrical utility development in agricultural resource land. The commission is currently accepting comments on the amendment at pdscomments@co.skagit.wa.us.
The intention of the emergency moratorium is to avert a possible flood of new applications that might be submitted before the code amendment passes.
“The moratorium will afford our community time and space to get this right,” said Skagit County Commissioner Peter Browning in an announcement Monday afternoon. “Pavement is forever.”
The proposed change in land use policy is partly in response to the Goldeneye battery energy storage system, a controversial project planned for private farmland next to the Puget Sound Energy substation in Sedro-Woolley. The 200-megawatt battery system is only one of several projects proposed in Skagit and Whatcom counties in response to the huge anticipated demand for electricity ushered in by state energy policy and the transition away from fossil fuels.
The moratorium will have no impact on Goldeneye or other projects that have already been submitted for consideration by the county or by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.
The District 39 legislative delegation, the Skagit County Commissioners and the Sedro-Woolley City Council have taken a stand in opposition to the proposal due to their concerns about the safety of battery facilities and the impact of large utility development to farmlands and to productive salmon-bearing tributary of the Skagit River.
Skagit County has invested significantly in preserving the region’s agricultural heritage. The tax-funded Farmland Legacy Program compensates landowners for placing a perpetual conservation easement on their land and continuing their farming operations, rather than subdividing or developing arable land.
“Our community has sacrificed for generations to protect Skagit farmland over the long term,” said Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen. “Our action today is about honoring the sacrifice and dedication of those who came before us.”
The board of county commissioners will hold a public hearing on the moratorium at 1:30 p.m., Oct. 21. The public may join the hearing in person at 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, or via Zoom at the link on the board’s webpage.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
