Horse Heaven Wind Project - land use and adjudication

On March 30, 2021, EFSEC convened a land use consistency hearing on the Horse Heaven Wind project. Due to the pandemic, the meeting was held virtually.

On May 17, 2022, the Council voted to adopt Order 883, finding the proposed site consistent with Benton County land use and zoning regulations at the time the application was filed. The vote passed with 7 yeas and 1 nay (due to technical difficulties the nay vote was not captured during the meeting but accepted by the Chair via email after the meeting). 

The land use hearing determined that, at the time of application, the site was located entirely within the Growth Managment Act Agricultural (GMA AG) land use designation and entirely within the corresponding Growth Managment Act Agricultural District (GMAAD). Major solar power generation facilities and wind turbine farms are conditionally permitted in the GMAAD.

Council Order 883 required an adjudication to consider any conditions that might be required for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility in the GMAAD, consistent with Benton County's conditional use criteria in effect at the time the application for site certification was filed with EFSEC.

On December 15, 2022, the Council issued the Order Commencing Agency Adjudication, which established February 3, 2023, as the deadline for petitions to intervene and March 10, 2023, as the date for the first pre-hearing conference.

Between March and August 2023, EFSEC held five adjudicative pre-hearing conferences and issued four pre-hearing conference orders.

The pre-hearing conferences served as the first step in the Council's adjudicative process to address Benton County's criteria for issuance of a conditional use permit for the project and to consider other disputed issues identified by the parties.

From August 14-25, 2023, EFSEC held eight days of adjudicative hearings. On Wednesday, August 23 from 5:30pm-8:00pm, EFSEC provided an opportunity for the public to comment during the hearings.

• Monday, August 14, 9:00am-4:00pm - Land use consistency
• Tuesday, August 15, 9:00am-4:00pm, and Wednesday, August 16, 9:00am-12:00pm - Environmental impacts: wildlife
• Monday, August 21, 9:00am-4:00pm - Cultural, historic, and archaeological resource impacts (confidential)
• Tuesday, August 22, 9:00am-4:00pm - Societal and economic Impacts, overall scope and scale
• Wednesday, August 23, 9:00am-4:00pm - Overall scope and scale (continued), environmental and physical impacts: visual, and site restoration and decommissioning
• Wednesday, August 23, 5:30pm-8:00pm - Public comment hearing
• Thursday, August 24, 9:00am-4:00pm - Environmental and physical impacts: visual (continued) and other physical impacts
• Friday, August 25, 9:00am-4:00pm - Environmental and physical impacts: other physical impacts (continued)

Private citizens, tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, local, state, and federal agencies were eligible to petition the Council to become intervenors (parties) in the proceedings. The Council granted intervenor participation based on the project's potential or possible impact on those seeking intervention. Participation as a party in an adjudication includes specific rights and responsibilities, including the sponsorship of expert witnesses, cross-examination of other parties' experts and the filing of briefs.