York County Press Release
Written by Parker Garlough
A statewide renewable energy regulation bill has faced heavy opposition in York County as well as across the state.
But it appears the bill may not cross first base this year.
LB1204 would create a statewide set of zoning regulations for solar and wind farms in Nebraska and forbid counties from creating more restrictive standards. The regulations would cover elements such as setbacks, visual screening, and noise levels.
Under LB1204, counties may not mandate setbacks of more than 200 feet from the wall of an occupied dwelling, or 25 feet from a property line.
The setbacks would be substantially shorter than those proposed by the York County Zoning Board in 2024 and Commissioner Joe Burgess’ newest proposal. The Zoning Board’s regulations would have required that solar panels be at least half a mile from the property line of non-participating property owners. Under Burgess’ proposal, the setbacks would have been 330 feet.
The bill would also change the way taxes on renewable energy are collected. The county would receive 90% of the tax revenue collected by the facility, the community college would receive 5% and the public school districts would receive 5%.
That’s a drastic shift in favor of county revenue. Currently, in counties where renewable energy facilities are present, they receive about 22% of the tax revenue generated.
“This ensures all local entities benefit, while directing the primary revenue to the county, bearing political responsibility for the decision,” State Sen. Stanley Clouse, sponsor of LB1204, told the Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 12.
The county board will not put solar discussions on hold while the Legislature discusses LB1204.
“There were some comments, not from these (board members), but from others, saying, ‘Shouldn’t you just wait for them?’” said County Commissioner Randy Obermier. “No, we can’t wait on state senators, because who knows when they’re going to get anything done.”
Setting solar zoning regulations has already been an unexpectedly lengthy process in York County.
“When I was first running, they were fairly confident that it wouldn’t even be a thing before I got elected,” Burgess said. “At that point, it had already been three, almost four years, since people had signed on to the project, and it had gone to the zoning board twice.”
Plus, the board is not inclined to wait for a bill that seems unlikely to pass.
“I don’t think it’s going anywhere this session,” Obermier said. “They’re running out of time. They got budget shortfalls to deal with. It’s a mess down there.”
The sponsor of the bill had a similar assessment.
“No, I won’t prioritize it, because there’s too much work to be done on it,” Clouse said.
The bill has faced heavy criticism from people concerned about the balance of power between county boards and the state Legislature.
“It takes away local control of parts of zoning that might be crucial to the progress, direction and stability of county economies,” County Commissioner Andy Bowman said in a statement. “York County and its citizens have the right to determine their future, and state legislators need to stay out of those conversations.”
Some York County residents have raised concerns about solar panels for years, and they have incorporated LB1204 into their conversations with County Board members.
“They’re not happy at all with that, they being our rural residents,” Obermier said. “And not just Hayes. I’ve been contacted by Benedict (residents) and stuff like that, too.”
Hayes Township is the prospective location of the 2,800-acre solar farm the Omaha Public Power District seeks to build.
One such resident took his concerns all the way to the Legislature, testifying against the bill in front of the Natural Resources Committee.
“LB1204 breaks in that longstanding tradition (of local control) by removing county authority and replacing it with single statewide standards that do not reflect the diversity of Nebraska rural landscapes,” said York County resident Gene Jackson.
Opposition to LB1204 is widespread.
“It pretty much got the whole state stirred up,” Obermier said.
One significant voice against LB1204 was the Nebraska Association of County Officials.
“NACO did take a position last week to oppose LB1204, which I figured they would, because it cuts into the authority that the counties have,” Obermier said at a County Board meeting Feb. 3.
NACO urged county officials to speak up, and they were successful in rallying opposition to the bill.
“Seventeen county officials, property owners, attorneys, and others spoke in opposition to LB1204, and more than 300 submitted online comments against the bill,” according to a statement made by NACO.
The future of the bill will likely include an amendment to turn the standards into an opt-in program, with the additional tax revenue as an incentive.
“When it’s amended, we get it cleaned up, counties will always have the ability to choose whether they want to participate in this act or not,” Clouse told the Natural Resources Committee. “This act is just simply intended as an incentive, not a mandate.”
Developing those amendments may take until the next legislative session.
“I didn’t think it was probably ready for prime time this year,” state Sen. Jana Hughes told Clouse at a Natural Resource Committee hearing. “You had mentioned just doing a lot more work in the interim on it, and perhaps bringing something new next year.”
To Jackson, that amendment isn’t good enough.
Jackson said he would still oppose an opt-in version of the bill. “As long as the decision isn’t made locally, it’s no good. It isn’t acceptable.”
If York County could decide whether to opt into Clouse’s proposed regulations, would they? It seems unlikely.
“As they currently stand, probably not,” Obermier said.
Burgess agrees.
“I can certainly guarantee we would probably be opt out,” Burgess said.
In Clouse’s view, York County is not alone in that.
“If 71% of the counties already have regulations, then they’re probably not going to be filling into this,” Clouse told the Natural Resources Committee. “So that’s a very small percentage yet that may want to … participate in this if this bill moves forward.”
Parker Garlough is a reporter at the York News-Times. They can be reached at parker.garlough@yorknewstimes.com
