Dear Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners:
Commissioner Hank Hughes
Commissioner Anna C. Hansen
Commissioner Justin S. Greene
Commissioner Camilla Bustamante
Commissioner Anna T. Hamilton
We, the residents of Santa Fe County, request that a moratorium be enacted immediately, on the County’s consideration of applications (including applications for Conditional Use Permits) for a Utility Scale (Commercial) renewable energy facility and/or Utility Scale (Commercial) Battery Energy Storage System. The moratorium would continue until the County has adopted land use regulations for the siting of such facilities, adopted regulations and standards for the assessment of such facility permit applications, and developed and adopted emergency response plans required by state law, federal law and the County’s Sustainable Growth Management Plan
Enacting a moratorium will provide Santa Fe County officials the time to study and consider the level of risk and degree of regulation to adopt, which is paramount in protecting residents’ health, safety and general welfare and to also to consider (and adopt) land use development policies and standards related to Utility Scale (Commercial) Renewable Energy and/or Utility Scale (Commercial) Battery Energy Storage Systems.
Legally required emergency response plans must also be developed. Chapter 9 of the County’s Sustainable Growth Management Plan identifies as a “Key Issue” that “The current emergency response system is not sufficient to service our population today. In the case of a large-scale emergency, where large numbers of County residents would have to be evacuated or hospitalized, the County and provider infrastructure and resources would be insufficient”.
A Moratorium is necessary, and failing to act on this will put many lives in danger.
The current Santa Fe County Codes lack guidelines or regulations specific to Utility Scale (Commercial) Renewable Energy facilities, and also lack any regulations specific to a Lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage Systems (Utility-Scale/Commercial). Despite this, past applications were accepted by the county, to consider for permit approval. Before any further applications (including Conditional Use Permits) are accepted, it is critical to enact a moratorium.
Santa Fe County has no prior experience in assessing a facility of this type, magnitude, complexity or inherent risk. There are numerous considerations for such facilities, which are not listed in the Santa Fe County Codes or Plans, which are critical in adopting prior to any consideration of such facilities, for example:
Fire Risk
Toxic Gas Release
Explosion Potential
Zoning in Industrial (less populous areas)
Lack of Emergency Response Plans including:
· “All Hazard” Emergency Response Plans required under state law and Santa Fe County’s Sustainable Growth Management Plan
· The Emergency Response Plan require by the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.
Lack of an appropriate Local Emergency Response Committee
Evacuation zone considerations in relation to the proximity of said facility
Training for local emergency responders
Cybersecurity
Alarms and Sirens for adjacent neighborhoods
Groundwater contamination
Water Requirements
Soil erosion; impact of surface water flow patterns
Air pollution; debris during and after construction and impact on health of residents
Oversight of project before, during and after construction
Water pollution; water binds with chemicals released during the fire and drained into aquifer under the facility.
Noise pollution; from inverters, transformers and ventilation/cooling systems.
Light pollution
Wildlife impact
Wildlife Corridor Locations
Setbacks and Buffers; Berms and Shrapnel Barriers
Transmission lines; should be underground
Visual Requirements
Financial Responsibilities and Liabilities;
-Liable party/parties in the event of illness and/or loss of life related to the facility.
-Liable party for the cost of damage from fire; strains on local resources
-Liable party for the cost of increase in home/property insurance and decrease of home value?
-Liable party for all consultants, local resource use (especially in the event of emergencies related to said facilities), and local infrastructure upgrade requirements?
Technical Studies (Consulting Firms must be selected by the County {not the developer} and ALL expenses paid for by the Developer alone)
-BESS Fire/Gas/Explosion assessment
-Solar Fire Risk assessment
-Fire Protection Planning
-Groundwater assessment
-Air Quality
-Historic Resources
-Archaeological Resources
-Biological Resources
-Noise EIR Preparer
-Revegetation Planning
-Transportation & Traffic Visual Analysis
In summary, in the past couple of years, countless local city and county governments have been enacting moratoriums on proposed facilities, in order to ensure the appropriate oversight, regulations and standards are in place, prior to further consideration of such facilities.
Commissioners, we, as the residents of Santa Fe County, implore you to immediately enact a moratorium on all Utility Scale (Commercial) Renewable Energy Facilities and all Utility Scale (Commercial) Battery Energy Storage System facilities, as well as all of their required infrastructure, in order to protect the residents of Santa Fe County in which you have promised to serve and protect.
Sincerely,
Residents of Santa Fe County New Mexico