OTTUMWA — After fielding concerns from Wapello County residents during a third public hearing, a proposed renewable energy ordinance will undergo revisions, some potentially significant.
And they’ll be done without input from supervisor Carrie Teninty.
In an emotional statement Tuesday, Teninty announced she would abstain from any vote and discussion regarding an ordinance that could bring wind and other energies to the county. Citing a perception of conflict of interest, Teninty said she didn’t make the decision lightly, and that there was no pressure from a legal standpoint to abstain.
“As I stated prior to the election, in 2023, my husband and I did sign a lease with Dusty Fox Wind. This is a potential conflict of interest, specifically a financial interest,” she told a packed courtroom at the courthouse. “I recognize the importance of this ordinance before us, and the broader policy consideration it represents. My decision is made in interest of maintaining transparency, accountability and fairness.
“I want to ensure that the board’s decision is grounded solely with the merits of the ordinance.”
Later in the meeting, fellow supervisor Bryan Ziegler said he believed Teninty need not abstain, citing Iowa Code Section 68B.2A, which talks about an “individual interest” having “an advantage not available to the public.”
“I do appreciate Carrie from the standpoint of transparency, but in my opinion Carrie does not have that (advantage),” he said. “She does not have an isolated interest that is not available to other landowners. We all have the risk of being attacked on conflict of interest all the time.”
Supervisor Darren Batterson also shot down any perception he is against wind turbines, though resident Dennis Willhoit believed he was “reluctant to be a leader and be out front.”
“I’m not against wind turbines. I’m against the process for trying to get them here,” he said. “I don’t think the ordinance does enough to protect everyone involved and those not involved. I don’t think we’ve found that middle ground.”
Batterson cited reports he’d received about farmers being pestered to sign leases, though the Dusty Fox project is voluntary. He also had concerns about insurance to landowners in the event of a disaster. He reasoned the county needs to find a middle ground because some other counties’ ordinances are “very good, terrible, and some are extremely restrictive.”
In all, 16 different residents spoke on the possibility of wind energy, and the opinions were mixed. Landowner Roger Russ touched on the blinking lights emitted from the turbine, which are required by the Federal Aviation Administration, Apex Clean Energy development manager Matt Eberl said, but shut off once aircraft are out of the vicinity.
(This story is developing and will be updated)
