Decision-Makers & Approvals

Pre-Meeting: The applicant must hold a minimum of one informal community meeting to inform the public. Planning staff are responsible.

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File application and all required materials with the Planning Office.

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County Planner performs completeness review and distributes application and plans, soliciting written comments within 20 days of distribution, to: 

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• County Engineer
• Director of Public Works
• County Environmental Health Officer
• County Building Inspector
• The relevant utilities

Following this, the County Planner reviews all comments and submits a written report to the Board of Adjustment or Hearing Examiner, and then schedules and holds a public hearing before the BOA or Hearing Examiner.

Any appeal of the County’s SEPA determination will be a part of a consolidated hearing that will hear and decide both the CUP and the SEPA administrative appeal.

The County must review and provide written approval of micrositing corridors and areas for all roads, wind turbine locations, and above- and below-ground electrical transmission locations. This review occurs at the time of final layout approval, after the CUP has been issued.

Conditional Use Permit

The County has a zoning code ordinance on Commercial Wind Energy Facilities, applicable to the Agricultural District. The application for a Conditional Use Permit is handled by the County’s Board of Adjustments. State approval and certification by EFSEC is still required. The Wind Facilities Ordinance is provided for reference.

Zoning: Zoning map available only in the County’s offices. Presumed agricultural district. 

Special note: The County has a wind ordinance, but nothing for solar. The Washington State DNR is soliciting developers for solar leases in Klickitat County.

State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council | EFSEC

Washington State’s Energy Facility Site Council (EFSEC) has the authority and responsibility for the regulation and certification of the location, construction, and operational conditions of certification of energy facilities. It has the power to preempt local regulation and certification of the location, construction, and operational conditions of certification of energy facilities. EFSEC is an independent state agency whose members are appointed by the governor and include agency representatives from five state agencies. Final Bill Analysis

Optional membership is extended to local governments, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, and the Military Department on a project-by-project basis.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s primary focus is mitigating climate change, with specific goals on renewable energy and new project types like green hydrogen, clean energy product manufacturing facilities, and storage facilities.  PRESS RELEASE EFSEC 

Applications for all jurisdictions may be processed by EFSEC. However, any jurisdiction with a wind ordinance in effect may apply for the use permit through that jurisdiction. A process with the EFSEC has the authority to preempt any local ordinances and other requirements once the EFSEC has certified the project. Whitman County does have a wind ordinance in effect. 

As of February, 2022, EFSEC the Council had approved only three wind and solar projects to date stating, “The vast majority of wind and solar have gone before the county governments. I believe the council’s siting process is the most thorough environmental review.” Washington wind power farms may conflict with habitat preservation projects

In the absence of a zoning ordinance adopted by the local jurisdiction, the first step in the application process would be with the EFSEC. The process and other information about the EFSEC is detailed here. Siting Process Flow Chart

Optional preliminary site study by EFSEC. Prospective applicants may request that EFSEC conduct a preliminary site study to help determine if there are environmental, social, or regulatory obstacles that cannot be overcome. A $10,000 fee must accompany the preliminary site study request.

Certification (Siting Review)

The EFSEC certification process was designed to give applicants an opportunity to present their proposals, allow interested parties to express their concerns to the Council, and have the Council address issues related to the application.

An Expedited Process may be requested for projects that are consistent and compliant with existing local land use ordinances, and that the EFSEC determines does not have significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated.

An Expedited Process requires the Council to determine eligibility within 4 months of application submittal and make a recommendation to the governor within 6 weeks of granting eligibility.  

There are seven major steps in the certification process. The linked material includes the statutes and administrative code references pertaining to the process.

1. Application Submittal & $50,000 fee
2. Application Review
3. Initial Public Meeting
4. Land Use Consistency Hearing
5. Environmental Impact Statement
6. Adjudicative Proceedings and Permits Review
7. Recommendation to the Governor

Each step has specific requirements the applicant and the Council must follow to ensure a comprehensive and balanced review of the project. Many of the steps take place at the same time. Certification Process | EFSEC

Members

This is the roster for the Council, as of 1/11/2023. 

• Kathleen Drew, EFSEC Chair
• Kate Kelly, Department of Commerce
• Eli Levitt, Department of Ecology 
• Mike Livingston, Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Lenny Young, Department of Natural Resources (Commissioner of Public Lands)
• Stacey Brewster, Utilities and Transportation Commission; Admin law and Policy 

Director of Siting and Compliance: Ami Hafkemeyer

WHITMAN COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The Comprehensive Plan was updated and adopted in 2022. Minutes reflect that County Commissioners and Planning Commission members discussed both wind and solar in the county. The origins of the County’s Commercial Wind Energy Facilities ordinance was also discussed, revealing that it was crafted and enacted when officials “heard about EFSEC before we had the wind farm up there. We wanted to avoid that so we put the ordinance in place so that there was no need for the State to intervene. So, the applicants are the ones that would push for an EFSEC process if we didn’t have a code that would deal with this.” (Emphasis added) Comp Plan Update Meeting with Renewables Comments, 6/16/2021

Plan Details

The Whitman County Comprehensive Plan supports renewable energy as an economic opportunity for landowners and seeks research partnerships with WSU. The plan includes renewable energy development goals and policies related to land use, economic development, and climate change.

The development of renewable energy facilities is encouraged in order to diversify employment opportunities in the region, foster living wage jobs, and supplement the income of family farms where appropriate and feasible. All renewable energy forms are mentioned (hydro and geothermal included). The County sees regulations related to facilities and utilities that allow for and encourage upgrades to the electric grid as key to developing sustainable renewable energy generation in Whitman County.

This link is the Comp plan resident survey with responses. See Question 18 about renewable energy. Whitman Comp Plan Survey

Whitman County has a commission form of government with three commissioners, one for each district. The Commissioners are responsible for adopting, amending and repealing all county ordinances including zoning, traffic, planning and public safety ordinances and any other ordinance concerning the general welfare of the county.  Commissioners serve 4 year terms. 

The Commissioners participate in the Eastern Washington Council of Governments, where they discuss state legislation, Columbia River issues like dams, and wildlife issues like wolves and cougars. Eastern Washington Council of Governments