Meeting Public Comments

Danielle Allensworth

Although I think renewable energy is incredbily important, I think Iowans have raised some legitimate questions about zoning and ordinances for wind turbines. If a NextEra employees are instructed to be at least 1 mile from one of their company's wind turbines in the event of a lightning storm, why would it be considered safe for them to build a turbine within 1 mile of a person's home? Safety should come first when considering these regulations.

Ronnie Boesch

Representatives Lundgren, Bagniewski, and Wills: Thank you for your time and service to Iowa and this committee. I appreciate your time and thoughtful consideration of all Iowans 'comments and not just big industries. I strongly oppose HSB317, which seeksto remove local governance by the county board of supervisors. Iowa Code 331.301designates local board of supervisors to manage these decisions by protecting thesafety, and property of the residents. They are elected by county residents and arebest positioned to understand the unique needs and concerns of theircommunities. Additionally, this bill is in direct conflict with Iowa Code 352.13, whichis designed to protect Iowa's conservation efforts, natural resources (including lakes,streams, wetlands, and wildlife), and farmland. Local governments are charged withsafeguarding our state's agricultural economy and preventing the conversion offarmland to urban or nonagricultural uses. HSB317 undermines this responsibility,threatening the sustainability of Iowa's farms and food production. The IowaConstitution Section 38A also grants home rule to local municipalities, reinforcingthe importance of local governance. Iowa's founding documents intended to empowerIowans with the authority to govern themselves and protect their rights. HSB317 is a direct violation of this principle, prioritizing outside interests, such as wind and solarcompanies, at the expense of local communities, property owners, and publicsafety. Furthermore, the bill disregards the negative economic and social impacts onrural communities. The proliferation of wind turbines over 6,500 already installed inIowa has resulted in significant land loss, with each turbine removing 12acres of farmland, that is, 78,000 acres of potential farmland lost. The construction,maintenance, and road damage associated with Industrial Wind Projects furtherundermines local resources and the economic stability of rural areas. Localgovernments will have to bear these costs with this bill. This bill brings the alreadyheavily subsidized industry another way to circumvent paying out, but ratherincreasing their profits with our tax dollars. I have not gone into the many different conservation or safety aspects, suffice it to say there are many from ice throws, lightning strikes, fires, or other health issues. The setbacks proposed in the bill are dangerous and create many unsafe situations for residents and wildlife as well. Our crop dusters are put at safety risks, non nonparticipating property owners will have economic loss due to an increase in the costs of spraying. The loss of bats, which provide natural pest control, will lead to increased pesticide use. So more money costs for land owners and potential water contamination. The bill has too many downsides to contend with, let alone the lost tourism and other negative economic impacts on Iowa. This bill is a threat to property rights and local control. The flag of Iowa reminds us of our "Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Maintain". I urge the Committee to respect Iowans' rights and vote no on HSB317. Thank you for your time and consideration. This bill HSB317 is basically the same as SF376 which did not make it out of the Senate committee. I respectfully submit those 23 pages of opposition comments as well.