State of Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council

The State of Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC or Council) provides a “one-stop” siting process for major energy facilities in the State of Washington. EFSEC coordinates all evaluation and licensing steps for siting certain energy facilities in Washington. EFSEC specifies the conditions of construction and operation. If approved, a Site Certification Agreement is issued in lieu of any other individual state or local agency permits. EFSEC also manages an environmental and safety oversight program of facility and site operations.

EFSEC project siting review, or certification, is the state licensing process for the siting, construction, and operation of an energy project. A preliminary site study may be done prior to starting the certification process, to assess whether to proceed with an application. The Council is responsible for evaluating applications to ensure that all environmental and socioeconomic impacts are considered before making a recommendation to the Governor to approve or deny the project (flow chart). If the Council determines that constructing and operating the facility will produce minimal adverse effects on the environment, ecology of the land and wildlife, and ecology of the state waters and aquatic life, and meets its construction and operation standards then it recommends that a Site Certification Agreement (SCA) be approved and signed by the Governor. The SCA lists the conditions the applicant must meet during construction and while operating the facility. A SCA does not grant the right of eminent domain to the SCA holder.

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Updates:

March 30, 2021

EFSEC conducted an initial public hearing on the application by Scout Clean Energy to build the Horse Heaven Hills Wind farm project. Scout withdrew its request to fast-track the application and the project will go through a environmental review.

May 11, 2021

The Washington State agency reviewing this project, EFSEC, will be conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). At this time, EFSEC is requesting comments on factors that should be considered for the EIS. The EIS will include the elements wildlife/habitat; visual/aesthetics; and land use. Let them know what other factors are important to you, such as property values, environmental health, noise, light and glare, energy and resources, cultural resources, etc. The deadline for comments is June 10, 2021. The link to the website to leave a comment is:

https://www.efsec.wa.gov/energy-facilities/horse-heaven-wind-project

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4/20/2021

Verbatim Transcripts (partial) of the EFSEC Council Meetings: Updates on the Horse Heaven Hills Windfarm Project.

MS. MOON: Good afternoon, Council, Chairman Drew, and Council members. For the record,
this is Amy Moon, providing an update on the Horse Heaven Wind project.
EFSEC staff continue to process the Horse Heaven Wind project application for site certification — the acronym is ASC — that was received in February. The project proponent, Scout Clean Energy, submitted a letter on March 29th, 2021, withdrawing their request for an expedited process.
EFSEC plans to issue a State Environmental Policy Act determination — the acronym
for that is SEPA — SEPA determination of significance and request for comments on the scope of an environmental impact statement that is otherwise known as an EIS. The scoping process will identify the topics for detailed analysis to evaluate potential significant impacts because of the proposed project.

Benton County appointed Ed Brost to the EFSEC Council for the Horse Heaven Wind project on March 16th, 2021. A public informational meeting and land use hearing were held virtually within 60 days of the application receipt on March 30th, 2021, as required by WAC 463-43-040. Oral and written comments were accepted at the informational meeting. Benton County and the project applicant presented testimony at the land use hearing. 

Comment letters received from Washington state agencies have been posted to the EFSEC public project website. Comments received from the public have also been posted to the project website. Does the Council have any questions? 

CHAIR DREW:  Are there any questions for Ms. Moon? 

JUDGE TOREM: Amy Moon, this is Judge Torem. Do you know when we expect a transcript of those hearings to be posted on the website?
MS. MOON: Ami Kidder may be able to answer that. I have not been updated on that expectation. 

MS. KIDDER: I have not yet, and I have not—Judge Torem, and I have not yet seen the draft, and so what will happen is the draft will come to Council members, and we will review that probably before our next meeting, and I would think that you would get them at that time as a draft.

MS. Bumpus ?
MS. BUMPUS: That’s correct, Chair Drew. 

MS. KIDDER: If I can jump in here for the record. This is Ami Kidder. Typically we receive the drafts within about 30 days.

Chair Drew: Thank you, MS. Kidder.

Okay, any other questions?

Okay, that concludes our project updates.

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Verbatim Transcript of Monthly Council Meeting – 5/18/2021

CHAIR DREW: Moving on to the Horse Heaven Wind Project, Ms. Moon.                                  MS. MOON: Okay Thank you, Chair Drew.  Good afternoon, Council Chair Drew and Councilmembers.  For the record, this is Amy Moon providing an update on Horse Heaven Wind Project. EFSEC issued a State Environmental Policy Act, otherwise known as SEPA, determination of significance and request for comments of scope of environmental impact statement, which is an EIS, for the Horse Heaven Wind Project on May 11th. The notice stated that an EIS will be prepared and identified wildlife habitat, visual aesthetics, and land use as environmental elements that require a detailed analysis. In addition, the notice stated that additional information is required before the — before determining the level of analysis in the EIS for air, water, and water includes wetlands, water quality, and water resources, plants, energy and natural resources, environmental health, noise, light and glare, historical  resources, and cultural resources. The EIS will at a minimum include a no action alternative and the applicant’s proposal. EFSEC will determine the full scope of the EIS including the  range of alternatives to be analyzed at the end of the scoping period after comments are reviewed. A public comment period for the scoping is open until June 10th, which allows for a 30-day comment period from the date of posting, which was May 11th. And on May 10th, EFSEC Staff, an Ecology wetland scientist, and the applicant met at the project site for a wetland site visit. We visited several locations that had been identified during a desktop published resource review as potential wetlands and no wetlands were found. Does the Council have any questions? CHAIR DREW: So, again, the scoping notice  has been sent to everyone on our list and is also on our website if people would like to take a look at that and  how to respond; is that correct?  MS. MOON: Correct.  CHAIR DREW: Okay. Are there questions from Councilmembers?  Okay. I don’t hear any. Thank you. We  look forward to information following this scoping period.  And at this point, that concludes our  agenda. So this meeting is adjourned and our next 22 meeting will be — and of course I did not put the date 23 in front of me — third Tuesday of June. We will talk 24 to you all and expect additional information 25 particularly on the Columbia Solar Project at a 1 before that if we — if we can get that to you. Thank you. We are adjourned. (Adjourned at 1:57 p.m.)

CHAIR DREW: So, again, the scoping notice has been sent to everyone on our list and is also on our website if people would like to take a look at that and how to respond; is that correct? MS. MOON: Correct. CHAIR DREW: Okay. Are there questions from Councilmembers? Okay. I don’t hear any. Thank you. We look forward to information following this scoping period. And at this point, that concludes our agenda. So this meeting is adjourned and our next  meeting will be — and of course I did not put the date in front of me — third Tuesday of June. We will talk to you all and expect additional information  particularly on the Columbia Solar Project at a  before that if we — if we can get that to you. Thank you. We are adjourned. (Adjourned at 1:57 p.m.)

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6/16/2021: Email update from Amy Kidder to Barry Bush on the status of the EIS

Barry, The comment period for the Environmental Impact Statement Scoping ended on June 10th, and EFSEC is in the process of reviewing these comments with our consultant. Once these comments are reviewed, EFSEC will determine which topics will receive a detailed analysis in the EIS. At this point, we will be able to create a schedule for developing the Draft EIS. Once the Draft is written, it will be issued for its own public comment period. Until we review the Scoping comments, though, we won’t know how extensive the Draft EIS may be, and how much analysis will be needed, so a schedule would be premature at this time. The link below will take you to the steps for siting as outlined on the EFSEC website. If you have any further questions about the information there, please let me know. https://www.efsec.wa.gov/about-efsec/certification-process#Certification Best Wishes, Amí Kidder EFSEC Siting and Compliance Manager ami.kidder@utc.wa.gov Office – 360.664.1305

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General Information on EFSEC

The Monthly Council Meeting Agenda is available on their website here: https://www.efsec.wa.gov/council-information/council-meetings

“To be added to EFSEC’s project mailing list, send an email to EFSEC@UTC.wa.gov.  
Application documents will be available on the EFSEC website atwww.efsec.wa.gov/energy-facilities.”

Staff Contacts

From the EFSC website, the following information is available:

For information about:	Staff to contact:
EFSEC Chair	Kathleen Drew EFSEC Chair kathleen.drew@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1360
EFSEC AdministrationSiting and Monitoring ProcessesRule MakingLegislationMedia InquiriesCompliance MonitoringEFSEC Review ProcessGeneral Council InformationWhistling Ridge Energy ProjectTransmission Line ProjectsSEPA official	Sonia Bumpus EFSEC Manager sonia.bumpus.@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1363
EFSEC AdministrationSiting and Monitoring ProcessesRule MakingCompliance MonitoringEFSEC Review ProcessGeneral Council InformationTransmission Line Projects	Ami Kidder Siting and Compliance Manager ami.kidder@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1305
EFSEC Review ProcessWater Discharge PermitsDesert Claim Wind Power ProjectColumbia Generating Station	Amy Moon Energy Facility Site Specialistamy.moon@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1362
EFSEC Review ProcessColumbia Solar ProjectWild Horse Wind FacilityChehalis Generation FacilityGrays Harbor Energy CenterKittitas Valley Wind Power ProjectWhistling Ridge	Kyle Overton Energy Facility Site Specialistkyle.overton@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1357
General EFSEC informationGeneral Council informationRequests for documentsInvoicesPolicies and ProceduresRecords ManagementSharePoint	Tammy Mastro Commerce Specialist 1tammy.mastro@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1359
General EFSEC informationGeneral Council informationCouncil Meetings, Schedules, Agendas, Locations and MinutesRecords archivingAdditions to mailing listsWebsite maintenance	Joan Owens  Secretary Supervisorjoan.owens@utc.wa.gov 360-664-1920

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Office Information:

Mailing Address: PO BOX 43172 Olympia WA, 98504-3172	Street Address: 621 Woodland Square Loop SE Lacey, WA 98503 Office location
Phone number: (360) 664-1345	EFSEC email address: efsec@utc.wa.gov

Council Meetings

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council plans to meet once per month, on the third Tuesday of each month (room availability can necessitate some date variations).

Meetings start at 1:30 p.m. and are usually held in the Utility and Transportation building in Lacey, WA, however please check our Calendar, the Agenda for the meeting or subscribe to our Email list for the final location. Meeting agendas are usually posted to the website and a notice is sent to our email list about 1 week prior to the meeting.

Meeting minutes are usually approved at the following month’s meeting and posted approximately 5 days after the meeting.

Please Note: This schedule is in accordance with WAC 463-18-050. All EFSEC meetings are Special Meetings under Chapter 42.30 RCW. The meetings listed below are subject to change or cancellation.

If needed, EFSEC may hold additional Special Meetings in accordance with the rule and law cited above. For additional or updated scheduling information contact EFSEC at (360) 664-1345.

Attending a Council meeting:

Due to public health and safety concerns regarding Covid-19 EFSEC is holding all future Council meetings virtually until further notice. Our meetings are typically held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1:30 PM. Check our Calendar for more information.

Attend meeting via Skype

https://lync.wa.gov/utc.wa.gov/meet/joan.owens/YH9913TR

or use the dial-in number: 1 (360) 407-3810 ID: 214817#

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