The county commissioners tabled a motion to advertise several amendments to the subdivision and land development ordinance, including one that requires solar and wind energy developers to submit facility decommissioning bonds to the county, as two solar energy generation plans have been proposed.

At their meeting Wednesday, the commissioners tabled the motion after discussing the decommissioning bond amendment during a planning commission hearing, held before the commissioners’ meeting.

During the hearing, county planner Joel MacKay said the decommissioning bond amendment was the most significant of the proposed amendments. The ordinance addresses large solar and wind energy generation developments, not home rooftop solar panels, and applies to 21 municipalities in the county that don’t have their own planning commissions and are served by the county planning commission.

MacKay said the current language in the ordinance, which was updated last year, requires developers to post the bond in an amount no less than the estimated net decommissioning cost, or less than 25% of the estimated decommissioning cost with the municipality. The net decommissioning cost is the cost of removing equipment minus its salvage value.

The ordinance requires owners or operators to decommission their facilities within 12 months after the end of its useful life. The useful life of a facility ends when it doesn’t produce energy for 12 continuous months.

However, the ordinance doesn’t define municipality, and the intent of the language is to require developers to post bond with the county because it is better equipped than small municipalities to maintain bonds, he said.

The amendment requires developers to post decommissioning bonds with the county before the plan can be approved.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said having the county handle bonds protects municipalities by avoiding the possibility of municipalities losing track of bonds when there are leadership changes.

Geyer said the state does not regulate solar and wind energy generation, but facilities exist. She compared solar and wind energy generation to drilling for Marcellus Shale gas, saying drilling for gas began years before the state imposed regulations.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel questioned the 25% bonding requirement, saying he doesn’t know if the amount is enough to pay for decommissioning if a developer fails to decommission its facility.

Leslie Osche, chairwoman of the commissioners, said the amendments should be tabled until the commissioners can discuss them with municipal leaders.

MacKay said deficiencies in the ordinance were found when it was reviewed after the commission received a plan for a proposed solar panel array at Iron Mountain’s information storage and management facility in Cherry Township. The proposal includes a decommissioning plan.

The commission granted conditional approval, and was advised by its solicitor to not grant final approval until the amendments are approved, he said.

Another developer has proposed a 2.4-acre solar panel array on the property of Dassa McKinney Elementary School in Clay Township, but the commission has recommended that the township not approve the plan.

Clay Township is among the 36 municipalities that have and administer their own subdivision and land development ordinances, but the county planning commission reviews plans and offers recommendations for the township.

The county planning commission found that the plan does not comply with the township’s ordinance because it lacks an exact property line survey, a grading plan, a list of equipment that would be installed, a stormwater control plan, a sediment control plan and approval from the county conservation district, as well as other issues. The county also recommended that the township require the developer to submit a decommissioning plan and bond.