The Teanaway Solar Reserve project will be in the news off and on for the next few weeks, as the county Department of Community Services has issued a mitigated determination of nonsignificance for the project (July 16 Daily Record article, Kittitas County Community Development page. As I wrote earlier, it seems to me that a project of this size and uniqueness in the area deserves a closer look, but that's not necessarily the way State Environmental Policy Act works (RCW 43.21C.030).
This is an interesting topic for several reasons. The county's mishandling of the well moratorium has led to an unusually difficult economy in the Upper County, and the project promises jobs, at least during the construction phase. On the other hand, there appears to be strong opposition to the project among many Upper County residents.
Over the next week or so I'll be taking a closer look at the project, and talking to various stakeholders in the same way I analyzed the well moratorium issue.
Have you contacted the "Citizens for a Rural Teanaway"? They are the group who are opposing the location, especially without a full Environmental Impact Survey. Their website is www.thecart.org
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