RWE to fix runoff at Timberland

  • Jeff Sharp gives an update on the runoff issues from the Timberland Solar site during the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday. Sharp, the county’s director of planning, zoning and compliance, is working with RWE to resolve the problem. (Felix Scheyer/The Oglethorpe Echo)
    Jeff Sharp gives an update on the runoff issues from the Timberland Solar site during the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday. Sharp, the county’s director of planning, zoning and compliance, is working with RWE to resolve the problem. (Felix Scheyer/The Oglethorpe Echo)
  • Commissioner Tracy Norman (right) responds as fellow commissioner Will Brown looks on during the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday. (Felix Scheyer/The Oglethorpe Echo)
    Commissioner Tracy Norman (right) responds as fellow commissioner Will Brown looks on during the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday. (Felix Scheyer/The Oglethorpe Echo)

    Jeff Sharp told the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners that RWE Clean Energy, the owner of the Timberland Solar Project, “has acknowledged” stormwater runoff issues and agrees to redesign the site to protect residents who have been affected by flooding for years.

     

    Sharp, the county’s director of planning, zoning and compliance, spoke for about 7 minutes at Monday’s meeting, which was attended by representatives from RWE. He said RWE reached out to him last Friday and that he met with company reps on Monday. 

     

    “I feel a little bit better that we are finally moving in the right direction,” Sharp said. 

     

    Sharp said one of his biggest concerns isn’t with RWE, but with MYR Group, the contractor. He said MYR has denied stormwater runoff issues for three years. 

     

    The impact to John Burt’s 341 acres started after the solar farm broke ground in April 2022 and a substation was added. Runoff from the project site at 1300 Goose Pond Road flows onto his property.

     

    Several other residents also have been affected by the runoff.

     

    “They (RWE) could not actually give me an answer … because of on-going debate between the contractor and themselves,” Sharp said. “That is one of my biggest concerns because we have had a dry winter and a dry summer, really, except for the hurricane. But, it doesn’t take much rain before Mr. Burt’s property and everybody else gets a huge impact.” 

     

    John Stoddard, a community strategist with RWE who attended the meeting, said the company is doing what it can to determine successful next steps. 

     

    “We’re doing everything in our power to explore (the concerns) and explore them thoroughly to determine what the best path forward is for us to continue the construction of the project within our means,” Stoddard said. 

     

    The county filed a stop work order against RWE on Jan. 26, 2024, in response to unaddressed violations that raised concerns about environmental impact, public safety and the project’s future, according to the document. 

     

    The stop work order was lifted less than a month later.

     

    “After some meetings with the attorneys, we agreed to let them go back to work if they keep looking at addressing the storm water issue,” Sharp said. “Well, they went back to work, but nobody ever addressed the storm water issue.” 

     

    Sharp said he will continue to review the information he received from RWE, but closed with a warning.

     

    “I just caution us, going into the future with anything, to be sure, as a county, we do our homework,” he said. “We are partners in this. We might not be financial partners in these things, but we have to deal with the impact of them every day on our citizens. So I just caution (the commissioners) in the future (to be sure) we do our homework before we sign up for any more of these.”

     

    In other news, the Board of Commissioners (Commissioner Howard Sanders wasn’t in attendance, which is reflected in the vote totals):

    • Unanimously (4-0) approved Margaret Carter’s request to rezone Tax Parcel 022 056 (25 Whippoorwill Lane, Winterville) from AR (Agricultural Residential) to R1 (Single Family Residential) in order to subdivide (District 4). 

       

    • Also unanimously approved Carter’s request for variance to the maximum number of parcels accessed by a private drive in order to subdivide the parcel, subject to the understanding the driveway won’t be county maintained and the adjoining property owners must be responsible for maintaining the driveway. 

       

    • Unanimously approved Original Site Plan Revision for Jeff Crump Stackhouse on Tax Parcel 022 051 (21 Ogle Drive, Winterville). 

       

    • Approved in a 3-1 vote a Retail Package License Application submitted by Parth Patel on behalf of Mayra, LLC for Carrie’s Corner Store & Cafe. Carrie’s Corner, which is in Stephens, has been sold, previous owner Carrie Faris posted on Facebook on Jan. 31. She owned and operated the store for nearly three years.

       

    • Unanimously approved a permit application submitted by Mary Cook on behalf of Firefly Trail Inc. for a bike ride to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 22.  

       

    • Listened to Sam Moore, the chairman of the Wilkes County Board Commissioners, who presented drone footage of sludge dumping at a farm near Tignall that violated regulations. 

       

    • Heard from Randy Gordon and Brad Johns, who live on Almond Drive, during public comment. They have made repeated appearances at commission meetings to voice their concerns about the condition of the road.