KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) – The Knox County Commissioners have approved revisions to the county’s solar ordinance, including additional soil and water monitoring and expanded setbacks near homes. The proposed changes will now go before the Knox County Area Plan Commission.
Commission President T.J. Brink said the monitoring requirements are intended to help protect nearby residents and their well water.
“Some of the things we have added in are the soil and water monitoring. Making sure there is nothing leeching into the ground, and of course, these folks out here live on well water. So we wanna make sure their wells are protected,” Brink said.
The revisions also change the required distance between solar projects and neighboring homes. Brink said the setback for a home on one side of a project increased by 100 feet; if a home is on more than one side, the setback is now 500 feet.
“We added in an extra hundred foot for the single setback and if you’re going to be on more than one side of a home, it’s now five hundred foot. So, we’ve added in a little bit of that. Measurement as well, for the homes,” Brink said.
Brink said county officials developed the changes to comply with state law while adding safety measures.
“Indiana has a law that protects solar and you cannot make it egregious to where they do not wanna be in your area, but, we can add in safety measurements. And that’s exactly what we’ve done with this new ordinance,” he said.
The revisions followed discussions with residents about potential changes to the county’s solar regulations.
“We’ve talked to our constituents time and time again and we’ve heard their concerns, most definitely heard their concerns, and we’ve tried to stay within the state law obviously, but be able to provide them with things they’ve asked for,” Brink said.
The proposed ordinance changes will go before the Knox County Area Plan Commission. If approved, they will return to the commissioners for further consideration.
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