Oregon regulators are requiring an energy developer to remedy erosion problems at a wind turbine project, but local farmers say irreparable damage has already been done.

Over the summer, several wheat growers in Sherman County complained that construction on the 29,500-acre Golden Hills Wind Project was proceeding during high winds, causing severe soil loss.

Officials from the state Department of Energy inspected the site and have requested that Avangrid Renewables, the developer, take “corrective actions” for inadequate soil stabilization and improperly maintained or installed silt fences at turbine sites.

During subsequent site visits, agency officials discussed additional measures that Avangrid had taken to prevent erosion, such as using hydro-mulch and a soil tackifier.

“We absolutely found issues that needed to be corrected,” said Sarah Esterson, senior policy advisor with ODOE’s siting division. “We believe we’ll be following this issue for another year if not more.”

A representative of Avangrid Renewables did not respond to requests for comment.

Farmers say the developer reacted to the problems once they alerted regulators, though autumn rains have also contributed to reduced wind erosion at the site.

“They’ve done quite a bit. We woke them up,” said David Pinkerton, who leases land in the project area.

However, some of the issues cannot be undone, such as awkward road placement that impedes farming, he said. “I just hope the next guy won’t be screwed the way we were.”

Clint Moore, who also farms in the project area, said the developer is now trying to “cover their butts.”

The land will nonetheless remain permanently damaged due to soil blowing away unmitigated for months while getting compacted elsewhere, he said.

“We’re going to have long-term consequences from it,” Moore said. “There’s nothing they can do to make that ground produce like it did before.”

The developer is short on labor and in a hurry to install the turbines, so the “only priority is getting the project done,” he said.

Far more acreage was disturbed than necessary: Only about 3 acres were supposed to be disturbed per turbine, but in reality, most turbine sites involved 6 to 7 acres of disturbance, Moore said. In one case, more than 12 acres were disturbed. The project will include up to 51 wind turbines.

“The biggest problem we’ve had with them is extreme lack of communication. They weren’t doing anything to keep the soil in place,” he said. “From the beginning, they were just trying to cut as many corners to get through construction as possible.”

The state government’s push to develop more renewable energy contributed to the problem, since the agency doesn’t want to slow down construction, Moore said. “They’re not going to enforce things to the extent they should, because that’s what the state’s agenda is.”

Regardless of the type of project, every proposal gets “fair and unbiased” treatment through the state’s energy facility siting process, said Todd Cornett, ODOE’s assistant director for siting.

“We try to be agnostic in everything we do,” he said.

Aside from ensuring the project complies with erosion control conditions, the agency will be consulting with agricultural experts to minimize the effects on agriculture, Cornett said. If necessary, the agency will require compensation measures.

“We don’t know those yet because we haven’t gotten to that place,” he said.

Cornett said the agency was “very responsive” since the farmers raised their concerns, but it doesn’t have a “spelled out” system of consequences and needs to assess the “legal path” ahead.

“We’re still early on in figuring that out,” he said, adding that similar problems haven’t occurred with previous wind projects. “This is the first time we’ve dealt with this particular issue.”

In the future, the agency may require a “phased” approach, minimizing the amount of land that’s disturbed at one time and preventing construction from outpacing the erosion-control materials available on-hand, Esterson said.

“It seemed like things happened too quickly without controls and it took us about a month to get on top of it,” she said.