LJWorld.com

If Gov. Kathleen Sebelius hoped her Wind and Prairie Task Force, would carve out some common ground on the controversial proposal to allow wind generators in the Kansas Flint Hills, she may be disappointed in the report the group issued Monday.

After five months, eight, six-hour meetings and two additional meetings to gather public comment, the task force members basically agreed to disagree on key aspects of the report they forwarded to the governor.

Although they agreed the state should preserve ecologically significant native grasslands in the Flint Hills and across the state, they differed on how to accomplish that goal. Some task force members say there should be no wind-energy development in areas identified by the Nature Conservancy as "intact" natural prairie. A moratorium should be put in place, they say, and state property tax exemptions for wind-energy projects should be repealed.

The more moderate segment of the task force favored a plan to identify areas of native grassland and divide them into three groups: no wind-power development, restricted development and development with few restrictions. Rather than simply repeal the property tax exemption, they favor taking a look at partial exemptions or other measures.

Although the wind pretty much blows all across Kansas, there is particular interest in the Flint Hills because of its high wind-generating potential and its location close to population centers and electrical transmission lines. A contingent of Kansans fervently agree with task force members who want to ban wind generators anywhere near the Flint Hills. They find the generators unattractive and fear their environmental effects.

Interestingly, the task force members agree that the state should develop a plan and seek funding to boost agricultural and eco-based tourism in the Flint Hills. Tourism might not have the same impact on the areas ecology as wind generators, but the people and vehicles it would bring to the area would likely also have an undesirable effect on the environment.

The task force has done a good job of defining the issues, but it fell short of reaching a consensus on how the state should capitalize on its ability to generate clean, nonpolluting wind energy. The group points out that nearly two-thirds of the native Tallgrass Prairie in North America lies in the Flint Hills of Kansas. It certainly is important to preserve that natural heritage, but the position being taken by some task force members seems needlessly rigid.

If Kansas and the nation are to find a way to lessen their dependence on nonrenewable resources like coal and petroleum, some compromises will be needed. Certainly, wind generators are preferable to the proliferation of derricks that could appear if the nation becomes desperate to extract every last ounce of oil or gas from the earth. Those concerned about the environment also might consider how the nation will deal with the waste produced by nuclear power plants, another wind alternative.

Protecting key parcels of native prairie while allowing some wind-energy development in other areas seems a reasonable way to proceed. Although the task force report doesn't set a clear direction for the state, perhaps it will give the governor and legislators a starting point for a compromise that will allow additional wind-power development in Kansas.