For the past year and a half, people within Whitman County have been disputing the use of wind farms on the Palouse.

Alan Thomson, the Whitman County planner, said he hopes that a new ordinance will make it possible for wind farms with industrial-size wind turbines to be set up around the county.

The issue has received both negative and positive feedback. As a result, the Whitman County Planning Commission is holding a public forum at 7 p.m. at the public works auditorium in Colfax.

After the meeting, which is open to the public, the planning commission will decide whether the ordinance is ready to move to the county commissioners – the next stage of legislation.

"We hope a lot of people show up," Thomson said. "We want to hear a lot of people speaking and have the public convey their opinion. It is up to the planning commission to see if we are comfortable to pass it on."

There is already a wind energy ordinance in place, but it lacks the details needed to solidify wind farms as a viable option, Thomson said.

The original ordinance lacked specifics such as guidelines for property boundaries, structure height and roads, he said.

Around 18 months ago, the county planning commission started on a new ordinance with more definite rules, Thomson said.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the county in order to try to stop development of the wind farms, Thomson said.

One of the people filing a lawsuit is Roger Whitten, a resident of the agricultural district just outside Oaksdale.

Whitten said he has a problem with the low-frequency noise pollution caused by the industrial wind turbines. The type of noise that is caused by the turbines has a very long wavelength, which can cause harmful side effects, he said.

"They can go through walls and people," he said. "It prevents people from sleeping, which causes their health to deteriorate."

Whitten is requesting a 3,300-foot buffer zone between the turbines and any surrounding residential area. This will reduce the amount of harmful noise, he said.

Whitten said he thinks people who support wind energy do not know all of the information behind both sides of the argument.

"The real problem with wind turbines is people don't want to know the facts," he said.

Thomson said the true question is not why wind farms are good for the area, but instead why residents would not want them.

"It is a legal business. It is just like anyone else doing things legally on their property," he said. "We can have philosophical and political discussion about the benefits of green energy, global warming and climate change – really, that is a policy decision to be made at a state or federal level, not local. We are not going to get into that."

Even though the planning committee is more interested in what should be legally allowed, there are benefits to wind farming too, Thomson said.

"Wind farms bring in businesses and jobs," he said. "It brings in tax revenue, which is money for schools, libraries and roads."

The forum is open to the public, and Thomson encouraged interested WSU students to attend. "Subjects like global climate change and getting us off fossil fuels, that's the big picture – the non-fossil fuel energy source," he said. "Opponents want to stop the farms. There are students who believe that too. We want to get as many people as possible to voice their opinion. This is a public forum to create new laws. Participation is key."