Last modified: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 10:08 AM PST A large crowd of people attended a meeting Monday to organize opposition to the routing of a large transmission line planned to go through Malheur County. Power line time Larry Meyer Argus Observer ONTARIO — A large number of people from across the valley turned out Monday night at the Boulevard Grange to give feedback to Idaho Power representatives regarding a major power line project between Boardman and Melba. Idaho Power, in conjunction with the United States Bureau of Land Management, has entered the preliminary stage of a plan to build a 500 kilovolt transmission line across Oregon, including Malheur County, to Idaho. While many area residents voiced support of the power line concept, they also were vocal about the proposed path of the transmission line. As the meeting ended, attendees were preparing a joint statement to public agencies giving the reasons why the transmission line route should be changed. Besides sending a joint letter, the people, who packed the hall, were encouraged to send their own comments to the agencies, not only to express their opposition to the proposed route but also to reserve their right to participate in the process later on. The meeting was organized by Jean and Roger Findley, whose ranch on Lincoln Heights stands in the midst of the proposed corridor, in response to a recent scoping meeting held in Ontario by Oregon Department of Energy and the BLM to determine the issues and concerns that need to be addressed during the application process to site the lines. Only a small portion of the line crosses land administered by the BLM. “I’m not against the line,” Roger Findley said as he opened the meeting. “I’m against where it goes. It will cut through prime agricultural land.” The proposed route would cut across farmland as it traversed through Oregon to Idaho to a substation in the Sand Hollow area, and then cut back into Oregon over farmland to reach the Lincoln Bench area, southwest of Ontario. The line then would cross the valley, between Ontario and Vale, go by Malheur Butte and then up north to Baker County and beyond. A 500 kilovolt line is the largest allowed in the United States, and Findley said, and the towers will be 120 feet tall. “Once a corridor is established, they can put two or three lines in,” he said. The transmission line, if situated over farmland, could interfere with, or restrict, the use of sprinkler systems and other agricultural practices, Jean Findley said. Besides land use and agricultural issues, other items addressed included historical values, such as the Oregon Trail, and scenic areas such as Malheur Butte. “They (Idaho Power) have a lot of processes to go through,” Roger Findley said. He added, that according to its Web site, the company is on a fast track internally. “They are pursuing this as fast as possible.” he said. “They want it built by 2012.” Jean Findley said, although not addressed by the state, the loss of value on land in the transmission line corridor could be 5 to 15 percent, and the jury is still out whether the lines cause health problems. Discussing their plan of action, Roger Findley proposed a delegation, to include residents and county officials, approach Idaho Power officials about choosing a different route away from farmland. The delegation could also encourage people to sign the available petitions and then send them to the concerned agencies and tell people to make sure their comments were sent in to the United States Department of Energy and the BLM to get on their mailing lists and to be heard later on. The first public comment deadline is Nov. 14. Participants were also asked to indicate on the sign-up sheets how much they were willing to commit to participate financially in the opposition effort.