Idaho Power showcases planning criteria
Some say, though, Thursday session provided little new information
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
LarryM@argusobserver.com
Sunday, August 30, 2009 1:14 AM PDT
ONTARIO —Idaho Power Thursday presented the criteria a group of citizen advisory teams will use when they make their final recommendations on a proposed transmission power line that cuts across a large segment of Oregon to Idaho.
The company delivered the information during the meeting that attracted an ample number of people from across the region.
Some people at the meeting, though, conceded most of the information furnished by the firm was already well known.
“There is a little bit of new information, but otherwise, it’s old hat,” Matt Ure, rural Nyssa resident, said.
The proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line would go from a substation near Boardman to a substation near Melba, south of Nampa. Steel lattice towers would be 140- to 190-feet high and steel pole H-frame towers 100- to 150-feet high, with a footprint of 40- feet by 40-feet. The spans of wire will be 1,200 to 1,500 feet, with a minimum ground clearance of 35 feet.
Once a proposed route is chosen, the BLM must write an environmental impact statement, and Idaho Power must receive approval from the Oregon Department of Energy’s Energy Facilities Siting Council and individual counties in Idaho.
The community advisory teams are designed to provide input to the company and suggest a route or routes for the 500-kilovolt transmission line.
The details have not been finalized, but the public will be able to weigh in on the power line mapping process Sept. 30 and in October, giving their suggestions on where the route should go, Stephanie McCurdy, Idaho Power spokesperson, said.
Based on community concerns and suggestions identified by the South Project Advisory Team, which includes representatives from Malheur County and Idaho, placement opportunities identified are existing energy corridors, public lands and transportation and rail corridors.
The South Project Advisory Team pointed out areas to avoid for the power line include exclusive farm use land in Oregon, prime farmland in Idaho, scenic view sheds, urban growth boundaries, tourist areas and historic landmarks. There are separate advisory teams for people in Union and Baker counties and Morrow and Umatilla counties.
The teams will start the mapping process in September, Lynette Berriochoa, Idaho Power spokesperson, said.
“There will be another round of public meetings,” Berriochoa said.
The public should contact members of the advisory team or the company if they have ideas about siting, Berriochoa said.
“We really value the input of the team members. she said. “They know the land. We appreciate their time.”
Idaho Power would like to complete the community advisory team process by the end of the year but will continue it if the teams have not wrapped up their work, Kent McCarthy, manager of the community advisory process, said.
“We’re not putting a stop point on it. “It’s challenging but working well,” McCarthy said.
The first meeting of the South Community Advisory Team had more than 50 members attend, with a smaller group at the second one, McCarthy said, but still quite large.
Up north, Boardman wanted the proposed power line route kept out of the city limits, and some team members wanted the line routed near wind turbines, he said. People in Baker and Union counties were more concerned with visual impacts, he added.
The original start of construction was planned for 2010 and then pushed back to 2013. Now it is 2015, McCarthy said. McCurdy attributed that to the required environmental and cultural assessments.
For Ure, key questions are where, exactly, the company wants to place the power line and whether the advisory process has been worthwhile.
The same sentiments were expressed by Evelyn Sayers, rural Ontario, who is a member of the South Community Advisory Team.
“I’m still waiting to see if Idaho Power will pay attention to the route we propose. Then I will know if its been a waste of time or has been useful,” Sayers said.
Jean Findley, one of the co-chairs, of the Stop Idaho Power, a local, grass-roots group opposed to the placement of the power line on prime agriculture land, agreed the meeting was mainly informational and benefited people who were not familiar with the project.
“It was well done,” she said and added there was not a lot of new info.
Several proposals will come out of the mapping meeting, Findley said.
“How will it be decided which routes will be used for analysis?” she wondered. She asked Idaho Power representatives if the company includes its own proposals, and they were noncommittal, she said.
Larry Meyer is a reporter for the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at LarryM@argusobserver.com
