By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
TransWest officials are surprised that Juab County Commissioners do not want power transmission lines traveling through Salt Creek Canyon and commissioners are more surprised that there should be any surprise at all on the part of transmission agencies.
George Garcia, Uinta-Cache-Wasatch Forest Service District Ranger, Spanish Fork Ranger District, set up an information meeting with TransWest, Rocky Mountain Power, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the commission to discuss the electric transmission lines following questions the commission had asked of him.
In addition to Garcia, in attendance were: Joe Tippetts, TransWest Associate General Counsel; Don Watts, Central Utah Regional Business Manger for Rocky Mountain Power; Mike Doyle, Environmental Planning Group; Michael Gates, Field Manager at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Clara Stevens, Realty Specialist BLM Fillmore Field Office; David Fetter, consultant with TWE and works for consulting firm AE Com; Kenton Call, Public Affairs Officer with the USDA Forest Service; and Nancy Smith, project manager of PacificCorp.
Rocky Mountain Power's Gateway South transmission project and the TransWest Express' transmission project were discussed and how they will affect the Juab County's Salt Creek Canyon which has become a transmission corridor much to the chagrin of the Juab County Commission.
There was discussion about the various proposed routes for the projects and that the routes should avoid populated areas and sage grouse core areas—both suspected factors in routing the lines into Juab County.
"I am not a proponent of the transmission lines in Salt Creek Canyon," said Rick Carlton, commissioner. "I think your line (TransWest) should have bypassed Utah."
Tippetts said that the commissioners had agreed to a joint resolution and he was surprised that they were now opposing the lines.
"This is the first time TransWest has heard this," Tippetts said. "We are very surprised."
Carlton said that the commissioners who had predated his election had all opposed having the transmission lines in Salt Creek Canyon. Since he had been in the commission, all commissioners had been united in opposition.
"We had no decision," said Carlton.
He said commissioners were given a choice of two routes. They were asked which they preferred. In reality, they did not want any. The commission did not have a good voice.
"We have concerns about the number of power lines that are planned for Salt Creek Canyon," said Byron Woodland, commission chairman. "There is no economic benefit to our county."
Clinton Painter, commissioner, said that residents in all comments collected in the EIS process had indicated that the power transmission lines were not wanted by the residents of the area.
"We had no say in where the route would go," said Woodland.
"We were asked which of the two routes do you prefer?" said Carlton. "None of them—we preferred none of them. We prefer none of them."
He said that had been the commission's attitude from day one.
"We have no vote. That is the elephant in the room," said Carlton.
As a cooperating agency, asked Garcia, what sort of rights did the county have?
At some point in the future, Carlton said, the power companies would want a rebate on their centrally assessed properties. In some respects, it was too bad that the Forest Service had not declared all the area wilderness because the transmission lines would not be allowed at all.
The transmission lines will be approximately 2,000 miles long and will travel, as part of that distance, the 20-mile long Salt Creek Canyon.
Carlton asked if the transmission lines could be moved.
It was too late in the game, said Tippetts.
"We are developing a plan that will prevent this from happening again," said Carlton.
Gates said that putting the lines underground was not a good alternative. Heat dissipates when the lines are above ground but when they are buried underground vegetation will not grow above the lines. In addition, the requesting entity, in this case Juab County, would be required to bear the cost.
Lines will now be built closer together than they were first required to be.
Commissioners were concerned about the fire danger the lines being so close together might cause. A wildfire in Sanpete County that caused the loss of several homes was caused by two lines arcing.
"The EIS was conducted in accordance with NEPA requirements, CEQ regulations, and the USDOI and BLM policies and procedures for implementing NEPA," said Gates.
Painter said that local landowners had indicated in written comments that, if they had no choice, they would be forced to accept the lines and make compromises but they did not want the lines at all.
They would have a negative impact on wildlife, would leave behind dead-end roads and were ugly, Painter said.
"We are getting to be a dumping ground for power transmission lines," said Carlton. "We have five major power lines coming through that area."
NEPA and the associated laws, regulations, and policies required BLM and Western to seek public input and develop a reasonable range of alternatives and this had been done, said Gates.
Gates also said that after 30 years of study it had been found that electric currents do not cause cancer. People with pacemakers should not walk parallel to the lines.
He said that public involvement and agency consultation and coordination, leading to the EIS, were achieved through Federal Register notices, public and informal meetings, individual contacts, media releases, and the Project website.
The TransWest Express Transmission Project is a high-voltage, direct current regional electric transmission system proposed by TransWest Express LLC.
The TWE Project will deliver cost-effective renewable energy produced in Wyoming to the Desert Southwest region (California, Nevada, Arizona). The lines will be built to IPP near Delta where the power transmitted to that point can be shipped to other markets.
BLM and Western are joint lead agencies and published their Final EIS on April 30, with the Notice of Availability published May 1 in the Federal Register.
"Dairy farmers have a lawsuit against IPP," said Jared Eldridge, county attorney.
About 20 dairy operations in Millard County and two in California believe the cause for otherwise unexplained losses could be electrical currents passing through the ground from the 1,600-megawatt Intermountain Power Plant (IPP).
One theory, is that electricity in the ground gives the cows a slight electrical jolt whenever they drink. The result is that cows become conditioned not to drink enough and over time this causes a loss of their natural immunity.
