Energy Siting Council
Oregon Department of Energy
625 Marion St. NE
Salem, OR 97301-3737
They will also get the letters from the BLM and the ODOE and PUC. Bryan said they will most certainly have at least one meeting here. Larry Price of the Wheat League knows Lori Brogoitti, another of the council members, and has been in contact with her.
What is most important concerning the Siting Council is how can we educate our group and be informed on how the process works, so there will be more info coming. I think Bryan was surprised to hear from me so early, because there will be more public hearings on this process.
The Monday meeting went well, due to Professor Roger Findley's ability to keep meetings to about an hour. There were even more people at this meeting than the first one. Larry Meyer has done a great job covering the ongoing action for the Argus. A lot of property owners under the 3/4 mile transmission line zones were identified, and Jim Johnson of the Oregon Dept of Agriculture is interested in taking a tour along the route.
Bruce Corn reported on the meeting with the County Court, and Roger showed the circle maps and how IP has violated Page 48 of its own Treasure Valley Electrical Plan's Committee Consensus recommendations when it comes to Malheur County, explained about the condemnation process, committees to sign up for, writing checks, and make sure you don't let anyone on your land or sign right of ways!!! We must all hang together or we will all hang separately!
Someone suggested that we post signs warning anyone affiliated with Idaho Power or Sunstone that they must not assume they have the right to be on our property without permission. Roger Findley heard a rumor that Sunstone may be pulling back because of the economic downturn, but it has not been confirmed or denied.
Cliff Bentz explained about ethics rules in the Oregon legislature and how it makes it difficult for him to take action, since his law firm has represented Idaho Power in the past. He has done as much as he can under the ethics rules.
UPDATE Committee signups:
- HEAD BOSS CHAIR: Roger and Jean Findley, co-chairs
- COMMUNICATIONS: Patty Kennington and Pat Phillips, co-chairs, Pat Trenkel, Launa Frahm, Michaelann Seiders, Susan and Mike Kurth
- FINANCE: Grant Kitamura, chair, Katrina Trenkel, Staci Trenkel, Sandy Bowen, Pat Looney
- POLITICAL ACTION: Farrell Larson and Tom Phillips, co-chairs, Dan Andersen, Larry Price
- LEGAL: Cliff Looney, chair, Ken Teramura, Gary Pearson, Carrie Petterson, Debbie Hopkins, Clinton Kennington
The handouts that were available at the meeting are in our Document Links section, including suggested points for letters to political leaders. Greg Walden's office recommends that we flood our senators and representatives. I still don't have an address for Jeff Merkley, if someone has one I"ll post it. It hasn't appeared yet on the http://www.leg.state.or.us/ website, Gordon Smith is still there. Remember, you don't have to follow the Siting Standards for letters to your representatives.
You can keep writing letters to the BLM and ODOE using the Siting Standards. I'm sure they love getting them. If anyone isn't on our email list, get their email address to Pat Phillips at pat@tomphillipsagency.com
And while I'm at it, hello to you guys at Idaho Power! I hear you're a fan of the blog. :)
