LNG bill moves down the pipeline

by Cassandra Profita The Daily Astorian http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=60462&TM=65586.51

The controversial House Bill 3058, which opponents are now calling the "LNG fast-track bill," moved out of its first legislative committee Tuesday without a recommendation.

The bill made it out of the House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee before a key deadline, so it will stay alive and move to the Rules Committee. . .

State law currently requires project developers to get permission from all the landowners along proposed pipeline routes. . . before they apply for a wetlands removal-fill permit from the Department of State Lands. The permit would be needed to build natural gas pipelines across rivers and streams.

(Rep. Brad) Witt said his bill is still waiting on amendments that he thinks will make it more palatable to those who see the bill as a threat to private property rights. He has been working to make it clear that the bill would not authorize development on anyone's land without their permission. He says the bill would only allow the permitting process to begin.

. . . Birkenfeld resident Marc Auerbach, whose property is along the Palomar pipeline route, said the bill steps on private property owner protections."Right now only a private landowner or someone they authorize can request permits," he said. "But House Bill 3058 would overturn current law, allowing almost anyone to pull permits on your property."

House Bill 3058 could affect power line
A couple of quotes from Nick Budnick of the http://bendbulletin.com :

“From what we’re given to understand, (HB 3058) could undo in the stroke of a pen what we’ve worked for months to attain,” (Baker County's Move Idaho Power's Mike) Ragsdale said, saying the group had made progress in standing up for property rights.

Similarly, Ontario’s Patty Kennington, of Stop Idaho Power, a group also opposed to the (500 kV) power line, said current laws are designed to protect landowners from “badly sited utility corridor proposals,” and the bill “appears to be at odds with that.”

The heated LNG debate

Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt's constituents get in touch

LNG fight at Capitol gets personal
by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian Monday April 28, 2009

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/04/lng_fight_at_capitol_gets_pers.html

The battle over proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and related pipelines has turned personal in Salem, and the heat may increase another notch today when an Oregon House committee considers a property-rights bill that could fast-track state permits for the projects.

The rancor started building two weeks ago, when LNG opponents were frustrated by what they perceived was a blatantly pro-LNG bias in a hearing of the House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, chaired by Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton. . .

House Bill 3058, scheduled for a hearing in Read's committee, would change the definition of "applicant" when defining who can apply for a wetland removal or fill permit on a piece of land in a large utility project.

As it stands, only a landowner, someone with the landowner's permission, or a utility that has condemned a piece of property in court, can apply for a permit.

Under the new proposed definition of an applicant, a utility or pipeline could apply for the permit before they had the landowner's permission or had condemned the land.

(Houston based) NorthernStar (Natural Gas) has been pushing for such a change since 2007. Company spokesman Chuck Deister said Monday that the bill is simply intended to address an oversight in the law and allow utilities to accelerate their permitting while avoiding the condemnation of land they don't ultimately use. . .

Opponents of the change believe the effect would be far more insidious, giving pipeline companies and utilities the upper hand in negotiations with landowners, reducing settlement costs in condemnation proceedings, and unnecessarily accelerating regulatory approvals for the massive projects. . .

Most worrisome to property owners is an amendment to HB 3058, which says:

"SECTION 3. If the Director of the Department of State Lands issues a permit applied for under ORS 196.815 to a person who proposes a removal or fill activity for construction of a linear utility or transportation corridor (across waterways), and if that person is not a landowner or a person authorized by a landowner to conduct the proposed removal or fill activity on a property, the director shall condition the use of the permit on that property upon receipt of a court order or judgment authorizing the activity." (Download HB 3058 HERE and the amendment HERE.)

Our reading of this amendment is that it creates a legal loophole for utility companies wishing to "fast track" and avoid public comment, oversight and compliance with Oregon land use law.

LNG permitting bill still in play; both sides declare victory
by Janie Har, The Oregonian Tuesday April 28, 2009 http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/04/lng_permitting_bill_still_in_p.html

. . . On Tuesday, House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone . . . said he doesn't see the bill as pro-LNG, if that's any sign of the proposal's chances. . .

The committee passed the bill out, without a recommendation . . .

The Evolution of Markets and OATT

We keep hearing about requests to Idaho Power "for significant industrial load additions,"* driving the need for ever more and larger electrical capacity. You might be relieved to know it is not uncommon for utilities to entertain more requests than they will ever have capacity:

Studying proposed generator interconnections has become a major burden for transmission providers, who are overwhelmed with requests for interconnection, many of which will never be built.

Information is from the Edison Electric Institute: http://www.eei.org/meetings/Meeting%20Documents/2008-0811Blackburn_presentation.pdf

Midwest ISO has 402 pending interconnection requests for 83,000 MW of generation, more than half its existing capacity.

When a generator drops out of the interconnection queue, it may affect the interconnection costs of lower-queued generators.

FERC has signaled a willingness to consider alternatives to the sequential processing of interconnection requests.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005

• Reaffirmed the need to protect native load.
• Directed FERC to implement incentives to construct transmission facilities.
• Gave FERC authority to require larger non-jurisdictional transmission providers to provide service at comparable rates and on terms and conditions that are comparable and not unduly discriminatory.
• Gave FERC backstop siting authority over transmission construction corridors designated by DOE. (National Interest Transmission Corridors, including the Mid Atlantic and Southern California) . . .

Order No. 890 - Themes

• Greater transparency in planning transmission systems and evaluating requests for service.
• Greater flexibility in provision of transmission service over constrained facilities.
• Greater timeliness and accountability in studying system upgrades needed to provide transmission service.
• Greater stability and certainty of transmission requirements, resulting from requiring customers to give advance notice of whether they will renew their service at the end of their contract terms.
• Requires regional planning of transmission construction that is open and transparent to customers.
• Requires redispatch service: Customers who otherwise would be denied service can agree to take service and pay the cost of redispatching generation to unload congested lines and allow the customers’ energy to be transmitted.
• Requires conditional firm service: Customers who otherwise would be denied service can agree to take service subject to curtailment if specified conditions occur or for a specified number of hours per year.

Transmission Incentives

• FERC has approved a number of proposals, but two of the five Commissioners advocate using much more stringent criteria that would result in denial of many incentive requests.
• Construction expense must represent a very substantial proportion of total utility cost.
• Utilities must demonstrate use of innovative technologies.
• Utilities must show that the incentives benefit customers, not shareholders.
• Granting some incentives (such as CWIP (Construction Works in Progress) in rate base) may result in reducing risk and therefore reduce the allowed return on equity. (Pre-approved Ratemaking.)

*from Lisa Rackner's latest epistle, "IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO STOP IDAHO POWER'S MOTION TO POSTPONE AND CONSOLDATE," which you can read free of charge at the Oregon PUC's LC-41 docket, http://apps.puc.state.or.us/edockets/docket.asp?DocketID=13697

FERC's OATT Reforms

Open Access Transmission Tariff, OATT, "defines the rates, terms and conditions associated with network transmission service." http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/271700.html

. . . Historically, public utilities owned and operated the transmission lines used to transport the energy they produced or purchased from other generators. Over the last 30 years, however. . . deregulation allowed a greater number of generators and retail electricity providers to enter into the market, thus enhancing competition.

In 1996, to promote and enhance such access, the FERC issued Order No. 888 containing the pro-forma (hypothetical) Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT). The OATT required that transmission owners provide open, non-discriminatory access on their transmission system to transmission customers. . . http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/wholesale/02_planning/01_eap/01_oatt.htm

Page 2 of Idaho Power's February 2009 IRP Addendum says:

2. The Boardman to Hemingway line is needed to comply with the requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the company construct adequate transmission to provide service to wholesale customers in accordance with the company’s Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT).

Compliance with OATT would be required as a result of Idaho Power building the B2H regional 500 kV capacity, by allowing wholesale customers paid access to its transmission lines.

OATT regulation documents are available for download at http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/oatt-reform.asp. Toward the bottom of the page it says:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission amends its regulations and the pro forma open access transmission tariff, adopted in Order No. 888, to remedy opportunities for undue discrimination and address deficiencies in the pro forma OATT that have become apparent since the issuance of these orders. The reforms include:

1. Greater consistency and transparency in ATC calculation.
2. Open, coordinated and transparent planning on both a local and regional level.
   
3. etc. etc.

Planning and coordination ought to be transparent enough that information is available in a timely manner not only to potential transmission customers but anyone else who might be affected, good or bad, by proposed electrical transmission.

Transparency: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/transparency.html
Definition 2 Lack of hidden agendas and conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making.

Stop Gateway West and The Owyhee County Opposition

Survey stakes for the Gateway West Powerlines
April 6th, 2009 near Murphy Idaho (Photo from the Stop Gateway West website)

A new website is up for the private landowners in Idaho's Owyhee County who have been blindsided by Idaho Power's unannounced building of its Hemingway substation and attendant transmission lines across rural communities rather than public land:

http://sites.google.com/site/stopgatewaywest/Home

"Stop Gateway West and The Owyhee County Opposition are opposed to the placement of the 500 kV transmission lines on private land, near homes and animals or in towns. There are alternative routes . There are alternatives."

Boulevard Grange Monday May 4th 7:00 pm

Our next general meeting will be at the Boulevard Grange, Hwy 201, 7:00 p.m. Monday, May 4th. Your support has been crucial, so at least come to get some well-deserved thanks!

Idaho Power answers Senator Wyden

In a communication with the Bend office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Dave Angell, Manager of Delivery Planning for Idaho Power stated, "The BLM, NEPA and Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council processes have been suspended until the conclusion of the advisory process. Therefore, all cultural/ environmental surveys have been postponed and we are not presently seeking landowner agreements for survey access."

In the communication, Angell outlined IPCo's advisory process objective to have its Project Coordinating Team "align" acceptable routes by the end of the year.

One outcome of this is the BLM scoping process will have to be re-instituted for the new route. NEPA meetings, already postponed to accommodate the proliferating number of cooperating and coordinating groups and agencies, have been suspended, and ODOE and EFSC deliberations cannot proceed without a viable route.

Eastern Oregon citizens groups and the Malheur County Court have already impressed upon IPCo that they will only support routes which do not cross exclusive farm use land. Any newly proposed route coming from any Project Coordinating Team deliberation which crosses any EFU land will be vigorously opposed.

Wilson in a box

Wilson, Idaho, another casualty of Idaho Power's cavalier condemnation of its rural customers' communities and lives:

Small Idaho community frustrated with Idaho Power
updated 4/19/2009 by Scott Evans (see Channel 7 video)
http://www.ktvb.com/news/canyoncounty/ktvbn-apr1809-frustrated_community.ea871599.html

MELBA -- A small community in Owyhee County is frustrated after watching Idaho Power start construction on a new substation and a potential power line - that once built, will surround them on every side.

This community of two to three dozen people says they have heard nothing from Idaho Power about the construction going on around them.

They want answers and right now, but they say no one is talking.

This secluded community just off the Snake River feels hopeless and alone when it comes to their opinion on what's going on around them.

"We had no idea the power lines were going to come anywhere near us, we thought that if they were going to build a station, the power lines, they were going to build it further out past us, but it's coming right through our community here," said Roger Francois.

About six weeks ago, Idaho Power broke ground on the Hemmingway Substation that is just across the street from these disgruntled homeowners. . .

We spoke with an Idaho Power spokesperson about why these homeowners aren't in the loop. She said that they are required to notify people who live within two-thirds of a mile from the site. . .

"There’s so much open space out here. They don't have to put it right here, right through a community," said Schramm.

Those we spoke to say they feel as though they are powerless when it comes to the future of their community.

An Idaho Power spokesperson says the location of the substation is set, as well as the power line going to Boise, but the location of the power line that would surround this community has yet to be decided. They are still taking public input on that matter.

Just ask Parma, Kuna, Burley, American Falls, Payette, Bruneau, Adrian, Ontario, Baker City, etc. about PUBLIC INPUT

General Meeting May 4th

Our next general meeting will be Monday, May 4th, 7:00 p.m. place yet to be determined.

As usual, a lot has happened since our last meeting, much of it great news. More details coming.

Why can't Hoku's polysilicon plant power itself?

From Idaho Power's Integrated Resource Plan Addendum February 29, 2009, p. 8:

The sales and load forecast reflects the increased expected demand for energy and peak capacity of Idaho Power’s newest special contract customer, Hoku Scientific, Inc, located in Pocatello, Idaho. Hoku Scientific plans to begin operation in April 2009 and reach full capacity by October 2009.

The current sales and load forecast assumes that Hoku Scientific will consume 77 aMW of energy each year and have a peak demand of 87 MW. The forecast for Hoku Scientific is essentially twice as high as the Hoku Scientific forecast prepared one year ago due the actual contract negotiations between Hoku Scientific and Idaho Power and an expansion of the Hoku Scientific production facility.

From the Hoku website, October 2008, explaining how Hoku Solar will be installing a 53,000 kW (53 MW) solar electricity generating system in Oahu:
http://www.shareholder.hokuscientific.com/releaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=338017

Located in the historic town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu (Hawaii), the Xcel Building is Xcel's headquarters and manufacturing facility. Hoku Solar plans to install a 34-kilowatt PV system, expected to generate more than 53,500 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable solar electricity each year and will contribute directly to Xcel's ongoing corporate sustainability initiative.

Gateway West, under the radar

Gateway West, coming under the radar near you. Check http://gatewaywestproject.com/ to see if you have private property under a proposed transmission line. (Click for a larger picture.)

Three stories: An article from the Owyhee Avalanche, and two from the Power County and Aberdeen Press, reporting on private property owners irate that the Gateway West line avoids BLM land. Doug Dockter, out there once again, making reassurances:

(1) Gateway West project may face its own resistance
Project unlikely to see community action groups in siting process April 1st http://owyhee.com/B2H/Articles.html

Despite the recent re-evaluation of the routing process brought to the table by Idaho Power Co. on its Boardman-to-Hemingway (B2H) 500kV transmission line, its sister project, the Gateway West 500kV line, does not seem to be inviting community and landowner involvement in its own siting.

The Gateway West Transmission Line Project is a joint project between Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power to build, operate and maintain approximately 1,150 miles of new 230kV and 500kV transmission lines across southern Wyoming and southern Idaho.

“We’re working with Rocky Mountain Power to determine if our schedule with the Gateway West Project is going to allow something like what we’ve done with Boardman-to-Hemingway,” Idaho Power project manager Doug Docktor said Wednesday. . .

“What we’ve been doing instead of the community action groups that we’re forming for B2H, is we’ve been meeting with groups of private property owners in areas they do have concerns with,” he said, “and listening to those concerns, and trying to come up with an alternate route that would address their concerns that would be palatable to them as well as the project. I anticipate that’s probably how we’re going to end up with Gateway West.

“We have had a lot of success on that (sort of negotiation). So far, they (property owners) seem to be pretty pleased with what we’ve worked out with them.”

The line, which will cross the breadth of southern Idaho, including farm-use lands in the southern portion of Owyhee County, has remained below-the-radar to some extent, overshadowed by the fight of hundreds of landowners in Malheur and Owyhee counties against the controversial routing of B2H.

That quiet may not last much longer, as residents in Murphy, Bruneau, Grand View and Oreana have begun to question the planned course of the line.

For landowners, time still exists to give input, and Docktor stressed that — while Gateway West is farther along in the planning process — routing flexibility still exists within, and possibly beyond, mapped corridors. However, the clock is ticking. The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is expected in August, and the final EIS in June of 2010, roughly a year ahead of B2H. . .

Idaho Power has just created a new Web site specific to Gateway West, which can be accessed at http://gatewaywestproject.com/.

(2) Headway being made on proposed route for power transmission line
April 8th http://www.press-times.com/Press4-8-09/powerline.html

Idaho Power Company is closer to striking a compromise with Rockland Valley farmers for the route of the Gateway West transmission line as it runs through the east end of the valley, according to Doug Dockter, Idaho Power project leader. But the route of the transmission line across the Snake River into the Borah Substation, southwest of American Falls, remains a point of contention.

The Gateway West project consists of 1,150 miles of new, high voltage transmission lines, running from Wyoming to western Idaho. Current lines are at their capacity, Dockter said, which requires the new lines. The transmission line is also facing opposition in farmland near Burley, and planned development around Parma and Kuna.

. . . Farmers in the Rockland Valley banded together to keep the line off their property as much as possible. Their ideal route would have run in the foothills east of Rockland entirely on BLM land. Dockter said that plan would not have been feasible because of the limited access to the area, but a plan that runs on BLM land and grazing land, avoiding strictly agricultural land, is a possibility. . .

Ryan Petersen, an attorney currently representing the coalition of farmers, said the farmers aren’t telling Idaho Power which route to use, but are suggesting the current route is not the best option for the community.

As a recognized utility, Idaho Power has the right to take the land for the project under state eminent domain laws. Idaho Power will avoid invoking their eminent domain rights, said Dockter. Idaho Power hasn’t used their eminent domain rights in 20 years, Dockter said, and is looking for viable compromises in the transmission line route.

Construction could begin in early 2011, Dockter said. A release provided to The Press by the group in opposition to the power line route, the Citizens for Responsible Development, is included separately this week as a letter to the editor.

(3) Landowners fight proposed route for transmission line

http://www.press-times.com/press2-25-09/landownersfight.html

. . . Idaho Power officials said they have a responsibility to their customers to provide the route with the minimum amount of an attached rate increase, often the most direct route. . .

. . . The landowners, mostly farmers, object to the line going through their ground because of the impact power lines have on crop production. Even though the lines themselves take up a small amount of land, working around the power lines completely changes the process of farming, said many landowners at the meeting with Idaho Power. The power lines obstruct the way of sprinkler pivots, inhibiting farmers from watering their crops.

The lines also prevent crop dusting by airplane. . . past compensation for utilities crossing the land was inadequate for the problems associated with moving around them.

. . . Just because a high-voltage transmission line is going right through your business property is no reason to put up a fuss and deny Idaho Power's responsibility to its other customers for minimal rate increases. . .

Dairy sues over stray voltage

This story is similar to that of a Missouri dairyman in 2006, as well as the Twin Falls judgment against Idaho Power in 2004 for $17.5 million http://www.strayvoltage.ca/Legal%20New-Mac%20Electric.htm

Farmer accuses PacificCorp of defective equipment, misrepresentation
Mateusz Perkowski Capital Press April 16, 2009 http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=106&SubSectionID=782&ArticleID=50528&TM=60670.11

A Washington state dairy farmer is suing PacifiCorp, alleging the power company allowed errant electrical currents to harm his cattle.

Tom Van Ruiten, a farmer in Yakima County, Wash., alleges the utility's distribution line to the dairy was "defective, faulty and antiquated," causing electrical currents to course through the dairy, endangering his herd of 2,100 cows.

Van Ruiten claims PacifiCorp attempted to fix the distribution line in 2006, but incorrectly installed equipment that would have prevented the unwanted discharges. . .

An electrical engineer's investigation indicated PacifiCorp's distribution line was the source of the electrical defect, he said.

PacifiCorp does not comment on pending litigation, according to a spokesman for the company.

Electrical malfunctions known as "stray voltage" were first identified as a culprit in poor dairy production about 40 years ago, according to Douglas Reinemann, professor of biological systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cattle are sensitive to electricity, even at levels as low as a single volt, according to one of Reinemann's reports about stray voltage.

When cattle experience even slight electrical shock while being milked, it stresses them and lowers production, he said. If stray electrical currents course through water, the animals will limit their consumption of it, (University of Florida extension dairy specialist Dave) Bray said.

"If they don't drink much water, they won't produce much milk," he said. Stray voltage can also contribute to udder irritation and mastitis, according to Bray. . .

The prevalence of stray voltage has decreased significantly in the past two decades, said Ned Zaugg, dairy extension specialist at Washington State University. "It used to be quite common in the older milking facilities," Zaugg said. Improvements to dairy equipment during the 1980s and 1990s helped resolve many stray voltage issues, he said.

Internal electrical malfunctions are usually at fault, but deficient power deliveries have also been known to cause stray voltage, Zaugg said.

"There are cases that have merit," he said.

Up the Idaho political chain

This isn't the first time the Idaho legislature has tried to establish oversight for the building of transmission lines. It's most likely why communities are turning to their federal legislators.

1st item: As Ken Miller of the Snake River Alliance describes it:
http://www.snakeriveralliance.org/OurWork/Energy/IdahoEnergyUpdate/tabid/1034/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2887/Default.aspx
January 23, 2009 I: Transmission Bill Set for Hearing Monday; Siting Bill Introduced - Again
The first energy-related bill of the 2009 legislative session is scheduled for a hearing Monday in the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee, and House and Senate Democrats have once again introduced a bill designed to better plan for the siting of new energy generation facilities. . .

The siting bill, like others in past sessions, was introduced Friday by Senate Democrats and has not been set for a hearing. Past siting bills have not received committee hearings.

Like earlier bills, this one would set up a system (similar to Oregon's) in which a siting review panel would be created, including state and local representatives. Developers of projects of 50MW or more would be required to submit an application to the Public Utilities Commission, including documentation on how a project meets specific requirements for review by the siting panel.

2nd item:
Minnick urges federal cooperation for power lines http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-apr1609-minnick_power_lines.dea8677a.html

Associated Press April 16, 2009 BOISE -- Rep. Walt Minnick is urging the federal government to get more involved with state and local leaders in planning where to erect the next generation of high-voltage power lines. . .

Last month, Minnick was one of several Republicans and Democrats who signed a letter asking Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to simplify the process for building power lines across public land.

The letter also encourages federal planners to work more proactively at the local level.
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, also signed the letter.

3rd item: An earlier article in which 1) IPCo routes transmission lines over private land without telling anyone, then 2) blames the BLM.

The article below refers to "40 (regional) public meetings" for local input into the finalized federal corridors, although to look at page 72 of the Forest Service Section 368 map of Idaho http://corridoreis.anl.gov/documents/docs/WWEC_FS_ROD.pdf it is clear there was almost zero adoption of locally designated routes (shown in yellow).

Maybe someone who knows can explain it to me. A listing of routes available and routes adopted can be found on page 4.

Kuna says power line flak is BLM's fault
City officials say the agency acted 'arbitrarily' in denying Idaho Power access to the Birds of Prey area.
BY JOE ESTRELLA 4/10/2009 http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/727647.html

The Bureau of Land Management is forcing Idaho Power to route its Gateway West Transmission Line Project through the city limits, Kuna City Planner Steven Hasson said after a two-hour meeting Wednesday between city officials, BLM and Idaho Power.

He said the agency ignored an Idaho Power study that showed the utility's preferred route for its proposed 500,000 volt Gateway project was through the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area south of Kuna that is already "crisscrossed" with similar high-voltage electrical towers.

"Last year the BLM just told them there was no way those lines were going to run on public land," Hasson said. "It soon became apparent who was the 800-pound gorilla in the room. It was a matter of might makes right."

The meeting between the three sides was caused by the city's outrage that Idaho Power had not communicated its plans to city officials. Parma officials were equally incensed because they had not been notified that a second transmission project originating in Boardman, Ore., would run through that community on its way to the Hemingway Substation near Melba.

Idaho Power issued a statement Wednesday in which it promised to work with the cities and federal agencies to "identify win-win solutions with the greatest benefits and fewest impacts for all."

. . . The only way for Idaho Power to run its new transmission project through the Birds of Prey area would be to amend the BLM's original management plan, a process that could take a year or more and would have to be approved by State BLM Director Tom Dyer, Sullivan said.

Hasson said the city will appeal to Dyer, but added that it will also seek help from Idaho Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick and Republican Sen. Mike Crapo.

Farmers unplug power line

Idaho Power plan would interfere with ag operations
Mitch Lies, Capital Press http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=618&ArticleID=50575&TM=48511.75

SALEM - Two dozen Eastern Oregon landowners rode eight hours on a bus to Salem to oppose building Idaho Power transmission towers on farm land.

The towers put Malheur County's famed onion industry in jeopardy, said Bruce Corn, a Malheur County landowner.

"Our issue is not stop Idaho Power," Corn said Thursday, April 9. "It's stop Idaho Power from being on farm ground."

Idaho Power has proposed stringing a 500 kilovolt transmission line over mostly farm land between Boardman, Ore., and Hemingway, Idaho.

Farmers testified that plenty of public land is available for the route.Farmers in Malheur and Baker counties said the power line would restrict aerial applicators from applying pesticides, disrupt center pivot irrigation systems and restrict farming activity in other ways.

"It would hamper my ability to raise alfalfa seed," said Larry Price, Oregon wheat commissioner and a Malheur County farmer.

Idaho Power said it has pulled its original siting plans and is now working with landowners on a new route. But Oregon farmers said they still are concerned.

Price and Corn were among about a dozen farmers to testify before a House committee April 9 in support of a bill that would restrict the power company from putting the lines on farm land.

House Bill 3153 as amended would allow county courts to prohibit transmission towers higher than 50 feet on farm ground when aerial application is needed and in jeopardy. . .

Solar Powered Estate (SOLD)

Here's a way to avoid those electrical bills :

Retreat Real Estate Property For Sale on Idaho/Montana Border

Real Estate Luxury like no other

http://www.lemhiestates.com/solar_powered_estate.htm

The sun shines regularly in Central-Eastern Idaho. We live in a semi-arid location, with minimum rains and snows. Foggy days are rare, making the solar energy reliable. System has 98 solar panels, is fully automatic (with generator backup), and is more reliable than conventional power. . .

. . . The Solar Powered System on this luxury Idaho real estate is more reliable than conventional power. You will not suffer typical outages of power lines going down, or systems being overloaded. You are safe, economical, and comfortable in the solar powered home and shop. . . .

News blackout

The following Associated Press story quotes the Baker City Herald and appeared in the Oregonian this past week. The fact that two dozen Malheur County residents traveled by bus to Salem so that 11 of them could testify for a bill introduced by our state representative was ignored by our local paper. Also ignored was a strongly-worded letter from influential Senator Ron Wyden in our behalf.

The Baker City Herald has run three stories in the past two weeks covering Malheur County. The Ontario Argus Observer has been strangely silent since it ran a full-page ad, bought and paid for by Idaho Power. Idaho Power's plans and quotes from its officials have been the subject of at least three stories in the Argus in the past two weeks.

Oregon bill could stymie Idaho Power's plans for Baker County
by The Associated Press Thursday April 09, 2009

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/04/salem_ore_a_bill.html

SALEM -- A bill introduced by two Western Oregon legislators (Brian Clem and Deborah Boone) could alter Idaho Power's plans to build a transmission line through Baker County. . .

The bill would prohibit establishing a "utility facility" in areas zoned for farm use, forest use or mixed farm and forest use if a majority of the facility's output would be used within an urban growth boundary. Among other things it allows land owners to refuse to grant a utility easement in such cases, the Baker City Herald newspaper reported.

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, vice chairman of the Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, says those concerns also can apply to overhead utilities such as power lines. Bentz said he plans to offer an amendment to limit the height of transmission towers to 50 feet on such lands to allow local jurisdictions to decide which areas to protect.

"County courts can decide if the land would be damaged by the inability to use aerial application," Bentz said. . .

Idaho Power plans to ask residents of eastern Oregon to consult with the utility on a route for a 500-kilovolt transmission line. The 300-mile power line would run from Idaho's Owyhee County to Boardman near the Columbia River.

In March state Sen. Ted Ferrioli of John Day, who leads minority Republicans, filed a bill that would prohibit power transmission lines with a capacity of 400,000 volts or greater on land zoned for exclusive farm use . . .

--The Associated Press

Bossy's Memorandum of Understanding*

* a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties.

A "Pause" in the Process

Remember, the PUC bestows the power of eminent domain.

April 10

Via Electronic Mail
ALJ Arlow
Public Utilities Commission of Oregon
PO Box 2148
Salem, OR 97308-2148

Re : Docket LC-41

Dear Judge Arlow:

For the reasons discussed below, Idaho Power Company, ("Idaho Power") respectfully requests that the public meeting scheduled in this docket for April 15th, 2009, be cancelled, and the remainder of the schedule temporarily suspended.

Last month at the public participation meetings in Baker City and Ontario, Idaho Power heard significant concern about the timing of this Addendum filing--both with respect to the proximity to the 2009 IRP that will be filed this summer, and the length of time that has elapsed since the 2006 IRP was acknowledged. In addition, the Company has recently heard that Commission Staff shares some of these concerns and would like to see additional analysis of the Boardman to Hemingway line that was not contained in the addendum.

At the same time, the Company has recently agreed to a "pause" in the EFSEC process to allow for further discussions and negotiations among stakeholders regarding the siting of the line. Accordingly, the expected "on-line" date for the Boardman to Hemingway Project is now pushed out beyond 2013.

In view of these developments, the Company would like to consider its options for proceeding in this docket. The pause in the EFSEC process allows the Company some additional time to consider how it might accommodate the issues raised by intervenors and Staff, and the company wishes to take advantage of that opportunity before presenting its case to the Commission. For this reason, Idaho Power requests that the April 15 Public Meeting be cancelled. Because the schedule in this docket is fairly tight, the Company understands that a cancellation of the Public Meeting will require the remainder of the schedule to be continued. For this reason the Company asks that the entire schedule be temporarily suspended. Once the Company has determined how it wishes to proceed, it can consult with the other parties and request a pre-hearing conference.

Idaho Power has discussed the report with Staff and Staff supports its request.

Very truly yours,

Lisa Rackner
McDowell & Rackner PC

You can see a copy of the pdf HERE.

You can see copies of all PUC filings on the B2H line at http://apps.puc.state.or.us/edockets/docket.asp?DocketID=13697

The Perils of Aerial Spraying

Photo of a cropduster that hit a powerline

Testimony of James Jennings of Farmers Aerial Applicators, Ontario, OR, to the Oregon House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee April 9th, 2009:

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on Oregon House Bill 3153. . . We are a small two airplane operation which employs two pilots year round and up to six other people on a seasonal basis. We are based at the Ontario airport and most of our customers are located in the Ontario, Nyssa, and Vale areas . . .

At the start of the row crop spraying season, the plants are small and can be treated with ground sprayers if necessary. As the plants mature, they "close over the row" and a ground sprayer can't get through the field without running over the foliage.

This is where the airplane comes in. We don't touch the foliage and can spray even ifi the field is wet. So during this period, aircraft are almost exclusively used for applying pesticides to these crops. It is necessary for us to be able to get good coverage of these fields. . . because the pests we miss eradicating can multiply and reinfest the whole field in a surprising short amount of time. . .

The more obstacles there are in the vicinity, or actually in the field, the more difficult it is to get good coverage. Your normal (50 ft) power line that you may see running along the side of the road is one thing, and we can usually deal with them. But this 500 kV line with 195 foot tall towers is a whole other thing . . .

In our day-to-day operations we have, on occasion, had a closer encounter with a power line . . . this 500 kV line, however, has wires that are 18" in diameter as I understand it. If an airplane hits one, the airplane will be destroyed, and probably the pilot too.

When dealing with a field that has a powerline running through it, there are basically two ways to go. One can fly the field parallel to the line or perpendicular to the line.

If parallel to the line, then we have to solve the problem of how to get material on the part of the field directly under the wires in between towers.

If perpendicular, we can go under the wires, but what happens when we get to a support tower? The options are to pull up out of the field early and climb over the tower, or side-slip past the tower and go under the wire. Either one of these maneuvers will require a pullout and circle around to restart our pass on the other side of the tower.

Here we have the same two choices: Go back under the wire and side-slip back onto course which is very difficult to accomplish, or come over the top of the tower and dive back down onto the field on course.

The downside is we don't want to spray the whole countryside by leaving the spray on as we climb/descend the 200 feet needed to clear the tower. Either way, we will have to come in and clean up around the towers by making short passes near the base of the tower to be sure we have coverage there.

A possibly worse situation is when the field is near this power line. The power line acts like a big airplane fence. It will restrict our room to maneuver. Sometimes we get very focused on the field we are spraying and its environs because we are looking for problems, like people that appear out of nowhere or watching where the spray drift is going, instead of looking to see what is in front of the airplane as we are turning.

It can be very easy to miscalculate the wind as one is turning and get blown right into an obstacle such as this power line. You may remember the incident where Yankee ball play Cory Lidle was killed, along with his flight instructor, when they crashed into the side of a building in New York . . .

From the http://www.sportsyndicate.blogspot.com/2006_10_08_archive.html story about Cory Lidle

In this business, we often have to fly at night. The reason is because some of the crops we fly are seed crops (which) require bees to pollinate them. So we fly them at night while the bees are in bed. The proposed powerline has towers that are 195 feet tall, because the FAA requires any tower 200 feet or taller to be lit at night.

So we will have a 195 feet tall powerline that will be basically invisible on a dark night. I leave to your imagination how anxious I am to work around this thing at night. . .

The last consideration for us is economic impact. . . Every extra pass we have to make to clean up around the towers takes time. The longer it takes us to do a job, the more fuel we burn to do it. The last proposed route for this powerline that I saw had it running from north to south approximately two miles west of the Ontario airport, to a point between Ontario and Nyssa where it turned east across the Snake River into Idaho.

This route baseically fences off a heavily loaded spray plane from the Nyssa area and the Vale area. Consider that a heavily loaded spray plane may only be able to climb at a rate of 50 feet per minute. At 90 mph, the math tells me that if the powerline is two miles west of the airplort and I'm headed to Vale, I will reach the line in about one minute and 20 seconds and I will be at about 100 feet.

So I have two choices, either carry a smaller load (uneconomical) or find someplace to go under the line . . . (something that) would be frowned upon by the FAA.

Another photo of the same cropduster (above)

I can say with authority that this powerline could turn the Ontario airport into a nightmare for our operation . . . we will have to move our operation, which would have a negative economic impact on the Ontario airport because of the lease fees and fuel flowage fees we pay.

Finally, our company commends you for considering the HB 3153 and hopes that you will see fit to recommend passage to the House. After all, if the public wants or needs this powerline shouldn't the public be willing to have it constructed on public land?

IPCo Asks for PUC Hearing Postponement

This means we won't be going to Salem next week, so save your hearing comments for another day!

The Bentz Amendment

Here we go . . .

Republicans don't have much of a chance in Salem nowadays. That is, unless you have common ground with northwest and southwest Oregon utility problems, such as the disaster that has been Liquefied Natural Gas (regional links: http://oregonfirst.net/links.html)

Oregon House Democrat Brian Clem of the Natural Resources Committee wrote House Bill 3153 "to keep energy facilities, such as pipelines and powerlines, away from forests and farm land. Energy facilities would be banned from these rural areas if most of the power being generated goes to cities and towns." http://www.naturaloregon.org/2009/04/09/anti-lng-bill-may-also-block-ne-oregon-power-line/ Not only that, condemnation of rural property would be at urban prices.

Smooth-talking alfalfa seed grower Larry Price hobnobbing with Paulette Pyle of Oregonians for Food and Shelter and Tammy Dennee of the Wheat League about amendment language

The bill was handed off to the Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, of which Ontario resident Cliff Bentz is Vice-Chair. It wouldn't have been given a hearing without the letter writing campaign of interested Oregon residents. In fact, it has been assigned a work session, which means it won't just vanish following the hearing.

Ontario onion grower Ken Teramura chatting with Rep. Cliff Bentz outside the hearing room. A smaller group met with Gov. Kulongoski Aide Mike Carrier and Katy Coba of the Oregon Dept of Ag, while a larger group spent time with Senator Ted Ferrioli.

The hearing room and overflow were full, not just of our 25 who came by bus, but other eastern Oregon residents already in Salem, well wishers and interested parties. The bill will face certain changes in work sessions before it can be reconciled with the Oregon Senate.

At the outset, following Brian Clem's introduction of his bill, Bentz introduced an amendment narrowly specific to high voltage transmission lines, proposing to give county courts process jurisdiction over whether to limit towers to 50 feet in cases of aerial spraying over exclusive farm use (EFU) ground.

Land use statute ORS 215.275, while allowing towers under 200 ft in height on EFU ground, already gives county courts jurisdiction over the siting of energy facilities. This specific amendment would offer another tool to keep productive farmland being overrun by high voltage transmission lines.

Ready for the hearing to begin: Tobias Read, Chairman of the Sustainability and Economic Development Committee (left) and Vice-Chair Cliff Bentz (right)

Our eleven eastern Oregon presenters did an outstanding job of informing the committee of the circumstances peculiar to our side of the state, including irrigated high desert, the large market share of onions produced here, leaf cutter bees developed to service the alfalfa seed industry, the Oregon Trail, and the high percentage of public land ownership, ranging from more than 50% in Baker to over 80% in Malheur County.

Gary Pearson and Pat Phillips supplied excellent maps demonstrating just how deliberately Idaho Power has carved through the narrow ribbon of private property along the Snake River in creating its original routes, all but ignoring uninhabited BLM ground that makes up the bulk of eastern Oregon.

Speaking in support was Kate Kimball of the 1000 Friends of Oregon, who again pressed the issue that utility companies need to look at privately held farm businesses as a last resort, rather than a first resort, when routing utilities. “You wouldn’t site a utility on an Intel or a Nike site, but farmland and ranchland are in the same situation,” Kimball told the committee. “This is the land where people earn their living.”

Then came the opponents to the bill, two from Portland Gas and Electric and one from Northwest Natural Gas. They complained that they had to cross private ground because Oregon was forcing renewable standards on them, and they seemed dismayed and surprised that we really didn't want transmission lines on prime farmland. They insisted that they always looked at public lands first when siting routes, although it is apparent they don't stay there long.

Bentz dogged them on this issue, although all they would finally concede is that "we look at a lot of things."

Field Trip Day in the State Capitol. Check out the Capital Press article at http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=617&ArticleID=50428&TM=70894.18

Representative Brad Witt asked pointed questions about why utilities insist on avoiding public lands so spectacularly (my words), and compared putting a center pivot sprinkler under a high-voltage transmission line to "putting a toaster in a bathtub." (his words)

The most forlorn of all was John Brenneman, the Idaho Power lobbyist, who didn't know about the extra amendment until two hours before the hearing. We think this might be a result of Idaho Power pretending if they ignore us long enough, we'll become invisible.

Brenneman's employers evidently encouraged him to spread the last-minute gospel of Citizens Advisory Projects, Town Halls, and We've Taken Sand Hollow Substation Off The Table. Call your lobbyist, IPCo, and thanks for paying for our lunch.

This was our Chukar bus. I heard a lady outside the Shari's Restaurant in Troutdale tell one of her friends, "I found out what Chukars are!" after conversing with one of our group. *

And then we got back on the bus and drove into Ontario by half past midnight! Great trip, great company, and a good report to tell our home people at the end of it. Make sure you send thank-yous to our House committee legislators (all on an earlier blog post.)

I think I'm going to go take a nap.

*P.S. Make sure no one tells Idaho Power we rode on the Chukar Bus, or they might not let us ride on it ever again!

We take our case to Salem

Storming the Capitol building

I'm posting Mike Ferguson's entire article until I have a chance to write my own comments. I am thinking of getting a subscription to the Baker City Herald, where I get more news about what is happening in Ontario than I do in Ontario.

Idaho Power critics take case to Salem
Written by MIKE FERGUSON Baker City Herald April 10, 2009

Two Baker County residents travel to Capitol to testify for a bill that could stymie company’s plans to build line through county (actually there were more than 2 residents of Baker County there)

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Idaho-Power-critics-take-case-to-Salem

About two dozen people — including a pair of Baker County residents — bused to Salem and back Thursday to testify in support of a bill that would ban utility facilities, including transmission and natural gas lines, in land zoned exclusively for farm or forest use so long as most of the power transmitted by the facility is consumed within an urban growth boundary.

Nancy Peyron of Baker City and Diane Bloomer of Durkee were among 17 people who testified on House Bill 3153 before the House Committee on Sustainability and Economic Development.

Rep. Cliff Bentz, an Ontario Republican who represents Baker County, is the committee’s vice-chair. “Twenty-four people left from Ontario at 3 o’clock this morning and they’ve been joined by several people from Baker County,” Bentz told his colleagues at the beginning of the two-hour hearing. “They hope to build upon what Rep. (Brian) Clem started, to develop a better fashion of moving energy across Oregon.”

Clem, D-Salem, and Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Coos Bay, are authors of the bill. During testimony Clem told the committee he wants to be sure that “if and when” transmission or liquefied natural gas lines cross EFU and forest ground, “that landowners get a decent deal.”

“As you can see by the people here,” Clem said, referring to the nearly full Capitol hearing room, “this is a big deal. These folks need to be treated in a fair manner.

“I’m not here to indict any one project,” Clem told the committee, “but I believe that farm and forestland are primarily to be used for timber production and food production. If it’s going to be used differently, farmers need to be compensated.”

Members of the Malheur County citizens group Stop Idaho Power and the Baker County group Move Idaho Power said they support Bentz’s amendment to the bill that would ban towers higher than 50 feet on EFU and forest ground and would give local planners power to, as Bentz said, “look at the ground and decide if it should be preserved for farming use. The idea is not to prohibit transmission. It’s to find a better means by which it can go.”

Malheur County’s agricultural producers and their suppliers testified first at Thursday’s hearing.
James Jennings, who works with aerial applications with Farmers Supply Cooperative in Ontario, said that night applications around any towers under 200 feet would have to be curtailed, since the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t require those towers to be lighted.

Clinton Kennington, who runs a farm and a dairy near Bentz’s Ontario home, said that passing the bill with Bentz’s amendment “won’t cost Oregon much, but Not passing it will result in a loss of revenue to the counties and the state,” especially in agricultural sales.

Jay Chamberlain, manager of the Owyhee Project, Oregon’s largest irrigation project, called the 129,000 irrigated acres within the project “the lifeblood of these growers, and without it we would not have the Treasure Valley (in Idaho and Eastern Oregon). We live in the desert. Irrigation is the only way we can produce crops. We can’t allow something that will threaten our distribution system.”

Pat Phillips, a Malheur County Realtor, told the committee she’s been told by buyers they don’t wish to purchase rural property in Malheur County “until they know if the line will traverse their property.”

Larry Price, who grows alfalfa seed grain in Adrian, said he’s afraid that the high voltage lines will, among other things, confuse the inner gyroscopes of the leafcutter bees that pollinate his crop. He also turned over to the committee letters written to Gov. Ted Kulongoski from sixth graders at Adrian Elementary School who live “300 paces” from where the power line was initially proposed.

Speaking next, Peyron told the committee Idaho Power’s proposed transmission line would remove 1,909 acres from agricultural production in Baker County.

Peyron’s family donated some of property that became the BLM’s Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

“We’ve always been respectful of that land, and it’s horrifying to me that these towers can suddenly appear,” she said. “It’s development at its worst.”

Bloomer, who operates a cattle and hay business in Durkee, worries like her counterparts in Malheur County that the towers will affect irrigation practices on her ranch. She said she’s also concerned that building the towers could hasten the spread of noxious weeds.

The third member of the Bloomer/Peyron panel was Kate Kimball, a senior policy analyst with 1000 Friends of Oregon. The group has been surprisingly supportive of Move Idaho Power’s concerns, Peyron said by telephone from the chartered bus on her way home Thursday night.

“You wouldn’t site a utility on an Intel or a Nike site, but farmland and ranchland are in the same situation,” Kimball told the committee. “This is the land where people earn their living.”

“We need to look at the impact a project like this would have on each segment,” Kimball added. “This bill takes good steps in that direction. Please protect farmland.”

After that, it was time to hear from lobbyists who represent Oregon utilities.

Gary Bauer of Northwest Natural Gas told the committee his company sometimes has trouble “getting the entire length of a project on public land,” although public land is typically where the company begins in seeking a route.

Tom Gallagher of PGE said that if his company “didn’t have to develop renewable energy as we do, we wouldn’t have to be in rural areas as we are.”

His colleague, Bob Hall, said he’d checked with PGE engineers who told him the 50-foot maximum for towers as proposed by Bentz would be “tantamount to a prohibition.”

In order to accommodate the extra sag in electrical lines during the summer, towers would have to be 100 to 150 feet tall, he said.

“I understand what folks are trying to do, but we have a problem getting power to the people who use it,” he said.

The last to testify was John Brenneman, a lobbyist for Idaho Power. Brenneman said Idaho Power officials have asked him to seek the names of people to serve on advisory groups that will work with the company to come up with a route more acceptable than the original proposal.
“I have been meeting with Farm Bureau and co-op people,” he said. “We shelved (the initial proposal) and I thought everyone knew that.”

“In all the years I’ve served Idaho Power since 1992, I usually figure ways to get Idaho Power out of a bill. We’ve never been the target of a bill, and I’m not comfortable with that situation.

“This is a company that is responsive to the community and responsive to ratepayers. They are going back to reopen the process.

“I can arrange a team from Boise (Idaho Power’s headquarters) to keep you informed. This is a big project that will serve one-half of our needs and help (Bonneville Power Administration) and other privates (utilities).”

A member of the committee, Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, said he looked forward to hearing more from the company.

“I think that kind of explanation would be useful, but the folks who need it most are the folks in this audience,” Witt said. “I think it would go a long way to patching up difficulties that folks are having. A community town hall would be helpful.”

Cliff Bentz' Oregon House Bill

We appreciate learning about what's happening in Malheur County from Baker City Herald writer Mike Ferguson:

Hearing could affect Idaho Power Co. line

Written by MIKE FERGUSON Baker City Herald April 07, 2009

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Hearing-could-affect-Idaho-Power-Co-line

Rep. Cliff Bentz will have lots of company from the 60th District at a Capitol hearing room beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday.

That’s when Bentz’s Sustainability and Economic Development Committee will hear testimony on House Bill 3153, which could affect Idaho Power Co.’s plan to build a transmission line through Baker County. . .

A citizens group from Malheur County, Stop Idaho Power, plans to bus members to the Capitol Thursday to voice their support . . .

After speaking with the Malheur County group Monday, Bentz said he plans to offer an amendment (to ORS 215.283) Thursday that would limit the height of transmission towers to 50 feet on EFU, timber and mixed-use ground. He said his proposal would allow local jurisdictions — planning commissions and county commissioners — to decide which areas to protect.

“County courts can decide if the land would be damaged by the inability to use aerial application,” Bentz said, a reference to agricultural producers’ fears that the 180-foot-tall transmission towers Idaho Power wants to install would interfere with their ability to spray from the air to protect their crops. “Local communities can decide which land should be protected.”

Bentz said he believes a strong showing from concerned citizens during Thursday’s hearing can influence his colleagues on the Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, which includes five Democrats and three Republicans. Bentz serves as vice chair.

“I believe legislators are always trying to determine how important these proposed laws are to people across the state,” he said. “One measure is how many people are there encouraging the Legislature to act.

“To somebody new like me, it sure seems more serious when all of a community arrives and says this is a very challenging situation, but it will all depend on how people behave themselves. You’ve got to deliver your message in an effective manner. . . ”

We intend to be as effective as we can, Representative Bentz.

This also from Adam Bless of the Oregon Department of Energy, clarifying an earlier article:

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Letters/Letters-to-the-Editor-for-April-6-2009

To the editor:

The Oregon Department of Energy appreciates the Baker City Herald’s coverage of the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line project.

Department staff attended the public hearing held by the Oregon Public Utility Commission in Baker City on March 27, and followed the news media coverage.

We want to correct one statement in the article about the hearing.

According to the article: “If the PUC approves the application, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Committee (EFSC) will determine where the line will traverse five counties in Oregon as it runs from Hemingway, near Murphy, Idaho, to Boardman.”

The Energy Facility Siting Council does not determine where the line will go. The project proponent is Idaho Power, and it is their responsibility to design the final route, and submit an application showing that their proposed route meets all of the applicable regulatory codes and standards. EFSC reviews the application for compliance with the standards, but does not choose the route.

This is a common misconception of the siting process. The article was otherwise accurate and informative.

We recognize that the siting and reviewing process is complex, involving several different agencies, each having a different role. We appreciate this opportunity to help explain this process to the public.

Adam Bless

Senior policy analyst

Oregon Department of Energy

"Public convenience and necessity"

Our resident lawyer Cliff Looney, of the mild manner and passion for articulate language, quoted this Oregon statute at March 26th's open house regarding OPUC's consideration for need:

ORS 758.015 Certificate of public convenience and necessity.
(1) When any person, as defined in ORS 758.400, providing electric utility service, as defined in ORS 758.400, or any transmission company, proposes to construct an overhead transmission line which will necessitate a condemnation of land or an interest therein, it shall petition the Public Utility Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity setting forth a detailed description and the purpose of the proposed transmission line, the estimated cost, the route to be followed, the availability of alternate routes, a description of other transmission lines connecting the same areas, and such other information in such form as the commission may reasonably require in determining the public convenience and necessity.

Other quotes from Cliff Looney's comments to the PUC:

Idaho Power’s presentation to the public has been cast in terms that are not entirely accurate. I quote from a recent Idaho Power advertisement in our local paper which is phrased to appear to refer to the new planned line and refers to it as

“a line that runs near where you live not only delivers power you count on every day, it runs the life saving equipment at a nearby hospital and provides light for the elementary school in a neighboring community.”

It is clear that the proposed 500 megawatt line is not necessary to provide electricity to our hospital or our schools.

This is a line that is planned not to put power in our homes and institutions but rather to put money in Idaho Power’s pocket.

What we are really talking about in this matter is whether Idaho Power needs to create a profit center for its company while it deprives the people of this valley of many of the beneficial aspects of a situation that exists without the presence of this huge line.

Need is relative. It is important to our reality and to this process to consider all of the NEEDS of the public and private persons involved. ORS 758.015 emphasizes “public convenience and necessity.”

I brought with me a couple of articles and I have made copies which I attach to my written testimony:

Boise startup lights way to 'smart grid'
Inovus' SmartPole sets the company up to be a local leader in a national energy revolution

BY ROCKY BARKER - Published: 01/11/09
http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/629155.html

Pocatello Area Carves a Renewable Energy Niche

by MARK AREND http://www.siteselection.com/features/2009/jan/Idaho/

Micron ponders jobs for idle factories
The company tells legislators a fab in Boise and the former MPC plant could be used to make alternative energy products.

By Brad Talbutt Published: 01/09/09 http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/627000.html

All of that simply means a lessening of need for electrical supply from any utility.

Up and down the corridor along the freeway, US 84, we see new wind energy fields springing up and we understand that additional wind energy program is planned for the area around Durkee and that geothermal resources are to be developed in Malheur County. All of this means that there will be increased distributed generation. What the volume of distributed generation will mean eventually is that smaller transmission lines can be used to serve local users.

A second recent article appears in the Oregon State University Extension Service news letter that comes from the Eastern Oregon Forestry office. This excellent article by John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is on rural power as the key to sustainability.

http://www.newrules.org/de/ruralpower.pdf

This article points out that there are many advantages to not relying on the huge centralized production of power. Independence and development of green power from geothermal, solar, wind farms and bio-mass energy is becoming economically attractive. . .

Idaho Power’s applications do not approach a realistic appraisal and consideration of these changes. In fact, they have relied upon old data and have now sought to attach their addendum to an old application when it is really the new data and assessment of where we are going in our approach to solving energy supply problems that needs to be made. That poses a very strong reason for not allowing the addendum to be considered with the 2006 application and to require Idaho Power to do a better job of assessing the possibilities of local generation of power and what it will mean over the next 10 to 15 years. . .

Lastly, I wish to get back to the topic of need. The real need is to be realistic. The infrastructure that is developed should be a long term asset that should not impose avoidable injury and inconvenience. It should not simply be a profit center for a company that wishes to ride rough-shod over the many needs of the citizens who are so profoundly impacted by the creation of these colossal facilities. The long term value of the farms and economy is just as valuable as this line, perhaps much more. Much of that will be lost if this line is inappropriately located.

The route selected is inextricably connected to Need.

ORS 758.015 recognizes that connection by requiring any applying utility to provide a “detailed description” and “purpose” of the line, “the route to be followed, the availability of alternate routes, a description of other transmission lines connecting the same areas,” and other information to determining “public convenience and necessity.”

These are clear mandates for your decision to consider the probable injury to other “needs” that the public may have which legitimately compete with the utilities interests in route placement.

What we NEED is for Idaho Power to rationally select a route that does not destroy private property interests and private sensibilities to the aesthetics of its people or present health risks or other economic obstacles to the lives of thousands of people who have relied on the world in which they live continuing as they have known it and not being negatively impacted by this kind of facility.

When they do so then the energy and economic needs that they emphasize can be rationally examined.

The need here cannot be examined in a vacuum. It must be weighed with other needs and balanced so that the greater good for all of our community and all of our needs are considered.

I have listened to the Idaho Power Company spokesmen.

There has been no mention of a need to locate this line across Exclusively Farm Use lands.

Not a single iota of the need Idaho Power Company speaks to will go unmet if their line avoids Exclusively Farm Use lands.

ORS 758.015(1) requires a determination based on “public convenience and necessity”

No certificate of necessity should be issued until a route is selected avoiding Exclusively Farm Use lands to avoid injury to our citizens.

Public assets should be on public land.

Sand Hollow substation off the map

One of the keys to the original Treasure Valley Electrical Plan loop and the Boardman to Hemingway 500 kV transmission line has been an inline substation located in Sand Hollow, a few miles east of the Snake River in Idaho. What this did was doom Idaho towns north and south of the substation, as well as Malheur County residents where the line was pushed twice across the Snake River over prime farmland.

Idaho Power has finally conceded that this substation is now off the map. It has done this through signed documents, television and radio announcements, and political channels. It will force an entire reconfiguration of the original proposed B2H line.

We are grateful for Idaho Power's acknowledgement of the citizens of Idaho and Oregon.

It has been apparent from the outset that while Oregon has legal recourse through its land use laws, Idaho's rural residents' greatest strength has been political influence, something which Parma's mayor and citizens have used to great advantage. We salute their efforts and appreciate their persistence and sacrifice.

Below are selections from an AP story appearing yesterday in the Idaho Statesman and other newspapers:

Idaho Power backs off Parma transmission line plan

By JOHN MILLER - Associated Press Writer Published: 04/06/09

http://www.idahostatesman.com/531/story/723095.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=8498834#Comments_Container

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Power Co. won't locate a high-voltage transmission line near Parma after residents protested, according to a lawmaker who represents the southwestern Idaho farming town.

Sen. Melinda Smyser said Monday that the state's largest utility has changed its plans so it no longer needs the 500-kilovolt lines with 110- to 195-foot-tall towers in an area where Parma hopes to grow. The Republican said the utility "recognized the need for more citizen involvement."

. . . "If you're going to pick on a little town, I wouldn't have picked on Parma," said (Pat) Rohwer, who helped organize community opposition after learning of the proposal in December. . .

Rohwer said locals were aghast late last year upon learning of the line planned for north and west of their city of 1,700. They raised some $20,000 to fight it, including enlisting Gallatin Public Affairs, the lobbying outfit that includes former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus, to organize opposition. . .

Farmers and officials in Oregon also have criticized the power line project, and a bill has been introduced in the Oregon Legislature to bar high-voltage power lines from land zoned for exclusive farm use. . .

. . . Although Idaho Power's change is good news, Rohwer expects the community to continue to scrutinize the project. . .

Stop Idaho Power and other citizens groups also intend to keep up the scrutiny.

Gateway West hits the fan

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

For Idaho Power, crying "mea culpa" (what a wishful thought that is) to Idaho cities is preferable to informing anyone in advance that high voltage transmission lines belong on customers' private property rather than through designated public lands utility corridors.

To offer apologies at this late date is offensive. Bringing in the same public involvement outfit that guided an earlier advisory committee for recommendations Idaho Power conveniently overlooked (especially when it came to Malheur County), in order to gather up more oblivious citizens for more ignored recommendations, is an affront to rational sensibility.

At least the Idaho Statesman is reporting the same Idaho Power company talking points we've been hearing for quite awhile. See if you can spot them in the following article:

Idaho Power offers mea culpa to Idaho cities
There is still time to address the concerns of Kuna and Parma residents over massive power line projects.
BY JOE ESTRELLA Published: 04/04/09

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/720955.html

The utility "dropped the ball" when it came to communicating its intentions to communities that would sit in the path of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project, said Douglas J. Dockter, Idaho Power's engineering manager for the project. "We didn't get them involved in the process as soon as we should have," Dockter said.

(Compare the above quote to a similar one in the Idaho Statesman editorial Feb. 27 http://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/story/681437.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=7956150#Comments_Container )

The Gateway project is a joint venture between Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp. The partnership plans to build 1,150 miles of transmission line from a substation near Casper, Wyo., to the Hemingway substation outside of Melba. The 500,000-volt lines running through Idaho would ease the strain on a system that is at capacity, Dockter said.

The additional power also could be used to lure new manufacturing companies that might bypass the state because Idaho Power can't meet its energy demands. Construction could begin in the spring of 2011, with the most important segments coming online in 2014.

Dockter estimated the cost of line construction at $1.5 million per mile, not counting the cost of constructing substations or negotiating rights-of-way agreements. Idaho Power executives will sit down with Kuna city officials Wednesday to address their fears that massive power line towers will go through city limits, potentially killing a mixed-use development and affecting the city's growth.

The utility also must convince Parma officials that a related project, which originates near Boardman, Ore., and travels south to the Hemingway substation near Melba, will not pass through Parma exclusively on private land.

Mayor Margaret Watson said that would degrade the value of the landowner's holdings and make it impossible to develop. In the case of Parma, Dockter said, a citizens advisory committee is being created to determine exactly where the transmission lines will be strung. (See my last blog post about this.)

Dockter said the proposal for the Gateway project that shows the transmission lines going through Kuna was drafted before that area was annexed into the city. He said the proposal was a starting point that needed to be submitted so the U.S. Bureau of Land Management can decide whether it will allow any part of the project to be built on federal land, a process that could take until 2011.

"So there is time to include the cities in this process," Dockter said. "For an engineer, the best solution is a straight line because it costs less. But we knew from the beginning that the final project was not going to look like our original proposal."

During Wednesday's meeting, Idaho Power will discuss alternatives to running the transmission lines through Kuna, including the possibility of skirting the city, and using smaller transmission towers or even single poles similar to those on the east side of Eagle Road to limit aesthetic damage. (Hey, how come nobody says that to us in Oregon?)

. . . Dockter said the joint venture with Rocky Mountain Power, or Idaho Power's Boardman-to-Hemingway project, cannot begin acquiring rights of way until the BLM makes its decision about whether it will allow its land to be used. . .

I hear farmers in Burley are finding out their irrigated property is now an Idaho Power right-of-way. Just wait until the rest of the Treasure Valley loop finds out about Idaho Power dropping the ball all over them .