Map of three Project Advisory Team geographic areasWe are concerned with sheer size and Oregon/Idaho differences in the "Project Advisory Team (South)" geographic area, which includes parts of four Idaho and four Oregon counties. Idaho Power clearly wants to include elected and appointed officials on the Project Advisory Team. The most glaring lack in the list of committee members chosen so far is that of private property owners, especially farmers, whose taxpaying businesses would be ruined by placement of transmission lines over productive farm ground.
We hope that elected and appointed officials will inform themselves on the issues before these meetings begin so they will be able to stand up for their cities and counties.
We expect to see the names of more private property owners appear on the PAT Committee Members list.
From the Boardman to Hemingway website: http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/idaho_power_CAP_about.aspx
Idaho Power's Commitment
Idaho Power will conduct a comprehensive and inclusive public process to locate proposed and alternative routes for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project.
About the Process
Identify community issues and concerns and develop criteria for evaluating possible routes. Integrate community’s criteria with regulatory requirements.
Develop a range of possible routes that address community issues and concerns. Several routes will be identified through public mapping sessions. Routes that do not meet the criteria will be eliminated.
Recommend proposed and alternative routes. The proposed and alternative routes will be carried through the siting process.
Follow through with communities during BLM and ODOE-EFSC reviews. Idaho Power will resubmit applications to the BLM and the USFS, which will proceed with a review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The ODOE-EFSC will also proceed with a thorough review.
Key Players
The public will be involved in every step of the process, through project advisory teams, a coordinating team and public meetings.
Project advisory teams will meet in the three geographic areas - north, central and south - to identify issues and concerns and lead the process of recommending routes.
Public meetings will occur at every milestone. The public will be asked to review and comment on the project advisory teams’ work. The teams will consider and incorporate public input.
A project coordinating team, made of representatives from the project advisory teams, will bring together the work of each team and ensure the route transitions smoothly between geographic areas. Community Advisory Process updates will be posted to this Web site.
