Ontario — Local resident Roger Findley summed up one clear reality for members of two regional grass-roots leagues opposed to the route of a proposed Idaho Power line Monday night.
There are things that can be done and things that can’t, the chair of Stop Idaho Power explained to the crowd at an informational meeting held at the Grange Hall.
Findley’s words were all the more poignant when framed against the background of a critical public mapping meeting slated Oct. 1 at Four Rivers Cultural Center. At the Oct. 1 session, area residents can draw lines on a map regarding where they think IP’s proposed 500-kilovolt line should go.
An earlier mapping session was held last week in Baker City.
Findley and a group of area residents spearheaded an opposition movement to Idaho Power’s plan to build a 500-kilovolt power line from Boardman to a substation near Melba because early blueprints placed the structure right through prime agriculture land in Malheur County.
Findley’s group, though, was not the only one with an issue regarding the power line. Other grass-roots movements cropped up in Baker County and in Idaho.
This year, Idaho Power reached out to the opposition groups and created community advisory teams. These teams were designed to bridge the gap between landowners and concerned residents and the power firm.
“Make your lines as buildable as possible,” Garth Johnson, vice chair of Move Idaho Power From Baker County, told the crowd Monday night.
When outlining their proposed routes people should try get by or around as many problems as possible, Johnson said.
Sept. 30, Idaho Power representatives will meet with members of the area community advisory team to go over the public mapping process and then Oct. 1, the mapping begins at 7 a.m. and goes to 8 p.m. in three different sessions, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. When they map, people will need to give their address, mark the route with a number they will be assigned and give the reason for choice.
“We just proposed two routes,” Johnson said of his group.
People can piggy-back on lines already drawn, John Faw, Vale, said.
“People can find the maps on Idaho Power’s Web site,” he said.
Idaho Power representatives said several people choosing a particular route will give credence to a line, Faw said.
“Stop Idaho Power is recommending four routes, two in Oregon, two in Idaho,” Findley said. “We believe one of two routes in Oregon will be eliminated.” Information will be available on where those routes are if people want to support them, he said.
Before the mapping session, the Oregon Public Utility Commission will be in Ontario Sept. 29 to hold an open house to hear from customers of Idaho Power on its proposed rate increase.
The company is seeking a 22. 6 percent general rate increase, including an approximate 37 percent boost for residential service and an approximate increase of 44 percent for irrigation users. The open house is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Ontario Community Library. It will be an informal session in which the public will be able to ask questions and give testimony for the record. Written testimony will be accepted.
