http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/898132.html
"These are projects everybody needs and nobody wants," said Lisa Grow, Idaho Power's vice president for transmission.
The companies have the power to condemn private property to build the line, but to do that, they have to get approval from each of the counties in Idaho and from the states of Wyoming and Oregon.
FINDING THE ROUTE IS PROVING TOUGH
The angry couple and their neighbors organized the group Stop Idaho Power to force the Boise utility to reconsider its plans for the 500,000-volt line between Murphy and Boardman, Ore. Hundreds of people turned out for public meetings, and the group got the ear of Oregon political leaders.
Homeowners and civic leaders in Parma and Kuna joined the chorus.
"It makes you feel good when you see that the system works," Findley said.
And the changes make a difference - for Idaho Power and the energy users who pay the company's rates.
Unlike in Oregon, where one central panel can make the decision, Idaho's complex web of oversight is just another hurdle that Idaho Power has to navigate. . .
Idaho Power Co. and Rocky Mountain Power, who want to snake a $7 billion network of 190-foot transmission towers across the West, face a tangled matrix of state and local barriers as challenging as the hardships faced by the pioneers who traveled much the same route on the Oregon Trail a century and a half ago.
The 1,500-mile route between Boardman, Ore., and Windstar station in Wyoming would connect power plants to energy users for decades to come.
"These are projects everybody needs and nobody wants," said Lisa Grow, Idaho Power's vice president for transmission.
The opposition - which rose to a fever pitch in places like Parma and Kuna and sparked a regional response along Idaho's southern border - has been a wake-up call for Idaho Power, which has not built a major transmission line in more than 20 years.
"It was impressive," Grow said. "We don't want to steamroll these people and leave a legacy of bad feelings."
The companies have the power to condemn private property to build the line, but to do that, they have to get approval from each of the counties in Idaho and from the states of Wyoming and Oregon.
If they can't get the local OKs, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can step in and force the issue - but along a route of its choosing. That's an alternative that all sides hope to avoid.
Looming behind the scenes is one of the country's most powerful laws. Where the transmission lines are built could determine whether to list the greater sage grouse as an endangered species - which would have wide economic impacts across the region. . .
FINDING THE ROUTE IS PROVING TOUGH
When Roger and Jean Findley learned that Idaho Power was considering routing the lines across their farmland, they wanted to know more.
"They hardly gave us the time of day," said Roger Findley, an Ontario farmer and instructor at Treasure Valley Community College.
The angry couple and their neighbors organized the group Stop Idaho Power to force the Boise utility to reconsider its plans for the 500,000-volt line between Murphy and Boardman, Ore. Hundreds of people turned out for public meetings, and the group got the ear of Oregon political leaders.
Homeowners and civic leaders in Parma and Kuna joined the chorus.
Idaho Power listened, scrapped the proposed route and is working with Findley's group and other communities to draft a new route and alternatives. It met with the public last month in Marsing, Parma and Ontario.
"It makes you feel good when you see that the system works," Findley said.
But if Idaho Power moves the lines away from Findley's farm, the company simply will run into different opponents.
And the changes make a difference - for Idaho Power and the energy users who pay the company's rates.
For every mile added, Idaho Power's costs increase between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, estimates Paul Kjellander, director of Idaho's Office of Energy Resources.
PRIVATE LAND VERSUS WILD LAND
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide in February 2010 whether to propose listing sage grouse in 11 states. But the BLM won't have its draft environmental impact statement
completed at least until spring.
completed at least until spring.
That means every new alternative that increases development on public lands increases the chance the bird may be listed. . .
THE ROUTE HAS TO BE BROKERED PIECEMEAL
Kjellander, Idaho's top energy official, has to depend on the power of persuasion to keep the discussion moving, since Idaho has little state authority over the process.
Unlike in Oregon, where one central panel can make the decision, Idaho's complex web of oversight is just another hurdle that Idaho Power has to navigate. . .
