tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88146404069057949402024-03-13T11:17:35.281-06:00Stop Idaho PowerRerouting 500 kV lines
around Malheur County
farmlandPatty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comBlogger369125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-88496787651260372472013-05-05T21:43:00.001-06:002013-05-05T21:43:32.553-06:00Boardman to Hemingway Routes Released<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/argusobserver.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/6a/f6a5de84-b511-11e2-bc4c-0019bb2963f4/5185991900abb.image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/argusobserver.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/6a/f6a5de84-b511-11e2-bc4c-0019bb2963f4/5185991900abb.image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.argusobserver.com/news/boardman-to-hemingway-routes-released/article_e0346bc0-b511-11e2-9897-0019bb2963f4.html">http://www.argusobserver.com/news/boardman-to-hemingway-routes-released/article_e0346bc0-b511-11e2-9897-0019bb2963f4.html</a><br />
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Vale — The Bureau of Land Management has identified the preliminary preferred alternatives for the proposed Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line. The preferred routes, along with the map released Friday, are the ones that BLM will contemplate in the development of the draft Environmental Impact Statement that will be released later this year.<br />
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The BLM, acting as lead Federal agency, is continuing to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the B2H Project under the National Environmental Policy Act. The draft Environmental Impact Statement will identify and document the potential effects of the project as well as a range of reasonable alternatives that may help avoid, minimize or mitigate for these impacts. . .<br />
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Malheur County residents have banded together to oppose any part of the route that goes over private land, particularly farm ground. And, while project maps show most of the proposed route through the county sticking to public land, the Tub Mountain alternative, identified as “preliminary environmentally preferred” would cross farm ground between Vale and Willowcreek. This alternative would take the line on a route to the east of Brogan, instead of a routing to the west and north of the community, keeping to public land. A major issue in the choosing of a route for the transmission line over public land is sage grouse habitat and avoidance of grouse breeding grounds. . .<br />
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The B2H preferred routes and related map are available online at: <a href="http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #457d9d; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">www.boardmantohemingway.com</a></div>
Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-43407457744772309602012-08-06T11:24:00.005-06:002012-08-19T18:05:55.867-06:00Alternative Route Public Information MeetingsPilot Rock and Boardman area public information meetings on alternative routes under consideration were held on August 6th and 7th.<br />
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New alternative route maps and public meeting information can be found at <a href="http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/documents/2012_0719_B2H_Newswire_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=Boardman+to+Hemingway+Transmission+Line+Project+List&utm_campaign=a384f76a45-B2H_Newswire_3_26_2012&utm_medium=email">http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/documents/2012_0719_B2H_Newswire_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=Boardman+to+Hemingway+Transmission+Line+Project+List&utm_campaign=a384f76a45-B2H_Newswire_3_26_2012&utm_medium=email</a><br />
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The Ontario meeting will be held on Thursday, August 16th, from 6-8 p.m. in the Four Rivers Cultural Center, 676 SW 5th Ave, Ontario, Or. Four Rivers Cultural CenterPatty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-26336162413676847392012-05-23T09:37:00.002-06:002012-05-23T09:37:24.037-06:00100 employees at Idaho plant laid offHONOLULU -- Honolulu-based commercial solar power company Hoku Corp. says its subsidiary is laying off about 100 employees at an Idaho manufacturing plant.
. . The Pocatello plant was to have made silicon for solar panels. All contractors stopped construction work at the facility last month.
Hoku says some lienholders have started foreclosure proceedings against the plant in Idaho courts.
. .Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-18043751306332266712012-05-01T10:55:00.001-06:002012-05-01T10:55:05.881-06:00Area farmer fears power line alternative route could hurt operationApril 27 by Larry Meyer<br />
<a href="http://www.argusobserver.com/news/area-farmer-fears-power-line-alternative-route-could-hurt-operation/article_890c590a-9093-11e1-b1f5-0019bb2963f4.html">http://www.argusobserver.com/news/area-farmer-fears-power-line-alternative-route-could-hurt-operation/article_890c590a-9093-11e1-b1f5-0019bb2963f4.html</a>
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JAMIESON —As Idaho Power continues to prepare a draft proposal for the routing of its 500-kilovolt transmission line between northeast Oregon and southwest Idaho, it is also proposing alternative routes, and one of those has a Malheur County farmer saying it will negatively impact his operation.<br />
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Kenneth Jensen, who farms just north of Jamieson, said depending on where the towers are installed, they could interfere with the operation of his center pivots and also restrict aerial spraying of his fields.<br />
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Idaho Power’s proposed route goes west of Brogan and then heads east, north of Brogan. The Jamieson alternative route would head east sooner, cutting away from the proposed route several miles short of Brogan and would cross U.S. Highway 26 and irrigated farm ground about 1.5 miles north of Jamieson, Jensen said. About 1.5 miles of 2.5 miles of irrigated ground the line would cross would be on his farm, he added.<br />
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Farm operations would be limited in the proposed 250-foot right of way, Jensen said, as Occupational Safety and Health Agency rules say farm workers would not be allowed within 100 feet of the lines.<br />
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“It would make it impossible to do anything,” Jensen said of the line.
He believes the line would also interfere with RTK GPS guidance tractors used in no-till farming, he said.
“We, the farmers, would have to have our fields cut up by power lines,” Jensen said.<br />
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Also, one of the proposed towers for the Willow Creek Alternative would be at the end of his airstrip used by crop dusters and others, making it unusable, Jensen said.<br />
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Jensen said the Willow Creek alternative was offered because of concerns about a sage grouse lek the proposed route passes through near Huntington.
A group of landowners have proposed their own alternative, which would cut off from the proposed route north of Brogan and skirt south around some leks, staying mostly on public land and joining the Jamieson alternative away from the irrigated farm ground.<br />
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In a letter to Jensen, which he shared, Keith Georgeson, Boardman to Hemingway Project leader, said “the proposed alternative route adds 8.1 miles to the 30-mile proposed route and 13.7 miles to the Willow Creek alternative route.”
Noting that the landowners’ proposal would decrease the amount of irrigated crop land from 2 miles to 0.1 miles and reduce the amount of private land the line would cross in comparison to the proposed route and the Willow Creek alternative, Georgeson, said, “Idaho Power is not able to justify the proposed alternative because of the increased line length. The route increased the distance from the proposed route by almost 30 to 56 percent over the alternative route.”<br />
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Georgeson said Idaho Power continues to pursue the original route around Brogan as its proposed route, but, if permitting is denied, the company needs to have an alternative.Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-59442776053933842042012-05-01T10:52:00.004-06:002012-05-01T10:52:48.055-06:00Ontario solar project set to move forwardTuesday, April 3rd by Larry Meyer<br />
<a href="http://www.argusobserver.com/news/ontario-solar-project-set-to-move-forward/article_349ea46a-7dae-11e1-92c2-0019bb2963f4.html">http://www.argusobserver.com/news/ontario-solar-project-set-to-move-forward/article_349ea46a-7dae-11e1-92c2-0019bb2963f4.html</a><br />
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ONTARIO —The Ontario City Council Monday approved ground lease agreements that will allow a solar power project, to be installed at several sites around the city, with generated power to be sold to Idaho Power.<br />
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Idaho Power’s Oregon Solar Photovoltaic Pilot program is a pilot mandated by the Oregon Legislature to encourage the development of solar energy in the state, according to information provided by the city. Electrical utilities operating in Oregon are required to purchase electricity at above-market rates from a limited number of non-commercial participants.<br />
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Assisted by Site Based Energy, a solar energy developer, Ontario officials applied to participate in the program and received preliminary approval from Idaho Power for installation of 10 solar panels, but two of the sites were pulled from consideration.<br />
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Under current plan, the SBE will own the solar panels for the first eight years of the program with the city then taking ownership. In Monday’s action, the council also approved the Idaho Power sales agreement.
. . .Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-16401114414111848902012-01-01T08:19:00.000-07:002012-01-01T08:21:07.749-07:00Hoku solar plant in Idaho may have power shut off<a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/136444588.html?id=136444588">http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/136444588.html?id=136444588</a>
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BOISE, Idaho Idaho Power Co. told a struggling southeastern Idaho solar-industry manufacturer that the utility could shut off its power by Jan. 3 if it doesn't pay its $1.9 million electricity bill from November.<br />
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Honolulu-based polysilicon maker Hoku Corp., which has survived so far with help from Chinese financiers, lodged a formal protest with Idaho Public Utilities Commission regulators after getting a termination of service notice on Dec. 22.<br />
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The company's Hoku Materials unit told Idaho Power that it can't pay its November power bill until January due to cash flow problems.
Hoku says losing electricity would delay its Pocatello plant's commissioning and expose infrastructure to freezing just as winter sets in, causing "material harm." Southeastern Idaho's hopes that Hoku's $390 million plant will eventually add hundreds of green-energy jobs to the local economy have been replaced by uncertainty over whether the project will survive. . .<br />
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Hoku announced it had hooked up to Idaho Power's substation only in November, the same month it couldn't pay its power bill.
"With the addition of permanent power, we are able to start-up the plant," Hoku Chief Executive Officer Scott Paul said on Nov. 21.
Now, it wants Idaho Power to use some of the $4 million Hoku had previously deposited with the utility as security for its power bills to cover the November charges, according to its filing. . .<br />
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. . . The plant was originally supposed to be operational in 2008, but it struggled to raise funds to complete the facility as the economy soured.
In March, Hoku received the second installment of a $50 million loan from majority owner Tianwei New Energy Holdings Co. of China that has helped keep the company afloat.
As the company's share price has plunged to well below $1, from a 52-week high of $3.24, the company's management has been in turmoil, too.
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(<i>Note: Supplying electricity to the Hoku plant in Pocatello was one of the rationales for the Boardman to Hemingway line</i>.)Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-8992261919219396682011-12-01T07:52:00.001-07:002011-12-01T07:56:30.536-07:00Obama's power line team to visit B2H projectBy JAYSON JACOBY
Nov. 30, 2011<br />
<a href="http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Obama-s-power-line-team-to-visit-B2H-project">http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Obama-s-power-line-team-to-visit-B2H-project</a><br />
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A team of federal officials that President Obama tasked with speeding up the permitting process for seven proposed power lines will conduct a site visit next week for an Idaho Power Company line that’s slated to bisect Baker County.<br />
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The president’s “Rapid Response Team for Transmission” will be in Boise on Dec. 6, and in Ontario on Dec. 7.<br />
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The team is not scheduled to travel to Baker County.<br />
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Mark Bennett, the county’s planning director, said he will attend some of the meetings.
Bennett said Fred Warner Jr., chairman of the county’s three-member Board of Commissioners, might accompany him.
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Obama announced in early October that he wants to expedite permitting for seven power transmission lines, including Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway project that was unveiled several years ago.
Idaho Power has suggested several routes for the 300-mile, 500-kilovolt line, some of which — including one that would have run through Baker Valley between Baker City and the Elkhorn Mountains — were discarded.<br />
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The company’s current preferred route would run about one mile east of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City.
That proposal has provoked opposition among some local residents, who formed a group called Move Idaho Power.
Their chief complaint is that the 150-foot towers would mar the views from the Interpretive Center.<br />
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In response, Idaho Power has proposed an alternative route that would move the power line a few miles to the east.
But that location creates conflicts with breeding sites for the sage grouse, a bird that is a candidate for the federal endangered species list.<br />
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The route issue remains unresolved.
Idaho Power’s current timeline calls for the company to acquire rights-of-way from mid-2012 through mid-2014, with constructed scheduled from 2014 through mid-2016.
In the meantime, the president announced his intention to accelerate permitting for Boardman-to-Hemingway (B2H) and six other projects.<br />
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“The president wants to get America working again,” Nancy Sutley, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, said in a press release in October. “Building a smarter electric grid will create thousands of American jobs and accelerate the growth of domestic clean energy industries translating into more energy choices and cost savings for American consumers.”<br />
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The purpose of the Dec. 6-7 site visit, according to the email invitation Bennett received last week, is to help the president’s Rapid Response Team “better understand the B2H project as the (team) works to expedite and improve the federal government’s evaluation of transmission applications.”<br />
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Members of the Rapid Response Team who are slated to attend include Bill Falsey, deputy chief of staff for the BLM; Laura Morton, renewable energy senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy; and Lucas Lucero, BLM’s rights-of-way branch chief.<br />
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According to the schedule, the portion of the meeting set aside for local government representatives — including Baker County officials — will start at noon PST on Dec. 7. The agenda doesn’t include a public comment period.<br />
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The Rapid Reponse Team wants to discuss a variety of topics, according to the invitation, including:<br />
• The history and current status of project review, including approach to public engagement<br />
• The list of permits required and the schedule and timelines for processing permit applications<br />
• The roles and authorities of each agency involved in the project review<br />
• The amount of non-federal land that the proposed project would affect and views and roles of non-federal land owners<br />
• Tribal consultation and interaction with State Historical Preservation Officers<br />
• Project need, including how and by whom it was identified, and whether the asserted need for the project is controversial<br />
• The established processes for data collection, data use, and record keeping<br />
• Reasonable and feasible alternative routes (including the use of previously designated corridors), particularly sensitive environmental resources, and potential mitigation measures (if presently known)<br />
• Whether approving the line would be inconsistent with any federal, state or local plans, and the processes by which those plans can be amended<br />
• Any potential “show stoppers” or fatal flaws<br />
• Strengths that have assisted you in making progress in the review process<br />
• Challenges and obstacles that you currently face, or expect to experience<br />
• Recommendations (including the means) to realize efficiencies in project review<br />
• Any assistance you may need dealing with obstacles and challenges that cannot be directly addressed on-site<br />
• Recommendations and lessons learned that may be applicable to other projects<br />
• Issues or concerns the RRTT can help addressPatty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-37927257650546635382011-11-15T10:21:00.001-07:002011-11-15T10:23:24.367-07:00Idaho Power Newsletter and Updated Maps<br />
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5px" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; width: 600px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div>
Dear B2H Project Stakeholders,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </td><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Thank you for your continued interest and participation in the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Transmission Line Project. Ida<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">ho <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Power</span> </span>is working hard to enhance reliability throughout the region and move energy from where it’s generated to where it’s used in homes, farms and communities.<br />
A lot has happened on the project since we last met with area stakeholders in summer 2010, so we wanted to provide a brief update about project activities.<br />
Please view the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.com/documents/2011_IPCB2HNewsletter_web.pdf" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">B2H Connection</a> recently mailed to project stakeholders or visit the project website using the links below to learn more about:<br />
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=54d1f584d0&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Routing changes</a> in the Boardman, Baker City, Brogan and Owyhee Dam areas as suggested by stakeholders following community and landowner meetings in summer 2010.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=9280ac3b61&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Field surveys</a> conducted or underway.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The latest <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=ce52c83bf9&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">project schedule</a> outlining Idaho<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Power</span>’</span>s in-service date change from June 2015 to June 2016 to ensure adequate time for construction.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=4f09af85db&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Micrositing</a> as part of Idaho <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Power</span>’s commitment to refine project routing where possible to lessen impacts to communities and landowners.</li>
</ul>
As you’ll see, a lot of work has been accomplished over the last year, and there’s a lot more work to do. We are working with the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=4007f723d6&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bureau of Land Management</a>, <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=9835487f59&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Oregon Department of Energy</a>, <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=73b3a9bf99&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">U.S. Forest Service</a> and many other stakeholders to build this 300-mile line. We encourage you to stay involved in the project by attending future public meetings and visiting the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=3511d87f4e&e=f54eac709b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">website</a> for the latest project updates.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Keith Georgeson, Project Manager</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-84119005597016916372011-10-01T15:55:00.002-06:002011-10-01T15:55:49.929-06:00Fed Plan to Consolidate Power Over Nation's Power Highway Has States Nervousby Judson Berger<br />
<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/01/fed-plan-to-consolidate-power-over-nations-power-highway-has-states-nervous/">http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/01/fed-plan-to-consolidate-power-over-nations-power-highway-has-states-nervous/</a><br />
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The Obama administration is looking to consolidate control over the nation's power highway, pushing a proposal that would put one federal agency in the driver's seat when it comes to reviewing and approving power-line projects across the country.<br />
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The proposal has triggered a rush of complaints, pitting power companies and the federal government against concerned citizens and local lawmakers.<br />
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As the Energy Department reviews the immense feedback in the weeks ahead, the ordeal could help determine how and where the nation's power supply is routed.<br />
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At the heart of Washington's proposal is a desire to guide and speed up a process that can be slowed by local bureaucratic hurdles. The need for more transmission lines is apparent -- in the vast states where wind and other forms of renewable energy are produced, the energy is often hundreds of miles from where it would be consumed.<br />
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But new power lines are not exactly welcome guests.<br />
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"Siting transmission is extremely difficult, because no one wants it on their land," said Gene Fadness, with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.<br />
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Still, he said, "We don't think (the process) takes so long that it's not workable."<br />
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The states, which along with local governments have long had authority over whether and where power lines get built, derided the plan as a move that would make it harder for local residents to weigh in.<br />
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"It turns the whole process on its head," said Robert Thormeyer, spokesman with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. He said the federal government would be "more inclined to build" than the states, if for no other reason than they probably wouldn't have as much interaction with citizens. A bureaucrat in Washington might not hear the not-in-my-backyard pleas as frequently as a bureaucrat in, say, Boise.<br />
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The proposed change has drawn the skepticism of at least one senator. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who helped write a 2005 law that initially expanded federal power over power lines, complained about the plan in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.<br />
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The chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said it appears the commission is trying to "rewrite" the language in the law. He said that's a decision for Congress, not the commission, to make.<br />
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The move, he wrote, "would pave the way for the commission to use the newly consolidated powers in ways never intended by Congress. . . "<br />
Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-45551897489929208702011-07-26T13:44:00.001-06:002011-07-26T13:46:21.127-06:00Routing the power around Adrian<a href="http://argusobserver.com/articles/2011/07/20/news/doc4e27188840940671856922.txt">http://argusobserver.com/articles/2011/07/20/news/doc4e27188840940671856922.txt</a><br /><br />By Larry Meyer Wednesday, July 20, 2011<br /><br />ONTARIO — The Bureau of Land Management is working on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Boardman to Hemingway 500-Kilovolt transmission line and some environmental issues have been raised along proposed route and as part of the EIS process the BLM will be looking for possible alternative to mitigate those concerns or bypass them completely.<br /><br />According to a letter from Idaho Power to Jon Beal and Bill Lawrence, Malheur County Planning Department, the company is planning to ask the BLM to remove the proposed route from near the Idaho-Oregon border, to a point north of U.S. Highway 20 and Vines Hill.<br /><br />While most of the alternate routes to be explored are still on federal land, one alternate would move the line closer to Adrian, putting in four miles away, instead of the estimated 12 miles away for the current proposed route. This alternative would follow the Vale District utility corridor for some distance and would cross some private land south of U.S. 20 and southwest of Vale.<br /><br />“There are four major landowners,” Keith Georgeson, Idaho Power project leader, said. Company officials were in the process of contacting them, he said Tuesday and whether the company would file that alternative as the new proposed route depends on the response of the land owners.<br /><br />The reason for offering route alternatives is that the proposed route crosses through a “Sensitive Resource Area,” and an “area of critical environmental concern.” A sensitive resource area is one with wilderness characteristics that could be aside as wild-lands in the future.<br /><br />A second alternative, which has a more southern route is more buildable, but is a little longer and has other challenges, the Idaho Power letter said.<br /><br />Renee Straub, BLM leader on the Natural Resource Agency review, confirmed the route does go through environmentally sensitive areas, managed under the Resource Management Plan, and under the National Environmental Policy Act, the possible impacts must be considered and reasonable alternatives proposed.Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-31888064192141192552011-05-15T08:55:00.001-06:002011-05-15T08:56:58.061-06:00B2H line to be evaluated by BLM and othersby Larry Meyer<br /><a href="http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2011/05/15/news/doc4dcf60c114e3e408792491.txt">http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2011/05/15/news/doc4dcf60c114e3e408792491.txt</a><br /><br />ONTARIO — The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are preparing to work on a draft of an environmental impact statement to evaluate the Boardman to Hemingway 500-kilovolt transmission line project, and has released a report on the issues which will be discussed in the EIS, including purpose and need, transmission line route alternatives and resource inventory, impacts and mitigation.<br /><br />Idaho Power Company is proposing to build the line between the existing Hemingway Substation, situated in Owyhee County near Melba, Idaho, and planned substation near Boardman, Ore., in Morrow County. The line would be about 300 miles long and would cross private, federal and state lands in six counties in Oregon and Idaho, with about 93 miles of the land the line will cross administered by federal agencies. Idaho Power’s right-of-way application to the BLM and USES initiated a EIS process.<br /><br />This initial report, which is available online at www.boardmantohemingway.com, reviews the siting process up to now and the public comments garnered from a number of public meetings, referred to as public scoping.<br /><br />The Environmental Impact Statement will explain the purpose and need to which the BLM, the lead agency, is responding, including the proposed action and what objectives are to be achieved by the action.<br /><br />Under project description, the EIS will discuss such issues as the physical requirements for transmission line construction, maintenance and operation, plus technical feasibility and constructability of the project and alternative technologies.<br /><br />The draft EIS will include a study and review of alternative routes. The route issue brought the original scoping process to a halt, while Idaho Power set up a community advisory process which proposed a revised route.<br /><br />A resource inventory will address impacts on such issues as sage grouse, migratory birds, listed species, habitat fragmentation, farmland, cultural resources, aesthetics and economics.<br /><br />Issues which will not be addressed, raised by the comments during the scoping period include the following:<br /><br />— If energy conservation plans were implemented, this project would not be needed.<br /><br />— Electrical power should be decentralized.<br /><br />— Suspicion that more transmission lines will be placed in the right-of-way than stated.<br /><br />Other issues not to be addressed include opposition or support for the project, use of solar energy, development of a wide-range sage-grouse conservation plan and who is going to bear the expense of the project.<br /><br />The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be released in spring of 2012, followed by a 90-day public comment period, which will include public meetings.Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-77390590766204186962011-05-10T08:21:00.000-06:002011-05-10T08:22:28.892-06:00B2H Project Revised Scoping Report Available<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; ">The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have published the revised scoping report for the Boardman to Hemingway 500kV Transmission Line Project (B2H Project). View the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=879e5640bb&e=bed33eb965" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; ">report</a>.<br /><br />The revised scoping report provides a summary of potential issues, impacts and alternatives received during the scoping process and the extent to which those issues and impacts will be analyzed in the B2H Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Scoping also helps ensure a range of reasonable alternatives will be evaluated in the EIS.<br /><br />The report adds over 300 comments received during the 2010 scoping period to those received in 2008, as well as more than 900 comments submitted through Idaho Power’s Community Advisory Process. Comments were provided by the public, Tribes, and local, state, and federal agencies.<br /><br /><span style="line-height: 20px; font-size: medium; "><strong style="line-height: 20px; font-weight: bold; ">Next Steps</strong></span><br />BLM and USFS will use the revised scoping report to prepare the draft EIS to evaluate the B2H Project and a range of reasonable alternatives for potential impacts to environmental, social and economic resources.<br /><br />The next opportunity for formal public comment will be the 90-day comment period following the release of the draft EIS, expected in the spring of 2012. BLM will also hold public meetings during the draft EIS comment period.<br /><br />The public can stay involved prior to the draft EIS release in the following ways:<br /><ul style="line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1em; list-style-type: disc; "><li style="line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; ">Reviewing project documents and maps via the project website at<a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=324c6dd984&e=bed33eb965" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; ">www.boardmantohemingway.com</a>.</li><li style="line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; ">Sending questions to the federal agencies via: <br /><br /><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Email:</strong> <a href="mailto:comment@boardmantohemingway.com" style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; ">comment@boardmantohemingway.com</a> <br /><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">U.S. mail: </strong><br />Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project<br />P.O. Box 655<br />Vale, OR 97918<br /><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Fax: </strong>888-251-3129</li><br /></ul><span style="line-height: 20px; font-size: medium; "><strong style="line-height: 20px; font-weight: bold; ">Stay Informed</strong></span><br />To learn more about the project, help find document viewing locations, view landowner maps, and learn about future public meeting dates and formal comment periods, visit <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=96b7c67d41&e=bed33eb965" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; ">www.boardmantohemingway.com</a>.</span>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-49566280690846285742011-03-26T08:11:00.000-06:002011-03-26T08:13:39.898-06:00Various agencies reviewing public comments about transmission line<a href="http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2011/03/17/news/doc4d8249a7790cb350683010.txt">http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2011/03/17/news/doc4d8249a7790cb350683010.txt</a><br />By Larry Meyer Thursday, March 17, 2011<br /><br />ONTARIO — State and federal agencies are continuing to move ahead with their review of Idaho Power Company’s plans to build a transmission line from Boardman to Hemingway — northeast Oregon to southwest Idaho — and are in the process of reviewing public comment during the public scoping period completed last summer.<br /><br />In the latest project newsletter issued by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Services and Oregon Department of Energy, the ODOE will soon issue a project order outlining the issues and regulations Idaho Power must address in its application for site certificate. ODOE is the state agency that must approve the proposed route through Oregon. Agency officials anticipate that Idaho Power will submit its preliminary application later this year to begin the next phase of the state review process.<br /><br />The project order includes issues and concerns raised during last year’s public comment period.<br /><br />After Idaho Power submits its preliminary application for site certificate to ODOE and its Energy Facility Siting Council, the application will be reviewed by state and local agencies to determine if the company addressed the requirements in the project order. When deemed completed, the application will be released for public comment, and another round of informational meetings will be held.<br /><br />The federal agencies, with the BLM in the lead role, are drafting a revised scoping report summarizing public comments.<br /><br />The report is expected to be made public in May, and, during the next year, the agencies will evaluate the project for potential impacts on environmental, social and economic resources to be included in the draft Environmental Impact Statement.<br /><br />For its part, Idaho Power reports that its engineers and surveyors will conduct reviews of the topography and land features along the proposed route, assess corridor rights of way, as well as identify where access roads and landowner permission may be needed. Archaeologists will also be available for possible archaeological or historical sites or other cultural resources in the proposed corridor.Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-16250454772474770322011-03-16T13:43:00.001-06:002011-03-16T13:43:58.232-06:00B2H March 2011 Newswire<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><div><b>B2H Newswire</b></div><br /><div><b>Issue 2 - Winter 2011</b></div><p>The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) have published the second issue of the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project newsletter – the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=4671ea7813&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">B2H Newswire</a>.</p><div><b>In this Edition:</b></div><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px; "><b>Recap of summer 2010 scoping period</b></li><li style="margin-left: 15px; "><b>Idaho Power submits revised routes</b></li><li style="margin-left: 15px; "><b>ODOE to issue Project Order</b></li><li style="margin-left: 15px; "><b>BLM and USFS draft Revised Scoping Report</b></li></ul><div><b>Recap of summer 2010 scoping period</b></div><p>BLM, USFS and ODOE reopened the public scoping comment period and hosted public meetings in summer 2010. The agencies received over 300 public comments.</p><p>Your comments are helping the state and federal agencies develop their separate review documents. Thank you for your participation in this early comment period!</p><div><b>Idaho Power submits revised routes</b></div><p>Based on public and landowner feedback, Idaho Power made changes to its proposed route and alternatives. The changes were officially submitted to BLM and USFS in March 2011. View the <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=f19187229a&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">revised routes</a>.</p><p>This spring fieldwork operations are set to continue along Idaho Power’s proposed routes and alternatives. <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=6141722f48&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">Learn more about Idaho Power’s fieldwork</a>.</p><div><b>ODOE to issue Project Order</b></div><p>ODOE will soon issue a Project Order outlining the issues and regulations Idaho Power must address in its Application for Site Certificate (ASC). ODOE anticipates Idaho Power will submit its preliminary ASC later this year, initiating the next step in the state review process. <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=ee8a39cb8a&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">Learn more about the state review process</a>.</p><div><b>BLM and USFS draft Revised Scoping Report</b></div><p>BLM and USFS are drafting a Revised Scoping Report summarizing the 2008 and 2010 public scoping comments, as well as the comments submitted during the Idaho Power<a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=7cbcab6e88&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">community advisory process</a>. The agencies expect the report will be publically available in May. Over the next year, the agencies will evaluate the project for potential impacts to environmental, social and economic resources, which will be documented in the draft Environmental Impact Statement.<a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=f90a0c1e09&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">Learn more about the federal review process</a>.</p><div style="margin-top: 20px; "><span><b>Stay informed</b></span>, visit <a href="http://boardmantohemingway.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ae19bd61dcc63dbbaf8ed8ed9&id=e7ebab954e&e=f54eac709b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(54, 68, 82); ">www.boardmantohemingway.com</a>.</div></span>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-47787103718102974402011-02-08T17:24:00.001-07:002011-02-08T17:26:55.482-07:00LNG Fast-Track Bills Threaten Landowners, Salmon, and the ClimateFeb 2, 2011 by Nick Engelfried <a href="http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/02/lng-fast-track-bills-threaten-landowners-salmon-and-climate/">http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/02/lng-fast-track-bills-threaten-landowners-salmon-and-climate/</a><div><br /></div><div>With the legislative session kicking off this week, Oregon lawmakers should protect private land and our state’s natural resources from an egregious case of big energy corporations trying to overrule the needs of communities. Allies of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry are looking to introduce legislation to re-define the word “applicant” for wetland removal and fill permits, so they can more easily move forward on unpopular pipeline projects that threaten rural economies. . . </div><div><br />2011 has seen the emergence of not one but two versions of the LNG fast-track bill—a legislative concept which companies like Bradwood LNG and Oregon LNG have been pushing for years. In 2009 and 2010 other versions of the fast-track bill were defeated in the legislature, and rightly so. Though the exact language differs from one bill to another, each is designed to make it easier for energy speculators to apply for and receive permits for pipeline construction on private land—without prior permission from landowners.<br /><br />This is perhaps first and foremost a land rights issue. Though clearly designed to accommodate the LNG industry, the fast-track bill would change the permitting process for every project on private land that requires a wetlands fill permit. Supporters argue it wouldn’t allow companies to set foot on private land without property owners’ consent, but the entire purpose of the fast-track bill is to streamline permitting to allow property rights to be overruled more quickly in the future. . .<br /><br />Two versions of the LNG fast-track bill have reared their heads this session. House Bill 2589 and Senate Bill 265 would delete the current definition of “applicant” for wetland removal and fill permits, allowing private companies to apply for permits without the permission or knowledge of landowners. The other version, House Bill 2206/Senate Bill 261, would expand the definition of applicant with the same convenient implications for LNG. So far none of these bills have been assigned to a committee, but we’ll how long that lasts.<br /><br />If Oregon lawmakers want another drawn-out fight over LNG this year, I’m confident the public will give it to them. But I hope legislators concerned about public interest will take the initiative early on, and speak out against any and all forms of an LNG fast-track bill. Lawmakers will have to make many tough decisions this session—but this shouldn’t have to be one of them.<br /></div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-35698492944831522562011-02-01T09:51:00.003-07:002011-02-01T11:01:14.290-07:00Whose land is it?Oregon State Senator Larry George, Republican District 13, has introduced SB 473:<br /><br />Summary: Allows energy facilities and hydroelectric facilities as outright permitted uses in exclusive farm use zones, mixed farm and forest zones and forest zones.<div><br /></div><div>The pdf can be found here: <a href="http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measpdf/sb0400.dir/sb0473.intro.pdf">http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measpdf/sb0400.dir/sb0473.intro.pdf</a></div><br /><br />SB 473 as currently drafted would allow outright most of the major energy generating and transmission facilities on EFU zoned lands. No public process, no land use criteria.<br /><br />Please contact your local representatives and Senator George and encourage them not to sell out EFU land use laws that we have had to live under all these years, leaving productive farm land the preferred route for utility companies not wanting to battle environmentalists in uninhabited public lands.<br /><br />Capitol Phone: 503-986-1713<br />Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-307, Salem, OR, 97301<br />Email: sen.larrygeorge@state.or.us <br />Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/georgelPatty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-21450485949137022632011-01-31T09:52:00.002-07:002011-01-31T09:58:45.791-07:00Fast Track Bills Introduced – Contact your legislator<div><a href="http://weagreenolng.org/2011/01/18/fast-track-bills-introduced-contact-your-legislator/">http://weagreenolng.org/2011/01/18/fast-track-bills-introduced-contact-your-legislator/</a></div><div><br /></div>The LNG fast-track bill has re-emerged in the Oregon legislature for the 2011 session. In the past two sessions, the LNG industry has pushed fast-track legislation that would allow private LNG speculators to seek and obtain permits on private lands without the landowners’ permission. We’ve defeated this bill twice, thanks to strong opposition from property rights advocates and LNG opponents.<br /><br />If passed, the bill will:<br /><br /><ul><li>Allow companies to apply for permits on your land without your knowledge or consent</li><li>Fast-track the permitting process for LNG-related pipelines in Oregon</li><li>Harm landowners and devalue property rights in our state</li></ul>There are two versions of the bill:<br /><br />In one version (HB 2589 in the House and SB 265 in the Senate), the bill would delete the definition of “applicant” for obtaining wetland removal/fill permits on private land. In essence, this version of the bill would allow any private company to obtain wetland removal/fill permits on private farm and forest lands without the landowner’s permission or knowledge.<div><br />In the second version of the fast-track bill (HB 2206 and SB 261), the legislation would “expand” the definition of an applicant to allow private companies proposing “linear projects” to apply for and receive permits on private lands without the landowner’s permission. This version of the bill contains provisions for landowner notification and appeals, but it also makes it easier for LNG companies to obtain permits for unneeded pipelines.</div><div><br />In essence, both versions of the bill are a give-away to the LNG industry. The bills could easily be amended to exempt LNG-related pipelines. As written, the bills would facilitate continued LNG speculation by Oregon LNG, Williams & PG&E (Pacific Connector Pipeline), and NW Natural gas.<br /><br />Make Your Voice Heard Today! In southern Oregon join the Rally against the legislation and pipeline (learn more here). Learn how to contact your representative, and what to say, by reading more.<br /><br />To obtain contact information for your state Senator and Representative, go to:<br /><a href="http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/">http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/</a><br /><br />Tell Your Elected Leader:<br /><ul><li>You oppose SB 265 & HB 2589.</li><li>You also oppose SB 261 & HB 2206.</li></ul>These bills undercut private property rights, allowing private companies to push unneeded projects at the expense of Oregon families and businesses.</div><div><br />These bills make it easier for LNG companies to continue to push forward speculative pipeline projects. These bills disrupt farms, forestry operations, and nurseries – all bedrock economic drivers of Oregon’s rural economy. The bills were originally proposed in 2008 by Bradwood LNG, a now bankrupt company that owed public agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars.</div><div><br />Oregon does not need LNG, and our legislature should not make it easier for unneeded LNG projects to disrupt the lives and businesses of hard-working Oregonians.<br />We will keep you posted when we find out if these bills are assigned to Committees.<br /><br />For now, be sure to get on the record with your legislators that you oppose these controversial re-treads of bad, LNG & pipeline-friendly, legislation.<br /><br /><div>You can download a pdf of the bill here: <a href="http://amywheelerharwood.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sb0265-intro.pdf">http://amywheelerharwood.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sb0265-intro.pdf</a><br />Contact us for more information:<br />In northern Oregon: Dan Serres – (503) 890-2441<br />In southern Oregon: Monica Vaughan (541) 521-1832</div></div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-13788067098281307592011-01-08T10:03:00.000-07:002011-01-08T10:04:27.146-07:00John Kitzhaber praises Oregon's farmers, announces Katy Coba will keep her job<i>Good news for the farmers out there. . . </i><div><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/01/kitzhaber_praises_oregons_farm.html">http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/01/kitzhaber_praises_oregons_farm.html</a><br /><br />Governor-elect John Kitzhaber said Katy Coba will retain her job as director of the state Department of Agriculture when he takes office, prompting a burst of applause from farmers and industry representatives gathered for a meeting Friday.<br /><br />Kitzhaber made the impromptu announcement during a talk at an annual agriculture and natural resource conference put on by the Portland law firm Dunn Carney. The governor-elect, who will be sworn in Monday, said in response to an audience question that he is "pretty comfortable" with the leadership of the state's natural resource departments.<br /><br />Coba, who was among the panelists at the conference, said she was surprised and pleased by the announcement. Coba grew up on a Pendleton wheat ranch and was appointed agriculture department director by Gov. Ted Kulongoski in 2003.<br /><br />In his prepared remarks, Kitzhaber said the economic impact of Oregon's nearly $5 billion annual agricultural production is often overlooked. Agricultural products -- ranging from Christmas trees and grass seed to wheat and blueberries -- are the state's second-leading traded sector after high-tech products. But 85 percent of the state's production is eaten or used elsewhere, and a majority of Oregonians have lost touch with farming, he said.<br /><br />The state's "well-earned" reputation for producing safe, wholesome, high-quality farm products is an advantage Oregon can capitalize on in the national and international marketplace, Kitzhaber said. "There are few places like Oregon left on the planet," he said.<br /><br />On other topics, Kitzhaber acknowledged that water quality and quantity, land-use pressure, environmental regulations and livestock damage from wolves, cougars and coyotes are all issues facing farmers. He and said he's open to discussion on those topics.<br /><br />Topics at the conference, attended by about 120 people, included food safety, proposed water quality regulations and using alternative energy projects to generate income and cut farm costs.</div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-83597949214323559162010-12-28T16:33:00.001-07:002010-12-28T16:34:54.520-07:00$2B in transmission lines planned in Oregon<a href="http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/12/28/2b-in-transmission-lines-planned-in-oregon/">http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/12/28/2b-in-transmission-lines-planned-in-oregon/</a><br /><br />More than $2 billion worth of transmission lines are planned throughout Oregon in the next decade, according to the state’s major utilities - PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric and Idaho Power. They say their systems cannot handle increased demand and new wind, geothermal and biomass projects coming online.<br /><br />After Oregon’s hydropower dams were constructed in the 1930s, aluminum smelters looked to tap into cheap power along the Columbia River. That led to construction of the transmission network the state uses today, according to Mike Mikolaitis, director of transmission projects for Portland General Electric. Today, however, those lines are increasingly congested.<br /><br />“Transmission lines are like the freeway of our electrical system,” Mikolaitis said. “At rush hour, there’s a limit to what can go on the freeway without causing a backup. Our electrical transmission system in Oregon is congested and inadequate to deliver most of the renewable energy being built in the eastern part of the state.”<br /><br />PGE’s proposed solution is Cascade Crossing, a 500-kilovolt, 187-mile-long transmission line that would cut across a national forest, tribal lands and private parcels between Boardman and Salem. The $823 million project is the largest of its kind to be proposed in the last 30 years, according to Deb Schallert, head of permitting for Cascade Crossing.<br /><br />“In my lifetime, I’ve never permitted a major transmission line like this,” Schallert said. “Public-land stakeholders want to know what habitat impacts are at stake. Private landowners want to know why we need to use land they own. The Warm Springs Tribe is a sovereign nation and has its own process to comment on the route. The challenge we’ve faced consistently is educating people about why we need new transmission.”<br /><br />PGE predicts a 45 percent increase in electricity demand over the next 20 years, according to its Integrated Resource Plan. PacifiCorp says transmission line development over the next 20 to 25 years is essential for grid reliability to be maintained. Since 2007, PacifiCorp has planned its own major transmission project, Energy Gateway, a $6 billion, 2,000-mile-long transmission line project that will snake through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.<br /><br />John Cupparo, PacifiCorp’s vice president of transmission, said for the last three years he has stayed up late at night thinking about how to implement such a gigantic project. Energy Gateway will pass through federal lands, requiring years of studies of cultural and environmental issues along the proposed route. The timing of those federal processes, Cupparo said, will determine whether the project is delivered on time and within the budget.<br /><br />“There are so many different stakeholders and differing perspectives on what the right answer is,” Cupparo said. “These are not cheap projects; we just brought in the first segment of Energy Gateway for $830 million. As the Bureau of Land Management and others work through all of the environmental, cultural and other issues, it takes time. And we need certainty that we can get the capacity installed on time.”<br /><br />The Bonneville Power Administration has approximately $900 million of transmission line projects in environmental review, according to company spokesman Doug Johnson, mostly because of transmission service requests for wind projects in Oregon and Washington. The BPA, a federal entity, can condemn property or use eminent domain, but the agency has been trying to avoid doing so, Johnson said.<br /><br />“We only use eminent domain as a last resort,” Johnson said. “You want to meet electrical needs, but you also need to respond to concerns from communities along the way. That’s why public process is so important.”<br /><br />Mikolaitis added that not building transmission lines is not an option. As more entities connect to Oregon’s grid, the possibility of popping circuits becomes more likely.<br /><br />“We’ve already seen reliability issues with our transmission during wind and ice storms,” Mikolaitis said. “You have to remember: The entire western U.S. shares a grid. If there’s a problem on the transmission level in Oregon, it could result in a blackout over a number of states. There’s a reason utilities are doing this collectively, not just individually.”Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-67628565248303538522010-12-21T17:58:00.001-07:002010-12-21T17:58:37.757-07:00Oregon EQC Approves Boardman 2020 Plan<div><a href="http://www.energyprospects.com/cgi-bin/package_display.pl?packageID=3406">http://www.energyprospects.com/cgi-bin/package_display.pl?packageID=3406</a></div><div><br /></div>The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission on Dec. 9 unanimously approved Portland General Electric's plan to retrofit the Boardman coal-fired power plant with new emissions controls and stop burning coal by 2020.<br /><br />Earlier this month, staff of the Department of Environmental Quality recommended approving the plan.<br /><br />The ruling repeals the 2009 BART rules for Boardman, and implements new control requirements that are consistent with the regional haze rules (see "Oregon DEQ Staff Recommends Boardman 2020 Plan," Dec. 7, 2010).<br /><br />PGE will now proceed with acquisition and installation of the necessary controls, beginning with low-NOx burners and mercury controls in July 2011.<br /><br />The new controls are expected to reduce NOx emissions by about 50 percent and permitted levels of SO2 emissions by 75 percent. A separate set of rules also requires the addition of controls to reduce the plant's mercury emissions by 90 percent. All coal-related emissions from the Boardman facility will be reduced to zero with the end of coal-fired operations in 2020.<br /><br />The combined capital cost of the required controls is currently estimated at about $60 million.<br /><br />PGE owns 65 percent of the Boardman plant. Co-owners include Bank of America Leasing LLC, with 15 percent; Idaho Power, with 10 percent; and Power Resources Cooperative, with 10 percent.Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-72054257988117801272010-12-08T08:17:00.002-07:002010-12-08T08:23:00.844-07:00Salazar, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Announce Completion of Sage-Grouse Habitat Map in the West<div><a href="http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Western-Association-of-Fish-and-Wildlife-Agencies-Announce-Completion-of-Sage-Grouse-Habitat-Map-in-the-West.cfm">http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Western-Association-of-Fish-and-Wildlife-Agencies-Announce-Completion-of-Sage-Grouse-Habitat-Map-in-the-West.cfm</a></div><div><br /></div>WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the completion of a breeding bird density map for the greater sage-grouse by the Bureau of Land Management in coordination with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.<br /><br />The map identifies important range-wide focal areas having high density occurrences of greater sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird that inhabits much of the West. These focal areas were determined by estimating the male’s attendance on leks, the communal breeding grounds of the bird. The BLM will work with the state fish and wildlife agencies to further refine the map by incorporating more specific state-level data.<br /><br />“This map and initiative will help advance our collaborative efforts with states and stakeholders to develop smart policy to enhance the sustainability of our sage-grouse populations,” Salazar said. “The final map will give Interior a strong foundation to identify land uses that do not compromise areas that are so critical to the greater sage-grouse.”<br /><br />“As the federal land manager of more sage-grouse habitat than any other entity, the BLM takes very seriously our commitment to working with others to manage America’s natural resources,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey. “This mapping effort will help other federal and state agencies and the BLM as it carries out its multiple-use mandate. We are confident that all activities can be managed to be compatible with conservation of the sage-grouse and its habitat.”<br /><br />Abbey provided an overview of the mapping effort last March, when Secretary Salazar announced the Fish and Wildlife Service’s finding that the greater sage-grouse warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but that listing the species at this time is precluded by the need to address higher priority species first.<br /><br />The Fish and Wildlife Service provided technical expertise in the development of the map. The NRCS will utilize the map in implementing their Sage-Grouse Initiative. WAFWA agencies are also ready to begin using the valuable management tool.<br /><br />“We are pleased with this collaborative, state/federal effort, and look forward to continuing the important work of conserving this iconic species of the American West,” said Ken Mayer, Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the WAFWA lead for sage-grouse conservation.<br /><br />"USDA is honored to collaborate with state and federal partners in targeting NRCS's new Sage-Grouse Initiative to deliver the right conservation practices in the right places," said NRCS Chief Dave White. "New breeding density maps are critical to SGI's targeted approach to ensure the largest biological return on our conservation investment."<br /><br />“The greater sage-grouse has historically inhabited millions of acres in the West, making it imperative that we work across political and administrative boundaries at a landscape scale to protect and restore sagebrush habitat,” said Acting Service Director Rowan Gould. “This map provides vital information that will enable us to work together to prevent further habitat fragmentation and undertake other conservation work to ensure the species’ long term survival.”<br /><br />Greater sage-grouse are found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. They currently occupy approximately 56 percent of their historical range.<br /><br />View the sage-grouse breeding bird density map at <a href="http://blm.gov/kb5c">http://blm.gov/kb5c</a>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-39261977707188875102010-11-09T17:36:00.002-07:002010-11-09T17:42:52.365-07:00The Great Transmission Heist<div><i>The Wall Street Journal</i> (subscription needed to read the entire article)</div><i>The latest scheme to subsidize solar and wind power to the detriment of rate payers.</i><div><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558400606672006.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558400606672006.html</a><br /><p>How would you like to pay higher utility bills to finance expensive electricity from solar and wind power, which you would never use? That's the issue now before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and it deserves more public and political scrutiny before it becomes a reality. </p><p> FERC has a draft rule that could effectively socialize the costs of paying for multi-billion dollar transmission lines to connect remote wind and solar projects to the nation's electric power grid. If FERC rules in favor of Big Wind and Big Solar, the new policy would add billions of dollars onto the utility . . .</p></div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-88161289649950668792010-10-23T19:42:00.001-06:002010-10-23T19:44:33.708-06:00Idaho Power seeks permission from property owners to survey land<a href="http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Idaho-Power-seeks-permission-from-property-owners-to-survey-land">http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Idaho-Power-seeks-permission-from-property-owners-to-survey-land</a><br /><br />By JAYSON JACOBY <i>Baker City Herald</i><div><i><br /></i>Idaho Power Company is mailing letters to more than 300 people who own land along the proposed route for a major tranmission line, asking for permission to enter their property to do surveys.<br /><br />The first batch of letters, including 64 to Baker County property owners, went out earlier this month.<br /><br />All letters should be mailed by Nov. 1, said Keith Georgeson, manager for Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway project.<br /><br />Idaho Power wants to build a 500-kilovolt line between Boardman, Ore., and Hemingway, Idaho, possibly starting in 2013.<br /><br />The Boise company’s preferred route would bisect Baker County, running near Huntington and Durkee and passing about one mile east of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.<br /><br />That route, and in particular its proximity to the Interpretive Center, has angered some local residents.<br /><br />Idaho Power would prefer to put the line about a mile farther east, but that might not be possible due to the need to protect sage grouse breeding areas, said Michael Ybarguen, a community relations specialist for the company.<br /><br />The letters mailed this month ask property owners to sign a form allowing Idaho Power employees or contractors to enter the owner’s property.<br /><br />The company’s goal is to design the best route for the transmission line.<br /><br />The proposed corridor is about 4,000 feet wide — three-quarters of a mile.<br /><br />But the easement Idaho Power needs to accommodate the line will be just 250 feet wide.<br /><br />By surveying the entire corridor, the company hopes to learn about possible conflicts — a center-pivot irrigation system, for instance — that can be avoided when the final 250-foot easement is plotted, Georgeson said.<br /><br />He emphasized that landowners who allow Idaho Power workers to enter their property are not as a result committed to selling the company a permanent easement for the transmission line.<br /><br />The easement process is separate.<br /><br />Also, the line, if built, will not cross every parcel for which the company mailed a letter, Georgeson said.<br /><br />Some landowners who receive a letter don’t own property within the proposed corridor; rather, Idaho Power would need an easement across their property to access the corridor for construction and maintenance, he said.<br /><br />Georgeson said Idaho Power officials understand that not every landowner who receives a letter will sign the consent form.<br /><br />The company needs a sufficiently large sample size, though, to satisfy the requirements of the BLM, Forest Service and Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council.<br /><br />Georgeson said one landowner who received a letter replied, in essence, that he wouldn’t sign the consent form because he didn’t intend to negotiate with the company for a permanent easement.<br /><br />Nonetheless, Ybarguen contends that cooperation between landowners and the company benefits both parties.<br /><br />He said Idaho Power officials want to know early in the process what sorts of obstacles it faces.<br /><br />And because the company actually needs just 250 feet of the 4,000-foot study corridor, it has considerable flexibility in deciding where the towers (which would range in height from 110 feet to 190 feet) and the lines are built, he said.<br /><br />“We would much rather work with people now than have a fight later,” Ybarguen said.<br /><br />Idaho Power does have the legal authority to use eminent domain, also known as condemnation, to force landowners to sell easements to the company.<br /><br />However, Ybarguen said Idaho Power hasn’t exercised its eminent domain authority for at least 20 years.<br /><br />That is an “option of last resort,” said Lynette Berriochoa, an information specialist for the Boardman-to-Hemingway project.</div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-26252886177858165662010-09-30T17:14:00.000-06:002010-09-30T17:15:53.470-06:00Brogan residents petition court over power lineBy Larry Meyer Thursday, September 30, 2010 <div><a href="http://argusobserver.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4bdc30b446649703937.txt">http://argusobserver.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4bdc30b446649703937.txt</a><br /><br />VALE — While not opposed to the proposed Idaho Power 500-kilovolt transmission line, some residents in the Brogan area are seeking support to have the route of the line moved a little farther away from the community, and a spokesman for those residents appeared before the Malheur County Court, Wednesday, to request its support.<br /><br />Rick Simmons, Brogan, told the court he represented property owners in Brogan and others around the community who would like to see the transmission line routed about two miles farther west so it, and the towers supporting it, would be in the background. As proposed, Simmons estimated the line would come within about a mile of Brogan and residents would like it at least three miles away. A petition has been drawn up, and Simmons is still obtaining signatures, he said.<br /><br />The petition says residents did not think one mile was far enough away and were concerned about wind noise through the high tension lines and girders, a “greatly increased security risk” for the small community and because the view from Brogan would be overpowered by the tall towers situated so close.<br /><br />“Our proposed solution is for Idaho Power to agree to give the Brogan community a three-mile exclusion zone for high tension power lines now and in the future. Build the power line three miles out from Brogan in all directions,” the petition said.<br /><br />“We understand the need (for the line),” Simmons said, adding residents understand the decision to move the route out their way. “The towers are much too close to where they live. We’re asking for a visual impact study.”<br /><br />Because the proposed routing near their community did not come about until earlier this year, Simmons said the community was coming late into the siting process but did get their comments into the Oregon Energy Facility Citing Council and the Bureau of Land Management before Monday’s deadline. Simmons, though, said he wanted the court’s backing of the request. The Energy Facility Citing Council is handling the state review and public comment process on Idaho Power’s proposal, and the BLM is conducting the environmental review process for the portions of the route on public land.<br /><br />Jon Beal, county planner, noted the route of the transmission line between Boardman and southwest Idaho has not been finalized, and there will be additional opportunities for public comment. The court did not make a decision.</div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814640406905794940.post-44412759750198529542010-09-09T13:21:00.003-06:002010-09-09T13:25:42.760-06:00California’s Quest for Renewable Energy and What It Could Mean for the Northwest<a href="http://www.nwcouncil.org/blog/?p=22">http://www.nwcouncil.org/blog/?p=22</a><br /><br />Three Pacific Northwest states have adopted renewable portfolio standards, but it may be that our neighbor to the south, California, will end up having the biggest impact on the region. California’s renewable energy policies are some of the most aggressive in the nation, and the state has worked for many years to develop its own renewable resources. It’s now reached the point where California utilities have to look outside the state to satisfy their renewable portfolio goals.<br /><br />Renewable energy credits (RECs) enable utilities to purchase the environmental benefits of renewable energy wherever it’s generated. Most of California’s utilities would like to use RECs as much as possible because it expands their market and could also eliminate some of the transmission costs to deliver the power from outside the state.<br /><br />“We’re already seeing ‘the California effect,’” says Jeff King, senior resource analyst at the Council. “Roughly 50 percent of the wind power that was developed in 2008 and 2009 in the Northwest was either owned by California utilities or is contracted to them, and credits in excess of Northwest needs are being sold to California utilities from projects owned by, or contracted to, Northwest utilities.”<br /><br />It’s a trend that’s expected to continue into the future, says King, where we’ll see California taking an increasing proportion of the Northwest’s renewable resource generation to meet it’s own RPS targets. But what happens to the electricity if it doesn’t go with the REC? There’s concern that it could end up in the Northwest power market, depressing power prices.<br /><br />“In almost every one of these issues,” says King, “there’s a positive side and a negative side.” Low power prices help Northwest utilities that need to purchase energy, but the same low prices reduces revenue for utilities with a good supply of resources to sell.<br /><br />An increase in renewable energy development in the region is a good thing from the perspective of renewable resource developers, and for landowners who lease their land to wind power developers. It also benefits counties, usually in rural areas where a lot of wind farms are sited, by expanding their property tax base and increasing their property tax revenue.<br /><br />On the other hand, notes King, we’re already seeing controversies arise from the aesthetic and environmental impacts from expanded resource and transmission development in the region.<br /><br />For the consumer, a lot will depend on the business practices and philosophy of the consumer’s utility. Northwest utilities that are fairly aggressive in developing renewables on their own and selling RECs to California are able to generate revenue that may reduce electricity costs. It also puts them in a good position when it comes time to meet their own targets. For utilities that wait until they have to purchase renewable energy, they may find themselves in a situation where competition from California for those resources has driven up prices. . .<br /><div><br /></div><div>For the complete 12-page pdf report: <a href="http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/cq/2010spring.pdf">http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/cq/2010spring.pdf</a></div>Patty Kennington-Rookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923529388771666857noreply@blogger.com