Idaho Power holds information session

COMMENT FORM: Tim Dimond, a local artist and leader of a group called Stop Idaho Power, fills out a comment form expressing his concerns about the Idaho Power line during Thursday night’s meeting. “I very much love the geography. They could find other ways. They could go underground,” he said. The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Idaho Power, which wants to build the 500-mile line from Boardman to the Hemingway substation near Murphy, Idaho, opened the meeting at the Blue Mountain Conference Center at 4 p.m. and planned to stay until 8. By 6 p.m., 45 people had come through the doors.

“That’s a pretty good number, and we could get a rush before it’s over,” said Stephanie McCurdy, an Idaho Power communication specialist.

Instead, Idaho Power set up displays that explained the project, its purpose and need, the siting process, the community advisory process, siting criteria and more.

Staff from Idaho Power and the Oregon Department of Energy were on hand to answer questions and help people submit comments.

Input from local people is all-important to the process, said Lynette Berriochoa, project information specialist.

“It’s the people who live here, work here and recreate here who have the most valuable input,” she said.

Tom Dimond, a local artist and a leader of a group called Stop Idaho Power, filled out a comment sheet and handed it in. Later, he talked to a reporter.

His input wasn’t one bit favorable. He said the local landscape is a part of his art, and he doesn’t want it messed up by towers and wire stretched across the land.

“I very much love the geography. I see these metal monsters as a visual pollutant and I think they (Idaho Power) are jumping the gun. They could find other ways. They could go underground,” he said.

Idaho Power says the existing transmission system in the Pacific Northwest has been at full capacity during high-demand periods, and that electrical requirements of the utility’s residential, commercial and wholesale customers are on the rise.

The exact route of the proposed line has not been established, though it likely will cross private and public lands in Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Baker counties in Oregon, and Payette, Canyon and Owyhee counties in Idaho. Underground lines have never been proposed.

When Idaho Power first announced its intention to build the line, it presented a map of a possible route. Many people in the communities involved voiced strenuous objections.

In March, Idaho Power withdrew the route proposal, and has not presented another. Nor has it formally applied to the Oregon Department of Energy for final approval of the project.

Instead, it has formed three community advisory teams to identify public concerns, develop a range of possible routes and recommend proposed and alternative routes. Public meetings like the one Thursday night in La Grande and another Wednesday in Baker City are being held to explain the project and gather input.

“The community input is crucial and we are pleased that people are engaged,” McCurdy said.

Dimond, for one, said he doesn’t have much faith in the process.

“They’re crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s. They are informing us of what they’re going to do,” he said. “They’re meeting their mandate and they don’t want to talk to anybody. These solicited comments will probably end up in the round file.”

Still, not everyone showing up at the conference center was opposed to the transmission line, or critical of Idaho Power’s public involvement approach.

Stephen Donnell of La Grande said he mostly favors the project.

“I think it’s needed. They’ve got to have something,” he said, though he added that he doesn’t think Idaho Power is taking into consideration technology changes that will occur in

the future.

“I think they should be forward-looking instead of backward-looking. As it is now, they’re running in place,” he said.

Donnell said that he thinks the public process is fair.

“It’s a statutory requirement. It’s mandatory but it’s a good process because people do have the opportunity to give their input,” he said.

Another person checking out  the displays set up at the center was Thelma Hansen, La Grande. She said she was there to educate herself.

“I’m wondering with all the dams they built when I was a kid, why do they need this? It seems like Boardman is a long way to go get the electricity,” she said.

Only after a route is proposed can the Bureau of Land management complete the environmental impact statement required by the National Environmental Protection Act. McCurdy said mapping will likely begin in September.

The Oregon Facility Energy Siting Council has final say over whether the project moves forward. Adam Bless, the Oregon Department of Energy’s liaison to that group, said during Thursday’s meeting the final decision will depend on whether the project proposal lives up to the state requirements, and not on popular sentiment.

“Our process is a pass-fail test. It’s not by popular vote. If the project meets the rules and regulations, it passes. If not it fails,” he said.

Idaho Power hopes to complete the permitting and engineering phase by Decem ber 2012, begin construction by January 2013 and complete the project by 2015.

“It takes quite awhile and it’s a process we need to work through,” Berriochoa said.

In the meantime, Idaho Power continues to solicit input.

Information, maps and schedules for the proposed project are available at www.boardmantohemingway.com. Public comments and questions may be submitted through that website.