May 23, 2011
Utah, Wyoming

Meetings planned for big transmission line project

By Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News, www.deseretnews.com 22 May 2011

ROOSEVELT – The first of six meetings in Utah to air details about a proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line will be at Union High School, 135 N. Union, on Tuesday.

Rocky Mountain Power wants to construct and operate the line, which would provide a connection for the substation near Medicine Bow, in Carbon County, Wyo., to the Clover Substation near Mona, Utah.

The distance of the line would be approximately 400 miles, depending on the route selected, and an estimated 1,500 megawatts of electricity would be conveyed through the alternating current line.

Rocky Mountain Power officials say the line is needed because major upgrades have not been done to its system for more than two decades.

The Bureau of Land Management has received an application for a right of way from the utility company, which kicks off a public scoping period in which input is sought from potentially impacted residents.

Because of the scope of the project, an environmental impact statement has to be prepared that will contemplate potential effects to the environment, including farmland and critical habitat. The utility company is required to get all the necessary permits from federal, state and local entities before construction can begin in 2016.

The company hopes to have the line operational between 2017 and 2019.

Meetings have already been held in Colorado and Wyoming, where the federal agency and Rocky Mountain Power officials were on hand to answer questions about the project.

After a draft EIS is completed, the public can weigh in on the document, which may then be revised to incorporate changes brought on by any concerns.

Close to two dozen public scoping meetings wrapped up earlier this year on another proposed transmission line that cuts across Utah. A joint project by the Western Area Power Administration and TransWest Express, the 3,000 megawatt line proposes to use wind power to provide electricity to the desert Southwest. That line originates in Wyoming and ends south of Las Vegas. Approximately 700 people attended meetings held in four states, including Utah.

Scoping meetings schedule

Scoping meetings on Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed transmission line are from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:

May 24 in Roosevelt at Union High School

May 25 at the Ute Indian Tribal Office, 988 S. 7500 East, Fort Duchesne

May 26 at Juab High School, 802 N. 650 East, Nephi

May 31 at Carbon High School, 750 E. 400 North, Price

June 1 at North Sanpete High School, 390 E. 700 South, Mount Pleasant

June 2 at Green River High School, 745 W. Pirate High School, Green River

Comments can also be submitted via email to GatewaySouth_WYMail@blm.gov or mailed to the Energy Gateway South Transmission Project, P.O. Box 21150, Cheyenne, Wyo., 82003.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/23/meetings-planned-for-big-transmission-line-project/