o Who: Citizens Against the Towers.
o What: Community meeting regarding proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line through Cowlitz and Clark counties.
o When: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 25.
o Where: Prairie High School, 11500 N.E. 117th Ave.
o Presentations: Epidemiologist Samuel Milham will present information regarding the association between electric and magnetic fields and health issues; Doug Palin will present information regarding the impact of property values; and a representative of the Bonneville Power Administration will be on hand to take public input.
Federal power managers are pressing forward with a plan to string a major high-voltage transmission line through the middle of Clark County.
Hundreds of area residents have mobilized in an effort to convince the Bonneville Power Administration to rethink the proposed 500-kilovolt connection between planned new substations in Castle Rock and Troutdale, Ore.
Opponents have invited Bonneville representatives to a community meeting at Prairie High School on April 25.
o Who: Citizens Against the Towers.
o What: Community meeting regarding proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line through Cowlitz and Clark counties.
o When: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 25.
o Where: Prairie High School, 11500 N.E. 117th Ave.
o Presentations: Epidemiologist Samuel Milham will present information regarding the association between electric and magnetic fields and health issues; Doug Palin will present information regarding the impact of property values; and a representative of the Bonneville Power Administration will be on hand to take public input.
They’ve also invited an epidemiologist who has raised concern about health effects from electric and magnetic fields and a real estate expert who will talk about the potential effect on property values.
Bonneville officials say the upgrade is necessary due to increasing congestion on its transmission grid, especially between Portland and Seattle. They say energy demand is rising with population growth and increasing use of summertime air-conditioning. In addition, the grid must accommodate 2,300 megawatts of new wind energy on the east side of the Cascades.
“We’ve just reached the point that we can see within five or six years, we’re not going to be able to operate the system reliably,” said Mark Korsness, BPA project manager. “So we need to address the capacity issue now.”
Construction wouldn’t begin until 2012 at the earliest, with expected completion of the $342 million project by October 2015.
It marks the first major transmission upgrade west of the Cascades in decades, generating a backlash from thousands of residents galvanized by the prospect of living next to high-voltage lines carried along towers the size of 15-story buildings. BPA has built several major transmission lines in recent years, but none so close to a major metropolitan area.
Korsness called it a “unique” situation in his career and Bonneville’s recent history. The proposal has generated more than 7,000 comments so far.
Who would benefit?
BPA contends the upgrade is necessary to primarily serve local energy demand. However, because the transmission line improves connections throughout western North America, some area residents have argued that local people will suffer the brunt of a power-grid enhancement benefiting utilities beyond Portland-Vancouver or even the Pacific Northwest.
“If they needed it for power for our neighborhoods, then I would say we should bow to progress,” said Fran Swenningson, a Salmon Creek-area resident who has been distributing leaflets door to door.
In December, the BPA dropped four alternative segments that traced an old Pacific Power easement closely skirting hundreds of houses through the Hockinson area.
However, 48 distinct segments remain under consideration. Bonneville has notified landowners within milewide strips along those segments in Cowlitz and Clark counties, with the idea of alerting plenty of potentially affected landowners while giving BPA plenty of space to pick an exact route.
Erik Robinson: 360-735-4551, or erik.robinson@columbian.com.
