TOOELE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
PUBLIC HEARING
WEDNESDAY MAR 3, 2010
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Topic: Rocky Mountain Power’s Application for Conditional Use Permit
Mona to Oquirrh Transmission Corridor
to Construct 500kv/345 kv High Voltage Power Lines
Tooele South East Bench Route
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAR 3, 2010
This is round two of the Public Hearings with the Tooele County Planning Commission for citizens to voice their opinion on the devastating environmental damage that would happen if Rocky Mountain Power’s Conditional Use Permit Application is approved to construct 345kv high power transmission lines on the South East Bench Route in Tooele. Citizen’s have collected and submitted “mountains” of information to the BLM and to the County Planning Commission to read through which supports their opinion this route cannot possibly be mitigated.
The route if approved will run within a half mile of over 900 homes on the SouthWest and SouthEast areas of Tooele City. This distance is too close according to experts and newly released medical studies on the health hazards of EMF exposure from high voltage power lines. Tooele City’s culinary water system’s water source is at risk of contamination affecting over 30,000 residents from the herbicides used to kill and control vegetation beneath the transmission lines and from ground disturbance during and after construction. Two hundred and two acres of dense vegetation including pine trees and scrub oak will be permanently destroyed on the benches. It also crosses a capped Superfund site where construction would unearth arsenic and lead tailings potentially threatening neighboring residents and will restrict access to Tooele High School historic “T” by students and alumni, to name just a few of the major reasons this route is the most detrimental route RMP could take through Tooele to the Wasatch Front.
Tooele County elected government officials feel that RMP’s choice for the siting of these lines is unacceptable to the County. Tooele County Commissioners came out with a 3-0 vote in July of last year opposing the South East Bench Route as well as Tooele City Council’s unanimous opposing vote last July. A preferred route through Tooele County was presented to RMP last September in a Consensus Letter signed by Tooele County Commissioners, Tooele City Mayor/Council, Grantsville City Mayor/Council and Tooele and Grantsville Concerned Citizen Group Representatives. This unified group of local government officials and citizens have been feverishly working on this disagreement with RMP in a relentless ongoing process. RMP seems unwilling to yield on their route choice at this point.
At the February 3 Planning Commission meeting the commission voted 3-2 to table the vote for more time to review the information submitted. The Commission is expected to vote at tonight’s meeting.
Heavy media coverage is expected from multiple news outlets.
Contact Information:
KAYE PRATT
Opposing Committee Representative
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment