Tooele County Planning Commission Denial

At the Tooele County Planning Commission meeting held on March 3, 2010, the commissioners voted to deny Rocky Mountain Power the conditional use permit that they applied for 5-0. Contrary to what the RMP representatives have been saying in the news, the Commission gave extensive reasons and evidence for their denial. Some of the areas that mitigation was not adequately shown by RMP were the following:

Wildlife preservation
Disturbance of the International Smelter's superfund site
Settlement Canyon Reservoir use
Preservation of view sheds
Potential contamination of watershed and springs
Tooele High School's "T" for visual and safety reasons
Health risks associated with high-power trasnmission lines
Potential loss of proeprty values

The commission also noted that it was premature to act on the conditional use permit when the final environmental impact study has not been completed.

Many of the impact items presented in RMP's proposal were presented as a "trade-off" due to the impact that their project would have on the area in question. They asked that the County approve items without any specific plans given. Trade offs are not acceptable mitigation for the residents of Tooele. Specific, acceptable mitigation plans must be shown, which was not the case.

We applaud the commission for their decision. It was the right decision based on what was presented to them, which was an incomplete and unacceptable proposal.