Tooele City Settles with Rocky Mountain Power

The Tooele City Council adopted a resolution at their meeting on January 19, 2011, settling with Rocky Mountain Power as to the alignment of the high voltage transmission lines that were proposed to go along the city's south benches. To get all of the details of the agreement, please click on this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47278172 . As Kaye Pratt pointed out at the meeting, the Concerned Citizen's Group, "shot for the moon, and didn't get the moon, but we did improve what was proposed."

A HUGE thank you to all citizens who contributed their time and talents to improve this situation and especially Brad and Kaye Pratt who spearheaded these effots and worked tirelessly to better the situation for all!

Preliminary Injunction Granted Halting CUP Issuance on Transmission Lines

Judge Henriod issues an injunction that prevents Tooele County from issuing a Conditional Use Permit to Rocky Mountain Power for the construction of high voltage transmission lines

The injunction issued by Judge Henriod on October 4, 2010, is located at the following link so that you may view it: http://www.scribd.com/doc/38724813

Lessons Learned (and some relearned) From This Journey

1. Desperate people resort to desperate measures to keep their jobs. I watched the RMP employees wriggle like fish on a hook while blatantly lying to the Utility Review Board trying to get their employer’s plans approved. I wonder how they sleep at night?

2. Monopolies are NEVER GOOD in any market segment be it utilities, banks, retail, etc.

3. People can be bought...and some come cheap (you know who you are)! Where are ethics and conscience? There are many, too many, who are missing both from their lives!

4. RMP has static routes and variable design criteria. Whatever fits the situation or route they wish to pursue is what is given as the criteria. They also have variable cost analysis used in the same fashion.

5. Public Hearings are a major part of many governmental processes which is a good thing. The voice of the people should be heard. What bothers me is that the concerns are not LISTENED TO and adequately addressed in many instances.

6. People can come together for a united cause. Great job Brad and Kaye in leading this effort!

Utah Public Service Commission Public Hearing TODAY

UTAH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
HEARING TO TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS
In the Matter of:
The Petition for Review between Rocky Mountain Power and Tooele County for Consideration by the Utility Facility Review Board

TUESDAY MAY 11, 2010
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Deseret Peak Complex
Tooele County Convention Center,
2930 West Highway 112, Tooele County


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 11, 2010

Tooele County Denied Rocky Mountain Power's Conditional Use Permit Application to Contruct 345kv High Voltage Power Lines along Tooele's South East Bench Route, Mona to Oquirrh Transmission Corridor Project.
The Matter is now at the State of Utah for Determination of Location to Site the Transission Lines in Tooele County.

More.......
At the Mar 3, 2010 Planning Commission meeting the planning commission voted unanimously to deny Rocky Mountain Power's Application for a Conditional Use Permit. The Tooele County Commission upheld their decision on Mar 30, 2010. Finding of Facts listed over twenty unmitigatible issues such as the following:
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.

Tooele County is now before the Utility Facility Review Board for the State's determination for the siting of the high voltage transmission lines in Tooele County. Tooele has repeatedly told Rocky Mountain Power they agree there is a need for more power and are willing to permit power lines in the County, just not this route
RMP has been unwilling to yield on their route choice at this point.

Heavy media coverage is expected from multiple news outlets.

Contact Information:
KAYE PRATT
Opposing Committee Representative
435-840-2467 Cell
kmpratt1@hotmail.com

Tooele Bench Proposed Lines...

Rocky Mountain Power turned in some renderings of what the proposed lines would look like to the Public Utility Commission. The renderings they turned in showed only the poles sticking up without the accompanying right of ways that they clear the vegetation from and the actual lines strung from pole to pole. They also did not show the access roads that will be cut into the hillsides. These pictures were taken and then an artist reproduced the poles, lines, and vegetation that will be gone. These do not show the access roads, but you get a more accurate picture than the "spin" that RMP gave their submission.

This photo of the mountain bench east of Tooele City shows the historic "T" and a rendering of the proposed high voltage lines that will cross in front of it along with their accompanying right of way (that is kept devoid of vegetation). There will also be access roads cut into the mountainside.

This photo of the area above the Cassity property on the southeast bench of Tooele shows an artist rendering of what the high voltage transmission lines and their accompanying right of way will look like.

"A Better Plan"

The following presentation has been created to show "A Better Plan" for the high voltage transmission lines being proposed by Rocky Mountain Power for the Tooele Valley. There are two parts on the youtube presentation created, so make sure you watch both!

http://www.youtube.com/tooelepower

Public Hearing Information

Call to Action for Tooele County Residents

As many of you are aware, there has been a tremendous effort to provide a better alternative to the proposed high voltage lines by Rocky Mountain Power (Gateway Central, Mona to Oquirrh Project through Tooele Valley). Please keep in mind that a project such as this will not only impact us, but our posterity for generations. It is imperative it is done with the public’s best interest in mind. As of this writing, the events have occurred as follows:

March 03, 2010 – Tooele County Planning Commission denied Rocky Mountain Powers application for a conditional use permit citing many factors as stated in the linked minutes. http://206.197.88.200/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=40&doctype=MINUTES

March 30, 2010 – The Tooele County Commission denied an appeal by Rocky Mountain Power thereby upholding the decision of the Planning Commission. http://www.co.tooele.ut.us/pntcc10/tcc30mar10min.pdf

April 8, 2010 - Rocky Mountain Power submitted a petition for review with the Utah Utility Facility Review Board stating that "The County's decision to deny the Permit prohibits the construction of electric facilities which are needed to provide safe, reliable, adequate, and efficient service to the Company's customers. http://www.co.tooele.ut.us/pub_hearings/rmp.pdf

April 22, 2010 - Tooele County filed their opposition to Rocky Mountain Power’s Petition.

IT IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT A LOST CAUSE!
THE AMOUNT OF PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN THIS
EFFORT HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS.

The Tooele & Grantsville Concerned Citizens Groups have spent endless hours educating, researching and becoming familiar with this project. There is a better plan for the transmission line siting for Tooele Valley.

Below is the Utah State Utility Facility Review Board schedule. On these dates, there will be a hearing by the Review Board. Right now is the time to figure out how you can make one or all of these dates available to attend these meetings:

May 10, 11, 12, 2010 - A hearing by the Review Board will be held in the Commission’s Hearing Room 403, Fourth Floor of the Heber M. Wells Building, 160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, beginning each day at 9:00 a.m. and concluding each day by 5:00 p.m., except Tuesday,

May 11, 2010 when the hearing will conclude at 3:00 p.m. and the Review Board will then come to Tooele and take public comment on this matter from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Tooele County Convention Center, located at the Deseret Peak Complex (2930 West Highway 112, Tooele County). In order to insure that as many members of the community are able to be heard as want to speak, the following limitations will be strictly enforced: (1) the three-hour proceeding will be apportioned equally among those wishing to speak; and (2) unduly repetitious, non-productive and irrelevant evidence will not be heard.

A large show of support is important at this stage.

We will be able to tilt the scales if we can show up in force at these meetings. You need not speak to have an impact. The May 11 hearing at the Deseret Peak Complex will allow public comment. If you wish to speak, we encourage you to do so. Please keep in mind a unified approach will make the strongest impact and that the Review Board is not interested in individual complaints about the project. Their focus will be on the greater good.

Written comments are welcome and must be sent via email to the Review Board at psccal@utah.gov. Tooele County residents have earned the right to make their feelings known at a state level. Each email should include your name and address, as only Tooele County residents are allowed comment. Even if you are attending the meetings, it is important to also email them. Every individual needs to write down how this project as proposed by Rocky Mountain Power will impact our valley, our families, our rural setting, our quality of life and so on. If you’re aware of any friends or neighbors without email access, we will forward on any letters sent to Grantsville Cares, P.O. Box 32, Grantsville, Utah 84029.

If you would like to get additional details of this project, please review the minutes of the Tooele County Planning Commission (March 3, 2010) and minutes from the Tooele County Commission Meeting (March 30, 2010), or contact your local elected officials.

The hearing will be streamed live and a link for the audio streaming can be found at www.psc.utah.gov in the What’s New section. Audio files should be available at the web site after a hearing is completed. The public witness portion of the hearing may also be streamed depending on Internet protocol availability.

If we don’t get out of our comfort zones and decide to spend the time necessary now, we will only have ourselves to blame if this project continues as planned! Please decide to make a difference!
And did I mention to send an email?!

Tooele Valley is going to get a high voltage power line regardless of the decision the board makes. Remember that there are better alternatives to the current plan for Tooele County. United we will obtain a better plan and benefit as a county

Change to Hearing Information

On April 21, 2010 the Utility Facility Review Board of Utah changed their format for the public hearing to be held in Tooele on May 11, 2010. It still will be held at the Tooele County Convention Center located at the Deseret Peak Complex (2930 West Highway 112, Tooele County) but the following now applies:

In order to insure that as many members of the community are able to be heard as want to speak, the following limitations will be strictly enforced

1. The three-hour proceeding will be apportioned equally among those wishing to speak; and
2. Unduly repetitious, non-productive and irrelevant evidence will not be heard.

Citizens of Tooele County can also send e-mail comments to the Review Board at psccal@utah.gov. The hearing will be streamed live and a link for the audio streaming can be found here: www.psc.utah.gov in the What's New section. Audio files should be available at the web site after a hearing is completed. The public witness portion of the hearing may also be streamed depending on internet protocol availability.

Comments to the Utility Facility Review Board

Public written comments to the Utility Facility Review Board of Utah should be sent by e-mail
to:

psccal@utah.gov
Utility Facility Review Board
Refer to DOCKET NO. 10-035-39

Utility Facility Review Board Schedules Hearings for Transmission Line Appeal from RMP

Hi Everyone,

The location for the public hearing has been set for the Deseret Peak County Complex Convention Center on May 11, 2010. According to the Notice given by the review board the following details apply:

The Review Board will take public comment on this matter on May 11, 2010,
from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Tooele County Convention Center, located
at the Deseret Peak Complex (2930 West Highway 112, Tooele county). In
order to insure that as many members of the community are able to be heard as
want to speak, the following limitations will be strictly enforced: (1) only
residents of Tooele County will be allowed to speak during the public comment
period; (2) each individual will be allowed to speak for only two minutes; and
(3) individuals speaking will not be allowed to merely restate what has
previously been heard by the Review Board. In lieu of attending this
meeting and speaking, citizens of Tooele County can instead e-mail comments to
the Review Board at psccal@utah.gov .

For all the details on the Hearings here is the web link. If you have any questions please email Kaye Pratt.

http://psc.utah.gov/utilities/electric/elecindx/2010/1003539indx.html

Editorial from Tooele Transcript concerning Rocky Mountain Power Lines

Here is an editorial that was found in the Tooele Transcript Bulletin about the proposed transmission lines.

http://tooeletranscript.com/view/full_story/6636195/article-Planning-commission-gave-hope-in-denying-RMP-power-line-project?

Tooele County Planning Commission Votes to Deny Rocky Mountain Power Conditional Use Permit

Here is a link for the Tooele Transcript article that was published when Rocky Mountain Power's CUP for high transmission power lines was denied by the Tooele County Planning Commission.

http://tooeletranscript.com/view/full_story/6572427/article-Planning-commission-says-no-to-RMP-route?

Tooele Transcript Article about County Commissioners Decision

Here is a link to the Tooele Transcript Bulletin article that was published when the Tooele County Commissioners voted to uphold the decision of the Tooele County Planning Commission to deny the conditional use permit (CUP) that Rocky Mountain Power had applied for.

http://tooeletranscript.com/pages/full_story/push?article-County+tells+RMP+no+again%20&id=6914323&instance=home_news_1st_right#comments_6914323

Public Utility Commission Docket for RMP project

Here is a link for the Utah Public Utility Commission Docket for the Mona to Oquirrh high voltage transmission line project that is proposed by Rocky Mountain Power. This is where RMP files actions with the utility commission and also has information of what has been done on the project.

http://www.psc.utah.gov/utilities/electric/elecindx/0903554indx.html

Tooele Concensus Letter

The following link will take you to a copy of the Tooele County/City, Grantsville City, and the concerned citizen groups concensus letter for the route for Rocky Mountain Power's high transmission lines.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29451365/Tooele-County-Consensus-Letter

Some Pictures of 500 kv lines

Here are a couple of additional pictures portraying the size and magnitude of 500kv lines. The ones proposed across the SE bench are 345kv lines, however, history shows that once one line goes in, more and/or larger lines will follow.

Tooele County Commissioners Uphold Planning Commission Decision to Deny CUP for Power Lines

This afternoon there was a special meeting held by the Tooele County Commissioners. Their task was to entertain an appeal by Rocky Mountain Power for Conditional Use Permit 2010-1, which was denied by the Tooele County Planning Commission in March. Rocky Mountain Power's attorneys were not present due to I-80 being closed down due to the wildfire that was raging in the area. Marty Ohler explained Rocky Mountain Power's request to the Commission and then Jerry Hurst read a statement from the Commissioners.

Mr. Hurst stated that the Tooele County Commission did not err in denying the conditional use permit that was requested by Rocky Mountain Power. He continued that the government officials, local citizen groups, and RMP had sat down together and spent hours coming up with an acceptable route that would impact the least number of residents possible. From the start the southeast bench was deemed unacceptable by all entities involved except RMP. He stated he was shocked when that route appeared as the only proposed route that RMP was moving forward with. He had thought that route had been removed from RMPs proposal.

Mr. Hurst continued and listed the following items that the planning commission deemed important that had not been satisfactorily mitigated in RMPs plan. The items listed were as follows:

1. Health issues due to EMF that may contribute to increased childhood leukemia and interfere with pacemakers

2. Water Shed protection--of ground water and underground water. The herbicides used by RMP will contaminate a major water source of the residents of the county. The access road construction and use will further contaminate the county's water supply.

3. View Shed destruction

4. Increase in fire danger and the difficulty in fighting fires on the hillsides.

5. Devaluation of property values

6. Safety issues and visual interference of the Tooele High School "T"

7. Settlement Canyon Reservoir access--line placement will interfere with access to the reservoir. Water from the reservoir is used for fire suppression.

8. Access roads will destroy hill sides

9. Natural hazards to the lines in the area include earthquakes and extreme winds.

10. Negative impact on livestock grazing

11. Negative impact on wildlife and loss of their habitat

12. Crossing of a Superfund site (highly contaminated area--contaminated with lead and other items)

13. EIS not complete and there has been no record of decision on the final EIS as of yet.

Commissioner Hurst continued that the county is not opposed to the power, but to the south east bench route. He moved to uphold the Planning Commission's decision.

Commissioner Clegg mentioned that often people say, "NOT in my back yard." He stated this was in Tooele's "front yard," and was unacceptable.

The Planning Commissions denial was upheld unanimously by the three county commissioners. They also noted that the records from the Planning Commission meetings would become part of the records of this meeting.

We applaud the Tooele County Commission for their decision to uphold the Planning Commission decision to deny the CUP, but more so for them listening and responding to the citizens of Tooele County. We thank them for representing us the way we asked them to!

Tooele County Commissioners Meeting March 30, 2010

The Tooele County Commissioners will consider RMP's appeal for the Conditional Use Permit on Tuesday March 30, 2010 at 3:00 pm. The meeting will be held at 47 South Main Street on the upper level. (Jerry Hurst had a previous State meeting commitment per the Transcript front page insert 3-11-10)

This is a Special County Commission meeting day and time. The meeting is open to the public, but not for open comment. It is during work, so if you can arrange for your lunch hour etc... Please attend to show your continued support we are opposed to the South East Bench Route. At this point it is very critical we increase our numbers. The number of people in attendance at these meetings to look them in the eye always makes a big difference, not only to the Commissioners, but to RMP. We want to show them that the citizens are committed to seeing this through.

Salt Lake Tribune Article on March 1, 2010

The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story about the Tooele power line fight in its March 1, 2010, edition. If you would like to read the full story, here is the link:



The article quotes Dave Eskelson stating that "The main reason for this alignment is for the general growth of electrical service to Salt Lake and Tooele counties." This would lead one to believe that Tooele is getting power from these proposed lines which is FAR FROM THE TRUTH. The proposed transmission lines are not for power to Tooele, and the power on the lines is so "hot" that it could not be used here until another substation was constructed to "step-down" the voltage for consumer use.

The transmission lines are more like a freeway for the electricity, with no exits. The lines will only take the power in to Salt Lake County for use and the power will not be available here. Tooele County is being asked to bear all of the negative aspects of the proposed lines without any of the benefits in Rocky Mountain Power's proposal. The route proposed by the local governments and the citizen groups places the lines in a place where they could potentially provide power to areas in the county at some time in the future. The proposed lines cannot.

The article does point out that Commissioner Clegg had not heard anyone for RMP's proposal. She also stated, "I've never seen unification like this. It's unprecedented." Kudos to the Tooele County governments and citizens for unifying their voices to encourage responsible alignment of power lines in the County!