After two weeks of public meetings, neighbors who may be impacted by a proposed high voltage power line in SW Washington are starting to organize. According to the Columbian, there’s a get together planned for Thursday evening at the Hockinson High School. (See link for details.)
The Bonneville Power Administration is looking at developing a 500 kilovolt transmission line from Castle Rock, Wash. to Troutdale, Ore. That would include a 150-foot right of way and towers ranging from 80 to 150 feet tall. BPA says the line is needed to serve growing demands for electricity along the I-5 corridor from the Portland-Vancouver metro area up to Seattle. It’s known as the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project.
BPA is looking at several options on where to put the power line, and sent letters to about 10,000 landowners who might be affected.
News reports from the various public meetings tell us that neighbors are worried about losing their homes and businesses to the line, the visual impact of the line, and possible health effects from to people who live nearby it.
