Protestors outside BPA offices in Vancouver. Photo by Dennis Newman.
The fight over BPA’s plans for a new high voltage power line in SW Washington came to the doorstep of the agency’s offices in Vancouver.
Several dozen protesters from No Way BPA and Stop The Towers Now rallied during the Noon hour rain, and had lengthy talks with BPA officials who came outside to hear their concerns.
Here’s a story they’ll be able to tell their grandchildren.
Last Thursday, folk singer Peter Yarrow sang a couple of Woody Guthrie tunes for kids at the headquarters of the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland. Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) dropped by to see the agency’s memorial to Guthrie, who wrote more than two dozen songs for BPA back in 1941. Many of the songs have become classics, but the most famous of them all is “Roll On, Columbia.”
Yarrow was serenading children in the BPA’s day care program for employees.
A female coho hovers over a redd in Washington's Methow River. Photo courtesy Tom Scribner, Yakama Nation.
Nearly extinct in these parts just 20-years ago, coho salmon are making a remarkable comeback in the upper Columbia River.
According to just released information from the Bonneville Power Administration, a record number of 19,805 adult coho passed over the Rock Island Dam near Wenatchee, Washington this year. A decade ago there were only 12.
This is not your typical Northwest “dams kill fish” kind of story.
At least some SW Washington property owners can breathe a sigh of relief.
Bonneville Power says it’s eliminated one of the major routes it was looking at for a proposed 500 kilovolt power line in Clark and Cowlitz counties. The route includes segments 27, 31, 42 and 44.
In a press release, BPA says it was looking at these segments because they follow an existing right-of-way owned by Pacific Power. But the right-of-way wasn’t big enough for a 500 kilovolt power line and BPA decided making it wider wasn’t going to work out.
For others in the area, the waiting continues.
Showing some new found activist muscle, a group of landowners rallied outside the headquarters of Bonneville Power this morning. Calling themselves A Better Way For BPA, the group is trying to influence the route of a proposed high voltage power line in SW Washington.
BPA wants to build a 500 kilovolt power line from Castle Rock, Wash. to Troutdale, Oregon. That a distance of roughly 70 miles. But depending on the route that’s chosen, thousands of landowners could be impacted. Some will be forced from their homes. Others will find themselves living next to 80-150 foot transmission towers.
One of the group leaders, Mike Schmauch, says they’re not trying to stop the power from being built. But they want BPA to keep it as far away as possible from populated areas. Their concerns include the health of people who’ll live near the line, how it will impact threatened and endangered species, and the effect on their property values. They also say BPA hasn’t done enough to keep people informed about the project and are asking for another 60 days for people to comment.
VIDEO: Mike Schmauch talks about where the power line should be located.
What are some of the options?
NOTE: This article was written by Erin Grover, one of the landowners who could be affected by Bonneville Power’s proposed high voltage power line for Clark and Cowlitz counties. This is her account of a meeting held Wednesday night at the Yacolt Primary School. She blogs at Highwoods Heaven.
BPA is looking at building a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt line from Castle Rock, Wash., to Troutdale, Ore. There are several possible routes being considered. One of them, Line 29, would run through the Grover property. For more background see, BPA Looking At New High Voltage Power Line for SW Washington.
By Erin Grover
Jim Rekucki of Dole Valley arranged to have Mark Korsness, the Senior Project Manager for the BPA I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project and Eric Wisch, Region Manager for Department of Natural Resources to speak. Dick Easter of Farm and Forest and Fred Stricker of the Battle Ground School District also attended, along with roughly 250 affected citizens.
Many questions and concerns were voiced, some were answered. Top concerns continue to be the loss of homes, fear of homes being condemed, effects from electromagnetic fields on health, where the power is really going and why such large 500 kilovolt lines have been proposed.
I asked if it is a fact the BPA will need to know who has pacemakers and what type. I wanted to know, because I thought would indicate if there are health risks associated with this energy. Korsness said the BPA would need to know about pacemakers. With a show of hands most people asked that a route even further east than the currently proposed Line 29 be explored. Korsness stated that is now in the works and said he had met with Senator Patty Murray’s staff Wednesday morning. It was also asked if the public comment period could be extended and if a meeting could be arranged at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Both are unlikely.
Yacolt City Mayor Joe Warren presented a letter to BPA, saying the small town of Yacolt relies on it’s scenic and historic significance economically. If 200 foot towers bridge the East Fork of the Lewis River, as proposed, they will forever change this part of Clark County, which is similar to the Columbia River Gorge with its waterfalls, horse trails, biking, hiking, camping, swimming, fishing, and hunting. Eric Wisch of the Washington Department of Natural Resources mentioned his concern for the impact on some of the campgrounds. Joy Tindall of Yacolt said, “It would be like losing a room in my house.”
The fact that this 70 mile 150 to 200 foot wide path would need to have weed killer used on it was mentioned and the impact to the watershed this will create. Many of the Line 29 properties are already listed Riparian Protected. As the meeting ended I showed Korsness, who was very graceful, pictures of my place and the waterfall Line 29 would cross. There is a kayaker in the picture. Korsness said, “Now you’re hitting me where I live.”
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.
The Bonneville Power Administration is getting an earful from Southwest Washington residents who aren’t happy with the idea of a new high voltage power line near their homes. Hundreds of people have attended the first two public meetings on the proposal.
KATU and the Columbian posted stories this morning about last night’s meeting at Clark College in Vancouver.
What are folks saying? Some think BPA should do more to encourage conservation instead of building new power lines, or expand the capacity of the current system. Others worry about the landowners who’ll be uprooted from their homes and businesses.
As I reported earlier this week, BPA is considering a 500 kilovolt transmission line that would run about 70 miles from Castle Rock, Wash. to Troutdale, Ore. A power line of this size typically requires a 150 foot right of way, and towers about 80 to 150 feet tall. Some of the proposed routes cut through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
A BPA spokesperson says the new line is needed to move power from Eastern Oregon and Washington into the population centers west of the Cascades. He says this includes the Willamette Valley, Portland-Vancouver metro, and as far north as the Seattle metro region.
Keep in mind we are very early in the process, so this may be the best time to make your voice heard.
Here’s the schedule for the final four meetings.
Tonight
4 to 7 p.m.
Mark Morris High School
Longview, WA 98632
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009
4 to 7 p.m.
Liberty Middle School
Camas, WA 98607
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009
4 to 7 p.m.
Gresham Holiday Inn
Gresham, OR 97030
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009
1 to 4 p.m.
Hazel Dell Grange
Vancouver, WA 98665
Saying it has to do something to meet the area’s growing demand for electricity, the Bonneville Power Administration is considering a new 500-kilovolt power line in Clark and Cowlitz counties of Washington.
The new line, roughly 70 miles long, would run from Castle Rock, Wash. to Troutdale, Ore. The actual length would depend on which route was chosen. One of the options follows an existing BPA transmission line. But the agency is also looking at several possible new routes, most of which cut through parts of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
BPA’s Michael Milstein says the area has become a bottleneck to moving power into the Portland-Vancouver region and along the I-5 corridor. He says BPA has taken several steps to increase capacity without a new power line, but adds, “The pipes are full.” He says building the line would also make it easier to integrate renewable energy from the massive wind farms of Eastern Oregon and Washington.
A BPA Fact Sheet on the project says that if the line isn’t built, increasing demand for electricity could tax the system and possibly lead to blackouts.
Without a specific proposal before us, it’s hard to say what kind of impact this new line could have on the region. Milstein says these kinds of transmission lines generally have a right-of-way about 150 feet wide. The towers are generally 80 to 150 feet tall. BPA has notified landowners in the area, but it’s still working on more detailed maps.
It’s important to note that we’re very early in the process. Starting Tuesday, BPA is holding a series of public meetings in the area. The meetings are part of what’s called the scoping process. This is where BPA figures out what issues need to be studied in an environmental review. Milstein says the earliest construction would start is 2012.
For more information, see the BPA’s I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project website. Meanwhile, here’s the public meeting schedule for this week and next.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
4 to 7 p.m.
Amboy Middle School
Amboy, WA
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009
4 to 7 p.m.
Clark College, Gaiser Student Hall
Vancouver, WA 98663
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009
4 to 7 p.m.
Mark Morris High School
Longview, WA 98632
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 4 to 7 p.m.
Liberty Middle School
Camas, WA 98607
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 4 to 7 p.m.
Gresham Holiday Inn
Gresham, OR 97030
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009
1 to 4 p.m.
Hazel Dell Grange
Vancouver, WA 98665
Could it be that the dams on the Snake River will come down, and salmon runs will be restored to their glory years?
Chinook Salmon Courtesy USGS
This article in the High Country News says the right combination of political and legal forces are coming together to make it a real possibility. With Judge Redden expected to rule any day on the latest Columbia River salmon recovery plan, growing support from farmers and a new chief at NOAA, the website says, “for the first time in decades, the answer may be yes.”
And for anyone interested in just learning more about salmon issues, the story is a good history lesson as well.
