Utah Utility Facility Review Board members Ted Boyer (left) and Ron Allen listen to Rocky Mountain Power Mona-to-Oquirh officials during the first hearing before the board in Salt Lake City Monday afternoon. The hearing, which is scheduled to continue today and Wednesday, to settle RMP’s appeal of Tooele County’s denial of a conditional use permit for the project.
A two-year-long battle to build high-voltage transmission lines in the Tooele Valley entered the home stretch Monday with arguments by Rocky Mountain Power and Tooele County before the Utah Utility Facility Review Board.
RMP is appealing to the board to overturn the county’s denial of a conditional use permit for the company’s Mona-to-Oquirrh project.
After opening statements by Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan and Matt Moscon, of the law firm Stoel Rives, on behalf of RMP, attorneys for the company called two witnesses: Darrell Gerrard, vice president for transmission and system planning for PacifiCorp, RMP’s parent company; and Brandon Smith, a project manager in the transmission delivery department for Rocky Mountain Power.
Gerrard said the project is necessary to support short- and long-term energy demands and to strengthen the reliability of RMP’s transmission system. In addition, he described RMP’s immediate need for a permit to begin construction because large infrastructure projects like this take a long time to accomplish and require long lead times to complete all the necessary siting and permitting processes. Smith described how RMP had done its due diligence by working with the BLM, analyzing routes, and modifying routes after hearing the concerns of leaders and the local community.
Tooele County had the opportunity to cross-examine each witness, which Hogan did for both witnesses. Among questions Hogan asked Gerrard and Smith includes the plan for the Limber substation and any additional lines that may tie into that substation, minimum and maximum separation between lines, co-location of lines, and reasons alternative lines weren’t selected.
The county called no witnesses of its own.
In Moscon’s opening statement, he said, “We realize this is not an easy task that’s been given to you. On the one hand, you have my client, the power company, telling this board that there’s a particular route that’s absolutely critical for it to provide power to a critical load area. On the other hand, you have Tooele County saying they cannot live with this route.”
Moscon said studies on the project began five years ago and have cost approximately $14 million to date to study all alternatives and plan and site the project.
“Tooele County would have this board believe that my client simply chose the fastest, cheapest route — ignoring all other alternatives, just looking at the bottom line and what the quickest thing to do would be,” Moscon said. “But the testimony you’ll hear today will demonstrate that these assertions or implications are simply not true.”
He said the project consists of 141 miles of line. Of those, RMP has agreed to move or modify approximately 80 miles. Of the approximately 60 miles that haven’t been moved, Moscon said the vast majority are miles the company hasn’t been asked to make any adjustments on.
“Really, we are here today focusing on just a few short miles immediately behind Tooele City,” he said. “By statute — both federal, state and industry standards — my client cannot willingly jeopardize the reliability and efficiency by which it delivers power to the many citizens who need it in order to appease some few citizens that are opposed to the route.”
He asked the board to be cautious as it hears comments from Tooele County residents.
“As the board hears the call from Tooele to ignore the years of study that the BLM independently did, that my client independently did, we would simply ask the board to consider is this what is merely desirable for a few or is this what’s practically and reasonably the best solution for the state as a whole and what is feasible for all?”
Hogan, in his opening statement, said Tooele County does not dispute the need for the project.
“In fact, to my knowledge, no one officially has spoken against the project based on need alone,” he said. “Tooele County certainly wants to have an electrical delivery system that’s safe, reliable, adequate and efficient. Tooele County’s objection to this project is based entirely upon the route applied for by Rocky Mountain Power.”
Hogan said most county residents oppose the proposed route because it would alter the pristine beauty of the southeast bench area, impact wildlife and vegetation, reduce the high recreational value of the mountainland, harm the watershed, and destroy a scenic open space that has terrific importance to residents of the county’s largest city. On the other hand, Hogan said, moving the future Limber substation north of Grantsville and utilizing the I-80 corridor from Lake Point to the Stansbury Mountains is a better alternative. He said that corridor is relatively uninhabited, has little wildlife or vegetation, and has the look and feel of an industrial area — all factors that make it a better choice for the power line route.
“The county and its residents just cannot understand how Rocky Mountain Power, with these two disparate positions, selected the southeast bench route as the preferred route and applied for a permit for that route,” Hogan said, adding there are alternative routes discussed in RMP’s petition and numerous other routes and variations discussed with the county informally.
He said Tooele County, and Tooele and Grantsville cities, unanimously support a route that utilizes the I-80 corridor for the project.
“Tooele County disagrees with how Rocky Mountain Power, and in this case how the BLM, evaluated the safety, reliability, adequacy and efficiency of the routes considered,” Hogan said. “But Tooele County lacks the funds and expertise, and therefore the ability, to effectively negotiate with, persuade, or otherwise convince Rocky Mountain Power to change course. This board has everything Tooele County lacks, including, most importantly, the statutory authority to determining siting for this route.”
Proceedings for Rocky Mountain Power’s petition to the review board regarding the county’s denial of a conditional use permit for its Mona to Oquirrh project will continue today with a public comment period from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Tooele County Convention Center at Deseret Peak. On Wednesday, the board will reconvene at the Heber M. Wells Building in Salt Lake City to hear rebuttal testimony, if any, and both parties will have the opportunity to argue their case, sum up evidence and make closing arguments.
The review board must issue a written decision no later than 45 days following the initial hearing. The board can consider options for siting of the transmission line, assess costs and decide who should bear the costs of any route changes.
Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com
This is not about getting power to citizens that need it. This is about the Federal Government getting the power to spy on us.
The line will go through Tooele just as they want, when they want it. And there is nothing us citizens can do to stop it.