When I got this job, I never knew it would lead me to being versed in high-voltage transmission lines and their siting. I never knew I’d sit through hours and hours of meetings listening to residents, government leaders and company officials wrangle over a transmission line and where it should go. I never knew I would sift through massive documents on environmental impacts.
But I have, and now I know more about transmission lines than I could’ve ever imagined.
By my count, I’ve written 17 articles directly relating to Rocky Mountain Power’s Mona-to-Oquirrh Transmission Corridor Project.
Ever since November 2007, I have been following the story as it continued to unfold. I attended the very first open house in Tooele on the project hosted by the BLM. Back then, Tooele County was just part of a study area for the possible siting of the lines.
Then, the next year, residents began receiving letters requesting permission to enter their property for soil sampling. That alarmed more than a few folks.
In 2009, the BLM’s draft environmental impact statement was released. It showed proposed and alternatives routes for the lines, which were proposed to go through Tooele County and the Tooele Valley — including on the southeast bench. Opposition to the siting of these lines on Tooele’s southeast bench mounted and petitions started circulating against that route. Since then I have gone to and reported on many public meetings on the issue.
I even attended two days’ worth of hearings before the Utah Utility Facility Review Board in Salt Lake City. I listened to witnesses Rocky Mountain Power had provided and listened to attorneys on both sides argue their cases.
I remember walking into the board’s hearing room on the last day of hearings and sitting directly in the middle — perhaps a tangible reminder of my job to be impartial. On one side were local government officials and leaders of concerned citizens groups. On the other were company officials.
As the hearings concluded, I did not envy the board and the decision they had to make. It was bound to be a tough one.
I remember attending a Tooele County Chamber of Commerce luncheon early on where Rocky Mountain Power officials spoke about the project, though it still was not determined to be located in Tooele County. The mood in that meeting was very different from the meeting held at the convention center at Deseret Peak this past May where many angry residents spoke their minds.
And though the board ordered Tooele County to issue a conditional use permit to the company, this story seems far from over yet.
I anticipate writing several more articles as the county has asked the Utility Facility Review Board to stay its own order. In addition, the county has asked the Court of Appeals to stay the order while also requesting it review whether or not the board followed its legislative mandate properly in coming to their decision.
As the saga continues, one thing is for sure. I will never think of power lines as just a wooden or steel pole jutting into the air. Electricity is a human issue, and humans are almost always highly charged.
Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com
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