Arizona regulators to require further studies into planned power line
The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson --Jul. 29
State regulators agreed Wednesday with Southern Arizonans that a power line planned for Santa Cruz County needs a closer look.
The ACC had approved a power line route that passes through the Coronado
National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service last week indicated a preference for
two routes closer to Interstate 19. Reopening the environmental approval process
will allow regulators to consider alternate routes.
Jeanine Derby, supervisor of the Coronado National Forest, told the
commissioners the decision took into account "biological
considerations" and about 1,100 public comments.
The TEP proposal comes from a mandate issued in 1999 by the ACC to add a
second transmission line to improve reliability of service in the area. About 60
people attended the Wednesday meeting in Tucson.
Santa Cruz County residents told the commissioners there's a limit to how
much the county's energy needs will grow because little land is available for
development. Most of the area is public, including Forest Service land.
Tubac-area resident Earl Wilson urged the commissioners to take this into
account in evaluating the TEP proposal, which for the most part will carry
energy to be used outside the county.
About 20 percent of the transmission capacity is slated for the county. The
line cannot be built until federal agencies approve the project.
"While all this stuff is going on, we still don't have the backup you
mandated," Wilson said.
The order carried a fine of $30,000 for each month past the Dec. 31, 2003,
deadline.
The ACC ordered a six-month waiver of the penalty in December, and on
Wednesday unanimously voted to waive the deadline indefinitely.
Commissioners Kris Mayes, William Mundell, Jeff Hatch-Miller and Marc Spitzer
voted to take the plan back to the review process; Commissioner Mike Gleason
voted against.
Officials at TEP were aware of the Forest Service's decision and expected
more discussion would be needed, said Joe Salkowski, a spokesman for TEP.
An independent line-siting committee will handle the review and hold public
meetings on solutions to provide reliable energy in Santa Cruz County.
The committee will make a recommendation to the ACC. The U.S. Department of
Energy expects to complete an environmental-impact statement on the project by
the end of the year.
TEP's certificate of environmental compatibility from the regulators remains
in effect but could go up for a vote after the review is completed. Commission
Chairman Spitzer said there's a range of options, including doing nothing.
TEP has proposed building a 345,000-volt transmission line from Sahuarita to
Nogales, connecting to a planned substation near Nogales and continuing into
Sonora, Mexico.
The Greater Green Valley and Tubac chambers of commerce as well as Defenders
of Wildlife last week asked the ACC to reconsider approval of the project. The
chambers support an alternative that would extend a transmission line already
under construction.
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