Power line plan foes air concerns
Apr 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Craig Brown The Columbian,
Vancouver, Wash.
Many words were exchanged but few minds appeared to have been changed
Sunday after a capacity crowd packed the auditorium at Prairie High
School to talk about the Bonneville Power Administration's plan to run
new high-voltage power lines through Southwest Washington.
At least two opposition groups have formed in response to the federal
power marketing agency's I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project, which would
beef up power transmission capabilities between Castle Rock and
Troutdale, Ore., for the first time in 40 years. One group, www.
nowaybpa.com, plans an April 29 rally. The other, www.stoptowersnow.com,
sponsored Sunday's event, which drew more than 700 people.
Michele Black, a Highlands neighborhood resident and business owner who
emceed Sunday's event, said that opponents don't plan to unplug from the
regional electric grid. "But there needs to be a balance," she said,
adding to loud applause that the federal agency could choose to route
its new lines far to the east of the populated area.
Opposition to the BPA corridor project seemed to fall under two basic
scenarios: dangers posed to nearby homes and schools due to
electomagnetic radiation, and lowered property values due to the
possible health risk and the unsightliness of the towers. The towers,
approximately five per mile, would be as tall as a 15-story building.
Dr. Samuel Milham, a retired state epidemiologist and author of
a forthcoming book called "Dirty Electricity," said that several studies
have suggested there is a link between electromagnetic radiation emitted
by power lines and elevated risks of cancers, including childhood
leukemia. Though he presented some scientific information, a photo of
fluorescent light tubes, stuck into the ground under a high-voltage
power line, drew the most response from the attentive crowd. The bulbs
glowed with the power radiated from the lines.
"If it's lighting up a phosphor, think of what it is doing to you," said
Milham. "My expert advice is not to allow construction of this line."
But BPA project manager Mark Korsness noted that no direct cause-effect
relationship has ever been proven between electromagnetic radiation and
cancer risk. He also pledged the BPA would analyze the risk and include
all previous studies in a draft environmental impact statement about the
project. That statement is due sometime next year; a final decision on
the project would come in 2012.
Diminution of home value was another thread of Sunday's discussion.
Realtor Doug Palin, another of the invited speakers, said by what he's
been told by agents, between 70 percent and 90 percent of home buyers
won't even consider a home near a transmission line. "How much does that
affect your property values? No one really knows," he added.
In response to audience questions, Korsness said engineers ruled out
running the power line along the bottom of the Columbia River because
the shipping channel is continually dredged and the riparian areas near
shore are important fish and wildlife habitat. He said the BPA will
consider a buried line, but doing so costs 10 to 15 times more than an
overhead line and also poses unique maintenance and operations
challenges.
Project opponent Richard van Dijk of Brush Prairie drew the biggest
round of applause when he questioned whether the BPA needs more capacity
to serve Clark and Cowlitz counties -- or its customers in Oregon and
California.
"Put it in Portland or put it all the way east and cross it at
Bonneville (Dam) where it doesn't bother anyone in Clark or Cowlitz
counties," he said.
Craig Brown: 360-735-4514;
craig.brown@columbian.com
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