Property owners oppose APS power line

Apr 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Mara Knaub The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.

Yuma property owners are feeling "bullied and pressured" to grant a utility company an easement on their property for construction of a 69,000-volt (kV) power line.

A March 17 letter from Arizona Public Service (APS) to Keith and Dorothy Euhus gives them 25 days to contact the company "or our attorney will commence condemnation proceedings to acquire the easement."

The Yuma Sun was unable to reach APS for comment by press time.

The Euhus expressed their concerns at a Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District (YMIDD) meeting Tuesday when an APS representative presented plans for another project.

However, district manager Pat Morgan allowed the Euhuses to speak on the proposed "TS-8 to San Luis 69kV Transmission Line Project" which would cross their property. This project is different from the 230kV project which APS is currently presenting in a community outreach program.

Dorothy Euhus said they are opposed for health reasons and because they believe it would decrease their land's property values as well as affect future productivity from 24 trees that would be cut down.

"As a cancer survivor I don't like being surrounded by power lines," Dorothy said.

The Euhuses own a 8.3-acre farm near the County 14 1/2 and Avenue 1E intersection, where the APS project calls for construction of a new 69vK transmission line from a new substation (being called TS-8).

According to an APS newsletter, the line would extend south along Avenue A 1/2 to about County 19th, where the transmission line would turn west along County 19th and then head southwest across federally managed land. The line would terminate at a new substation called SW-3, which would be constructed near the intersection of County 23rd and Avenue F, east of San Luis.

The line would be constructed along County 23rd, from the SW-3 substation to the existing San Luis substation.

The newsletter also notes that these new facilities would strengthen the reliability of electrical service to customers in Yuma, Somerton and San Luis.

A letter to the Euhuses by Ed Tucker, land agent for APS Land Services Department, states that the right-of-way easement across their land would allow an alternative electric supply feed in case one of the lines is inoperable.

The letter says that a single 65-foot pole would be constructed on their property, requiring 508 feet. The letter included an offer for $4,900, which is 75 percent of the land value since it would be used only as an easement and included compensation for the loss of the trees.

The Euhuses are upset that the appraisal valued the land as "dormant agriculture" although the trees are currently productive.

Tucker said he hoped to reach an agreement "without getting the attorneys involved" and "without the necessity of filing a condemnation lawsuit."

Neighbor Mark Spencer, a citrus grower, said he also felt pressured by APS. "We haven't heard anything for years, and all of sudden I get a letter saying we're being condemned?"

"We're just trying to protect citrus fields and our homes and I don't like this going directly over our property," Spencer added.

Morgan, YMIDD manager, said APS has not yet submitted designs. The lines would have to cross the canal, which is owned by the district.

But, he noted, "there's no benefit to the district and if the property owners oppose it, then most likely we'll deny it."

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or (928) 539-6856.