Real Estate & Property Law

Placement of Transmission Lines

By Alan Ackerman

Salt Lake Tribune

Bear River Valley landowners, angry over Rocky Mountain Power's route for a major northern Utah transmission line, have arrived at a sobering conclusion.

   “The power in Rocky Mountain Power means something other than electricity,” says Richard Nicholas, whose land here will be traversed by the 345-kilovolt line scheduled to begin construction soon.

    “People have no rights, and that's wrong. We have been bullied around . . . Power companies have more power than government!”

   Nicholas' sentiment - if not his blunt appraisal - is echoed by Box Elder County mayors and commissioners. They believe they had no real say in where the 150-foot-wide power corridor goes through their communities and countryside.

-Local communities are regularly exasperated at the conduct of the power companies' routing of lines through the most pristine or populated areas.

The problem is not simply one of location, but rather one of whether the permitting authority, be it the FERC or the state Public Service Commission has broad discretion in limiting the lines in accord with the public desires. 

As set forth in the attached article there may be an additional cost in the establishment of a line in accord with the community request for routing. However, the locals have a right to be heard. The issue is whether the licensing (permitting) authority has the empowerment to review, and the discretion to modify the route. 

If the discretion is available under the Congressional or state grant of authority to the licensing authority the question is becomes, what is the appropriate standard to change the route to satisfy the local community's requests?

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on October 28, 2008 (boomark / email).