Zap Power Line Plan, Foes Argue

Ozarks In Peril, Panel Told

NWA Media/JASON IVESTER
John Hankins of Bentonville and other residents look over maps of a proposed SWEPCO transimission line through Benton and Carroll counties on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, during a meeting about the proposal inside the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.
NWA Media/JASON IVESTER John Hankins of Bentonville and other residents look over maps of a proposed SWEPCO transimission line through Benton and Carroll counties on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, during a meeting about the proposal inside the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.

ROGERS - Maranda Bennett told the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Wednesday that a 48-mile electric transmission line through Benton and Carroll counties would “ravage tourism,” pollute water and harm wildlife.

Bennett, 16, said her family lives on land overlooking Little Sugar Creek Valley north of Bentonville, and many people keep animals in the area. Bennett said she has two pets, including a blind horse named Luke.

“Please don’t allow SWEPCO to rape and devastate the Ozarks,” she said, drawing applause from the crowd of about 50 at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.

Bennett was one of 36 people who spoke during the day Wednesday at a public hearing on the power line. Many of the speakers echoed her concerns regarding tourism, the environment and scenic beauty of the countryside. Nones poke in favor of the power line.

The meeting was to resume from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday evening, after deadline for this issue of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. If anybody was still waiting to be heard at 9 p.m., the meeting would continue today, starting at 9 a.m.

Southwestern Electric Power Co., or SWEPCO, applied on April 3 to build a substation near Berryville and to run a 345-kilovolt power line from there to Centerton, about 48 miles away. That would require about 288 towers, averaging from 130 feet to 160 feet tall and cutting a 150-foot-wide path. The project would cost an estimated $116.7 million.

Most of the six proposed routes are in Carroll and Benton counties, but alternate routes could include Madison and Washington counties in Arkansas and Barry and McDonald counties in Missouri.

In its application, the utility stated that the transmission line and new power station are necessary to meet growing demands for electricity in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

Connie Griffin, an administrative law judge with the commission, has been presiding over the two hearings in Northwest Arkansas. Oral testimony is being transcribed, and written testimony can also be submitted at the hearings or directly to the commission.

Speakers were limited to three minutes per person.

“We had hundreds of people speak over in Eureka so I felt I had to do that,” Griffin said at the beginning of the meeting Wednesday in Rogers.

A total of 229 people spoke at a similar meeting held Monday and Tuesday in Eureka Springs, said John Bethel, executive director of the commission. All but one of them opposed the transmission line.

Lori Bennett, Maranda’s mother, said she hadn’t planned to speak but decided to because turnout was low at the Rogers hearing.

“I do know that there has not been media coverage here like there has been in Carroll County,” she said. “I feel like people just don’ tunderstand here what the plan is.”

During a break in the hearing, Lori Bennett said people in Benton County don’t know about the issue. In Carroll County, there was an organized opposition group called Save the Ozarks that brought attention to the issue.

“I hope the commission doesn’t read the poor attendance today into the community accepting this,” she said. “It’s pretty pathetic the turnout we’re getting today.”

Lori Bennett said it was “sad” that people had to come to a meeting and speak to protect their homes and the environment.

Lori and Michael Bennett are among 48 intervenors in the case. That means at least one of the proposed routes would cross their land. Lori Bennett said they own 55 acres north of Bentonville, and four of the proposed routes cross their property, according to testimony she submitted to the commission on June 28.

Gary Blackburn, a Garfield alderman, said he opposed Route 33 in particular because it would be near a historic elementary school building in Garfield.

Glenn Jones, a member of the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission, said he opposed any routes that would be visible from Pea Ridge National Military Park. He said they’re trying to restore the site to look the way it did in 1862.

“From what I understand, from the visitor’s center, you’re going to see these humongous towers,” Jones said.

Two men who work with alternative energies - Orlo Stitt and John Gerrard - encouraged the commission to find alternative ways to provide additional electricity, such as wind, water and solar power.

That would alleviate the pollution and environmental impact of the transmission line and station, said Stitt, who owns Stitt Energy Systems in Rogers.

“There are alternatives to putting in a 150-footwide herbicide right of way near the White River,” said Gerrard, general manager of Sun City Solar Commercial Energy LLC in Springdale. “Any time you start degrading the natural beauty of the Natural State, we have a problem.”

Bill Woods of Bentonville said the power line is a “step in the wrong direction” and “it’s not up to par technology wise.”

“I’m a veteran of Vietnam,” Woods said. “I fought for my country. I don’t want to fight for my health.”

Debbie Rambo of Garfield said some studies indicate living near power lines can affect a person’s health.

“I think it’s time to be proactive and think about alternative solutions,” she said.

Rambo said she has deer, coyotes, bobcats and foxes on her property in Benton County.

Susan Andrews said she’s concerned about the bats. Every evening, a “large column of bats” comes up from a bluff near her Bentonville home.

State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, told the judge she has heard from many people who are concerned about Route 33 in particular, but “I’ve received letters from people who have concerns about the other routes as well.”

Route 33 goes through the cities of Gateway and Garfield, then between Bentonville and Bella Vista.

Dennis Baker of Rogers said he was against the power line in general, but if one had to be built, he preferred the northernmost route, which travels along the Arkansas-Missouri border.

A final decision isn’t expected until after a hearing that will begin Aug. 26 in Little Rock.

Thousands of people already have filed public comments with the commission opposing the transmission line.

The commission isn’t bound by any of the routes proposed by the utility, Bethel said.

The commission could use a combination of the proposed routes or come up with a new route, he said.

Information on the application and subsequent filings is available on the commission’s website at apscservices.info under the section “hot topics.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/18/2013

Upcoming Events