Crawford County JPs vote to oppose power line project

VAN BUREN -- Craig Smith and his wife retired to a "postage stamp" of land in rural Crawford County, where they planned to spend their lives enjoying the beauty of the Arkansas mountains.

Instead, he told members of the Crawford County Quorum Court on Monday, Clean Line Energy Partners wants to put 200-foot-tall electricity transmission towers on his 5 acres of land, which will make their property useless and ruin their dream.

"I'm going to have a line right outside my bedroom window, so when I walk out on my back deck, that's what I'm going to see, not my seven mountain ranges," Smith said.

Smith was one of several county residents who commented on a resolution approved by the Quorum Court urging the U.S. Department of Energy to deny Clean Line Energy Partners' application to build a 3,500-megawatt, direct-current electricity transmission line across the state "unless it identifies clear and substantial benefits to the state of Arkansas that exceed any detrimental impact caused by the project."

Quorum Court members said during a special meeting Monday that they did not believe the transmission line would provide any benefits to the state. Justice of the Peace Shane Griffin said it would instead be "a blight on our county."

Several Quorum Court members commented that they had heard from constituents who said they did not want the transmission line going through the county. Justice of the Peace Elaina Damante said she has never received more phone calls from constituents in her eight years on the court than she has on this issue.

"I've talked to a lot of people, from the river bottoms to the Washington County line, and not one person wants this in our county," Justice of the Peace Butch Barnes said.

Little Rock attorney Field Wasson spoke for Clean Line at Monday's meeting. He said the project will benefit the county in several ways.

He said the company would spend $500 billion in the state building the power line, which would pass through 12 counties on its way to Tennessee. A converter station in Pope County near Atkins is expected to deliver 500 megawatts worth of energy, which would be enough to power 160,000 Arkansas homes.

"And there are active discussions with several utilities in the state, including municipalities, to buy this power," he said.

He said Bekaert Corp. in Van Buren would supply the steel, and General Cable in Malvern would be paid $150 million to manufacture the cable that will be used in construction of the transmission line in Arkansas.

He said Crawford County would receive an upfront payment of $210,000, which is $7,500 for each of the 28 miles of the line the company would build in the county. The company also would pay $600,000 a year in property taxes to the county, as well as the sales taxes for Bekaert's steel.

He said Clean Line would pay fair market value to residents for easements on their property, which would include such things as loss of timber and diminished crop yields.

With an easement, he said, property owners would still be able to use the land as long as any vegetation grown under the lines was no taller than 10 feet and no structures were built.

Under questioning by County Judge John Hall, Wasson said that if the Energy Department agrees to partner with Clean Line on the project, the company will have the right of eminent domain, which will give the company authority to acquire the land needed for the power line.

Emily and Travis Brown said they don't want to expose their 2- and 4-year-old children to the potential health risks that could result from living 500 feet from the high-power transmission line. They built their "dream home" on family property in 2010, Travis Brown said.

They worry now that if the power line is built, they won't be able to stay in the house and no one will want to buy it.

Emily Brown asked Wasson if he would let his children or grandchildren live that close to the power line.

"Would you risk their health to put them that close?" she asked. "Are you that sure that this power line will not negatively impact them at all?"

Wasson replied that the company relied on studies by the World Health Organization that say the direct-current electricity has about the same magnetic field as the earth but added that he couldn't answer her question.

Betty Stockton, who said Stocktons have lived on their 83 acres for five generations, complained that her property value and view are going to be ruined by the five power line towers she said will bisect her property. She also said she was skeptical about claims the company makes that the line won't pose health risks.

The Energy Department is scheduled to hold a public hearing Feb. 18 in Fort Smith to gather public comment on an environmental impact statement being conducted for the project. Department officials are expected to make a final decision on Clean Line's application to build the transmission line later this year.

Metro on 01/28/2015

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