Conflict is brewing between Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and some northwestern Oklahoma landowners over OG&E's attempts to condemn property for a high-voltage transmission line to transport wind-generated electricity. "I have a neighbor with a pacemaker. He told me he will never be able to go on his property again," said Jimmie Purvine, 61, who is fighting condemnation of a 1 1/2 -mile long strip across his Dewey County property.
Conflict is brewing between Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and some northwestern Oklahoma landowners over OG&E's attempts to condemn property for a high-voltage transmission line to transport wind-generated electricity. "I have a neighbor with a pacemaker. He told me he will never be able to go on his property again," said Jimmie Purvine, 61, who is fighting condemnation of a 1 1/2 -mile long strip across his Dewey County property.
Conflict is brewing between Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and some northwestern Oklahoma landowners over OG&E's attempts to condemn property for a high-voltage transmission line to transport wind-generated electricity.
"I have a neighbor with a pacemaker. He told me he will never be able to go on his property again," said Jimmie Purvine, 61, who is fighting condemnation of a 1 1/2 -mile long strip across his Dewey County property. "That could be me in another four years."
Loss of value
Some landowners say they are concerned the lines could interfere with crop dusting or damage global positioning systems (GPS) on high-dollar farming equipment.
Others say they believe the transmission lines will devalue their property, don't like …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Conflict is brewing between Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and some northwestern Oklahoma landowners over OG&E's attempts to condemn property for a high-voltage transmission line to transport wind-generated electricity.
"I have a neighbor with a pacemaker. He told me he will never be able to go on his property again," said Jimmie Purvine, 61, who is fighting condemnation of a 1 1/2 -mile long strip across his Dewey County property. "That could be me in another four years."
Loss of value
Some landowners say they are concerned the lines could interfere with crop dusting or damage global positioning systems (GPS) on high-dollar farming equipment.
Others say they believe the transmission lines will devalue their property, don't like the way the towers look or are upset by OG&E representatives' unwillingness to negotiate before resorting to condemnation.
The 120-mile- long, 345-kilovolt transmission line will be used to move electricity to the Oklahoma City area from wind farms near Woodward. Many western Oklahoma landowners report OG&E has been offering about $2,000 an acre for the right to use 200-foot-wide strips across their land, an attorney said.
Brian Alford, OG&E spokesman, said he believes many concerns voiced by landowners are unfounded, including the concerns about health risks to heart patients with pacemakers.
"Intuitively, if you look at the amount of these kinds of transmission lines that cross not only Oklahoma, but the nation, literally hundreds of thousands of miles, you would think this would have been a problem that would have been identified. We don't see any indication that it poses health risks," he said.
Alford said he is aware at least some pacemaker manufacturers and doctors encourage patients with pacemakers to avoid being around power lines. However, he said those same manufacturers and doctors warn pacemaker patients about security devices, leaning over car motors and carrying cell phones in shirt pockets next to the pacemakers.
"I think our willingness to negotiate was demonstrated by the fact we were able to reach settlements with the vast majority of landowners along this route," Alford said. "For those landowners who believe they were not receiving fair value, there is the legal process that will ultimately determine that."
Negotiations
Landowners Purvine and John Oler, who lives near Watonga, dispute there was much negotiation.
They came to us and made an offer and said we would either take that offer or they would file eminent domain," Purvine said. "There was no recourse. That's the way it was."
Oler, 64, said the OG&E representative essentially told him, "Do it our way, or we condemn you."
"I just don't like them telling me they're going to run this thing across me and there's nothing I can do about it," Oler said.
"I live out here in the country for a reason. I kind of like to be left alone. ... It devalues the property and I'm not particularly fond of having to look at it, either."
Oler said his brother manages the Watonga airport and he knows the power line will create a hazard for crop dusters.
"You can't dodge everything. All that stuff presents a risk," he said.
Purvine said he wants people to know he's not against economic development or wind farms.
"I realize in western Oklahoma, anything that benefits the economy is essential for the area," he said.
Purvine said he just wants OG&E to address his concerns and negotiate a fair price for losses he believes he will experience.
Purvine said he has read that high- voltage lines mess up the sensory systems of livestock.
"It will mess up our (farm equipment) GPS systems," Purvine said assuredly. "My brother-in-law tells me he's having trouble under some lines that don't carry nearly the voltage that these lines will. He told me it caused it to start buzzing and roaring on the screen and he had to shut it off because he was afraid it was going to cause it to go bad."
Farmers rely on GPS systems for spraying, planting and a lot of their field work, he said.
Alford said he has seen no research that would validate concerns about power lines damaging GPS devices or harming livestock.