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Landowners: Energy lines' final route a 'dirty trick'

San Angelo Standard Times |Matthew Waller |January 29, 2011
TexasTransmission

Several landowners south of Junction have said they've been forgotten and abused in the transmission line routing that the Public Utility Commission approved on Jan. 20. The path of the transmission lines, being built by the Lower Colorado River Authority to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to the I-35 corridor, puts them through part of the townsite and through the land of Dean Martin, among others.


SAN ANGELO, Texas - Several landowners south of Junction have said they've been forgotten and abused in the transmission line routing that the Public Utility Commission approved on Jan. 20.

The path of the transmission lines, being built by the Lower Colorado River Authority to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to the I-35 corridor, jogs around to avoid an airport near Junction, putting them through part of the townsite and through the land of Dean Martin, among others.

Junction is about 100 miles south of San Angelo.

"The PUC, LCRA and Clear View Alliance pulled a dirty trick on everybody," Martin said of groups involved in negotiating where the line would go. "The MK 63 modified was not on the map."

The modified …

... more [truncated due to possible copyright]

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Several landowners south of Junction have said they've been forgotten and abused in the transmission line routing that the Public Utility Commission approved on Jan. 20.

The path of the transmission lines, being built by the Lower Colorado River Authority to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to the I-35 corridor, jogs around to avoid an airport near Junction, putting them through part of the townsite and through the land of Dean Martin, among others.

Junction is about 100 miles south of San Angelo.

"The PUC, LCRA and Clear View Alliance pulled a dirty trick on everybody," Martin said of groups involved in negotiating where the line would go. "The MK 63 modified was not on the map."

The modified MK63 route finagles its way around problem areas by crossing the North Llano river and following it at a southeasterly direction.

Don Baugh, another landowner whose land he says will have six poles on it, said he and others did not intervene in the case because none of the proposed routes ever came close to their land, although he said they got the original notice.

"We went to sleep when it wasn't raining and woke up when it was over our head," Baugh said. "We weren't on any routes at all, and at the last moment they moved it on over us."

Baugh said he is afraid that the PUC was pandering to the Clear View Alliance, a group representing the interests of 242 landowners seeking to avoid having the transmission lines run through the Hill Country landscape.

Terry Hadley, a spokesman for the PUC, said people have 20 days from when the PUC signed the order on Monday to file a motion for rehearing.

Hadley said that although anyone can file, it is more difficult to be heard for those who did not participate in the hearing.

The Clear View Alliance said in a release that it understood many landowners would not get what they want.

"The Clear View Alliance saw from the beginning that the approval process potentially pitted neighbor against neighbor and would have no winners," alliance President Bill Neiman said. "No matter where the PUC decided to put the line, somebody and the land under their stewardship would be impacted forever. It is those people we need to keep in our thoughts now."

In documents presented to the PUC, the Lower Colorado River Authority said they chose land from people who had been notified of the old possible routes.

Hadley said the commission had the authority to choose new routes regardless of what had originally been suggested by the LCRA.

"The applicant files its recommendations and suggestions and other parties participate in the hearing with their recommendations which results in the final order for the recommendation," Hadley said.


Source:http://www.gosanangelo.com/ne…

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