Hearing held for power line that
would link Montana, Alberta
Mar 12, 2008 - The Associated Press
State and environmental leaders held
the first of three public hearings Tuesday to discuss
a proposed power line that would connect Montana's
power grid to Canada.
The project, known as the Montana Alberta
Tie Line, is proposed by a subsidiary of Toronto-based
Tonbridge Power and would extend 230 miles - 129 of
them in Montana - from Lethbridge, Alberta, to Great
Falls.
Three developers who are planning wind
farms along the route have purchased shipping capacity
on the line.
"The environmental impacts are minimal
and the economic benefits are great," said Cheryl
Curry of the Pondera Regional Port Authority.
State Sen. Jerry Black, R-Shelby, told
officials with the state Department of Environmental
Quality and the U.S. Department of Energy, who must
permit the line, that north central Montanans had
endured extreme drought, declining school enrollment
and declining tax bases.
He said it was an understatement to
say that the majority of his constituents enthusiastically
support the power line.
But the proposal drew some concern from
farmers.
Jerry McRae, a farmer near Dutton, said
MATL is offering a one-time payment of $500 per structure
on land and yearly payments of $59.08 per structure
to offset the hardship of farming around the poles.
He called the offer "completely unacceptable."
Bob Williams, MATL's vice president
regulatory, said single poles are now planned along
53 miles where the transmission line crosses diagonally
to ease the impact on farmers. Twenty-five miles of
single poles were originally planned.
The proposed transmission line would
serve as a conduit for 600 megawatts of electricity,
with 300 megawatts traveling in each direction, between
the Alberta Interconnected Electric System and the
electric transmission network in Montana. It would
be the first line to directly connect the Alberta
and Montana power grids.
Tony Como, director of permitting and
citing for the DOE, said a decision on whether to
permit the project could be made by May or June.
Meanwhile, the DEQ's Tom Ring said the
state must find that the line has a minimal impact
on the environment and is consistent with regional
plans for expansion of the power grid. The project
also must serve the public's interest, he said.
The power line already has been permitted
by Canada's National Energy Board and has received
conditional approval from the Alberta Energy and Utilities
Board.
In the U.S., state and federal officials
released an environmental study in March 2007 but
decided to do additional work after the public raised
concerns. A draft environmental impact statement was
released in February.
___
Information from: Great Falls Tribune,
http://www.greatfallstribune.com
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