Jeff DeMoss - Standard-Examiner | Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 11:00 pm
The Utah Legislature has unanimously approved a measure designed to give local governments and residents more say in where major power lines are located in their communities.
The House voted 71-to-0 Wednesday to send Senate Bill 41, sponsored by Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City, to Gov. Jon Huntsman's desk.
The bill requires public utilities to notify affected counties, cities and landowners at least 90 days before it applies to build high-voltage power lines.
After it files the notice of intent, a utility will have to hold a 30-day period in which affected government officials and landowners can submit comments about the proposed project.
Utilities will also have to create a Web site containing information about the project, publish notices in local newspapers, and hold public workshops in the affected area.
Local governments will be able to withhold project permits until the utility meets those conditions.
Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, said the need the for the bill became apparent after Rocky Mountain Power announced plans last year for new transmission lines running through Box Elder County.
By the time affected communities and landowners became aware of the plans, it was too late to change anything, Ferry said.
"This caused a major upheaval and some significant problems," he said.
The bill allows local governments to submit alternative route proposals to a utility, which then has to determine the differences in cost between the proposed routes.
State law currently requires utilities to go with the lowest-cost route. SB 41 allows utilities to switch to alternative routes, and to recapture any extra costs of doing so by raising its customer rates.
"This allows them to consider things other than purely cost," Ferry said. "This bill takes into consideration the community, but it also protects utility companies by making sure they can recoup their costs."
Ferry said it's too late for the bill to help Box Elder County, but other parts of the state will be dealing with similar issues soon enough.
"I don't want other areas to experience what we experienced."
Senate Bill 41
Sponsor: Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City
This bill is designed to give local governments and residents more say in where major power lines are located in their communities.