2 lawmakers vow to fight electrical line

Bills proposed to protect, counsel property owners

EUREKA SPRINGS -- Two Republican lawmakers plan to introduce bills next year in the state Legislature to make it more difficult for a high-voltage power line to cut through Northwest Arkansas.

Sen. Bryan King of Green Forest and Rep. Bob Ballinger of Hindsville said one bill would make it harder for Southwestern Electric Power Co. and other utilities to acquire property through eminent domain. The other bill would create an independent state Office of Public Counsel, which would provide legal advice and possibly legal services to landowners.

The legislators said they are trying to prevent SWEPCO from building a 50-mile, 345-kilovolt power line through Benton and Carroll counties, from Berryville to Centerton. Many residents, particularly in the Eureka Springs area, have been fighting the proposed power line since it was announced April 3, 2013.

According to SWEPCO's initial filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission, "These proposed facilities are intended to meet the additional transmission capacity of the growing north Arkansas and south Missouri area."

Six towers, each 130 feet to 160 feet high, would be needed every mile to support the power line, according to SWEPCO's proposal. A 150-foot-wide right of way also would be required along the route.

The two legislators held a public forum Thursday night at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs. The event drew a crowd of about 150, some of whom voiced frustration that the lawmakers hadn't acted sooner.

Ilene Powell of Eureka Springs told King and Ballinger that they didn't get around to holding a meeting on the issue until "14 months after SWEPCO announced its assault on Northwest Arkansas."

Within a month of SWEPCO's power line announcement, a group called Save the Ozarks had formed and was fighting against the proposal, saying the line wasn't needed and would harm the environment and tourism.

"Politicians have been nonsupportive, noncommunicative and somewhat combative," Powell told the crowd.

Ballinger said he and King have opposed the power line since first hearing about it, but because the announcement came near the end of the 2013 Legislative session, it was too late for them to do anything at that time. The next general session will begin in January. The Arkansas Legislature has a general session in odd-numbered years and a session to deal with fiscal matters in even-numbered years.

Susan Morrison of Eureka Springs said the lawmakers should have more control over the Public Service Commission, which approved a route for the power line and later vacated that decision after an appeal.

"We need courage from you," said Morrison. "You need to have your foot on the neck of the Public Service Commission, and you're not doing that."

Ballinger said he may have been too slow to voice opposition to the power line.

"It may be true that I should have been a whole lot louder a whole lot earlier," said Ballinger. "We put this [event] on knowing some people may be mad at us. I'm not asking you to show me mercy, but if you did, I'd appreciate it."

Ballinger's comment drew laughter from the crowd.

Pat Costner, director of Save the Ozarks, told the legislators that she appreciates their effort, but they may be too late to stop the commission from approving the power line planned for Benton and Carroll counties.

Ballinger said they'll do what they can.

"If they do approve the line, we can make it a whole lot harder to get the line through," he told the crowd.

Costner said $150,000 already had been raised to fight SWEPCO, and another $150,000 might be needed to fight the power company through the appeals process.

"That's potentially what we face, but we will not stop," said Costner. "We will prevail before the Public Service Commission. If not there, we will go before the state Court of Appeals. If not there, we will go to the state Supreme Court."

On Jan. 17, Connie Griffin, an administrative law judge with the commission, approved the 56-mile Route 109 for the power line. She said it was the only acceptable route based on residential and "aesthetic" effect. The route goes north of Eureka Springs, then north along the Arkansas-Missouri line before turning south on the west side of Bella Vista. It would cost $102.8 million to construct.

After appeals from both sides, the commission issued an order June 9 saying it will reconsider whether a high-voltage power line is needed and, if so, decide on the best route. The commission's June 9 decision vacated the approval of Route 109.

SWEPCO appealed because the company wanted the commission to reconsider its preferred Route 33, a 49-mile route that would cost the company $6.5 million less to construct. The route goes north of Eureka Springs, through Gateway and Garfield, then southwest between Bentonville and Bella Vista and would cost about $96.3 million. Six routes initially were proposed.

SWEPCO is required to build transmission projects within its service area if the Southwest Power Pool determines they are necessary. The pool is a regional transmission organization that answers to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It is responsible for planning electrical transmission needs for 6 million households in nine states.

The route Griffin approved, Route 109, enters Missouri for about 25 miles, requiring the need for regulatory approval in that state as well.

The commission has yet to issue a timetable for additional filings.

According to King's draft of the "Private Property Protection Act," the bill would establish a system to ensure "fair and equitable compensation" for property acquired through eminent domain. It would set up a procedure to reimburse property owners when a government decision causes a drop in market value of the property in excess of 25 percent. In that case, the landowner could initiate "inverse condemnation" proceedings, which would require the government to pay for the loss in value.

King said Friday that the bill would help landowners whose property isn't directly in the path of a power line. If the line caused their property to be devalued by more than 25 percent, they could be compensated, he said.

The other bill would create a new state agency called the Office of Public Counsel specifically help people in utility cases before the Public Service Commission.

"It's going to provide them with legal counsel," King said Friday.

King and Ballinger both noted that the bills are in draft form, so they could change considerably before January. In the meantime, King said the bills will be presented to interim legislative committees.

Metro on 06/28/2014

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