Third 'pitch' coming

Lots of folks across the Ozarks are wondering just why it is, after more than a year of arguing the supposed need for its proposed mega-voltage transmission line, SWEPCO has asked the Arkansas Public Service Commission to suspend its final reconsideration on approval for another six months.

Even I'm curious why the utility company and its parent AEP, and regional transmission supplier Southwest Power Pool, say they need another six months if they've supposedly known (yet unsuccessfully argued for 15 months) the purported "critical" need to decimate a 150-foot-wide swath of forest for 50 miles through Benton and Carroll counties.

When SWEPCO initially applied on April 3, 2013, the utility company told the commission there was a "critical" need in Carroll County for its behemoth. But when that claim was not proven, SWEPCO returned with a refreshed list of supposed needs that left the commissioners unimpressed.

Now we head toward the utility's third pitch before the commission in what's become a big ol' woolly controversial idea that obviously wasn't ready for prime time from the git-go.

I naturally find myself wondering: If there existed a critical need for such an incredibly disruptive line back in April 2103, why hasn't that need been proven? And what evidence would (or could) change in the coming six months to justify such a massive project that culminates in a pasture near Berryville?

Doug Stowe of Save The Ozarks, which is actively opposed to the need for this 345-kilovolt line, expressed his group's feelings to me this way: "Recent news reports have noted that the [commission] has asked SWEPCO for additional information. But for us, that's the least important part of the story. The point is that the [commission] agreed with Save the Ozarks' position that SWEPCO's application (thus far) failed to prove a new ... power line is needed."

In a recent ruling, the commission basically concluded that SWEPCO had failed to justify this project, saying, "The record is presently insufficient to determine: the need for the particular 345-kV project that has been proposed, whether that project is consistent with the public convenience and necessity, and whether the project represents an 'acceptable adverse environmental impact, considering ... the various alternatives, if any, and other pertinent considerations.'"

Pat Costner, who directs Save the Ozarks, responded in a press release: "The commission has concluded that SWEPCO's application is inadequate. By all that's right, just and merciful, why don't the commissioners walk their talk and dismiss SWEPCO's application? The people in the path of this monstrous proposal have been starring down the barrel of SWEPCO's loaded shotgun for 16 long months, watching their property values drop and prospective buyers walk away. Now SWEPCO is asking the commission to let them keep thousands of property owners in its crosshairs for another six months. That's almost two years as sitting ducks for SWEPCO's private property grab."

"The commissioners have asked for additional information," added Stowe, "because the need for a 345 was unproven. It was unproven was because of the challenges raised by [Save the Ozarks]."

In other words and the way I see it, the commission's order was indeed in line with what Save The Ozarks has been arguing all along: There simply has been no proven "critical" need to build such an environmentally (and personally for many) destructive transmission line from Benton County through much of Carroll County to the remote station near the Kings River.

Simplest put: There's been no compelling evidence presented to convince me and thousands of others who care deeply for our beloved mountains to tear into these treasures in such fashion.

Congrats to Gertrude

In the good news department today, anyone else notice that our state is home to the oldest known American and second-oldest in the world today?

Yep. Gertrude Weaver, whose only surviving child is 93, took the U.S. title recently and celebrated her 116th birthday this month at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden. Only Misao Okawa of Japan is slightly older, according to Gerontology Research Group.

Congratulations, Mrs. Weaver. Ah, the changes in this world this lady has witnessed! You do us Arkies proud, Gertrude.

Doing state proud

I also join many other in saluting Suzanne McCray for the great job she's obviously doing as director of the University of Arkansas' Nationally Competitive Awards.

Among the latest Fayetteville students so recognized are a Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and five Fulbright Scholars. A bit of research showed these latest honors to UA students brought the school's all-time totals to 49 Goldwater Scholars (first in SEC and 15th among public universities), 18 Truman Scholars (tied for first in SEC with Georgia and 13th among public universities) and 10 Rhodes Scholars (38th among public universities). It's clear that as enrollment swells on the UA campus, so does the quality of students and their performance.

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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.

Editorial on 07/12/2014

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