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Monday, May. 25, 2009

Possible routes for transmission lines criticized by landowners

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Lou and Judy Lombardi's walnut orchard stretches half a mile from their house to the Tuolumne River.

On a clear day, they can gaze upon Sierra peaks far from this spot west of Waterford.

The Lombardis see something else looming, and they don't like it. Their farm lies along one of the possible routes for a transmission line project across much of Northern California.

"It's going to devalue the land," said Lou Lombardi, who has farmed there for 31 years. "No one is going to want to buy here because they will be looking at the lines."

The 600-mile project, involving towers probably 100 to 150 feet tall, has sparked opposition along potential corridors near Del Rio, Escalon, Riverbank, Oakdale and other communities.

It is being planned by a partnership that includes the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts. They aim to meet increasing demand, guard against outages and tap potential sources of renewable energy in the northeast part of the state.

"It fits our long-term goal of providing reliable electricity for the district," said Casey Hashimoto, the TID's assistant general manager for engineering and operations.

"It's more interconnected pieces to be able to move power," said Allen Short, the MID's general manager.

Short is chairman this year of the partnership, the Transmission Agency of Northern California. Along with the MID and TID, the lines would serve the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the federal hydropower system at New Melones Reservoir, and city-owned utilities in Santa Clara and Redding.

The project, expected to cost about $1.3 billion, could be built as early as 2014.

The MID likely would bear about a quarter of the cost. The TID's share has not been determined. Neither has committed to construction.

The planners have roughed out 1,000-foot-wide corridors for study, although only a fifth of that would be needed for the lines.

Critics worry about degraded scenery and hissing noises near their homes. Farmers have raised concerns that the lines would interfere with aerial pesticide spraying and that tall trees would have to be trimmed. Some people fear that electromagnetic fields from the wires could cause cancer.

"The point is it's blight," said Lia McKeon, whose century-old ranch house east of Riverbank is in one of the corridors. "It's ugly. It's noisy. It's dangerous."

Option has some near Del Rio

The upscale Del Rio community would have transmission lines just to the south under one of the options. They would reduce property values, interfere with satellite television and threaten geese that winter along the nearby Stanislaus River, resident Will Iffland said.

"It's an imposition that's never going away, ever," he said.

The Lombardis said the project could affect as many as 12 of their 104 acres of walnuts, including tower footings and limits on spraying. They would prefer that the route go through less valuable land to the east.

"I see the point in having to put the grid together," Judy Lombardi said. "I question their position that it has to go through prime ag land."

Iffland suggests that the partnership upgrade lines in established corridors instead. He said lines also could be buried, which would increase the construction costs but reduce maintenance needs.

Bill Jackson, a cattle rancher and nut grower between Oakdale and Waterford, said he already has Pacific Gas & Electric Co. transmission lines on his land and does not see why it was included in the new project. He, too, prefers upgrading existing lines.