Tuesday, June 10, 2014

a small victory in our struggle

Some readers will recall that I and members of our small community of Eureka Springs have been involved in a fight to prevent a huge 345 kV power line from being built through our properties. It got my attention in April, 2013 when my wife and I received a certified letter informing us that an alternate proposed route would pass within 75 feet of our deck and decimate our 11 acre woods from one end to the other. The enormity of the project clearly indicated that it was not for local reliability as they falsely claimed.

We fought the proposal at the Arkansas Public Service Commission but the project was approved and we applied for a rehearing. That rehearing was approved in a commission ruling yesterday that admitted that the power company AEP/SWEPCO had failed to adequately address whether the massive extra high voltage power line is needed in the first place. You can read about it here, but as this is big news in Arkansas, more will be published throughout the day.

This is a victory for my small environmental defense organization "Save the Ozarks." Granting a rehearing is only a small first step and we have a long ways to go, still in the fight. My hope now is that the power company recognizes that their proposal was overly destructive and unworthy of  consideration. They should immediately withdraw their application.

Make, fix and create...


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