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NEWS
JANUARY 10, 2013 | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | THE WESTERN PRODUCER
CROP PRODUCTION SHOW
ABOVE: Candy Tetu of Handy Special Events in Saskatoon does some last minute vacuuming before the Crop Production Show, which ran Jan 8-10 in Saskatoon. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTOS RIGHT: Tim Zerr of Seed Master of Emerald Park, Sask., polishes a 5012-CT air drill in preparation for visitors.
ALBERTA POWER | ROUTE CONSULTATIONS
ALBERTA POWER | ROUTE CONSULTATIONS
Power line route pondered
Preferred routes chosen for two electric lines
Power line company provides more options for project STORIES BY BARB GLEN LETHBRIDGE BUREAU
Numerous new routes for a controversial power line project in southern Alberta are being considered. However, residents south of Pincher Creek continue to question the need for any new electrical line at all. The Goose Lake to Etzikom Coulee project has been in the consultation process for more than a year. AltaLink, which has been tasked with identifying preferred and alternate routes for the 240 kilovolt overhead line, has come under fire from a landowner group that objects to a power line crossing native grassland and scenic foothills ranching country. The line may skirt the edge of Waterton Lakes National Park or pass through the Blood Indian reserve. It would be 170 to 220 kilometres long, depending on the route selected, with a proposed cost of $300 to $450 million. In December, AltaLink added a number of possible routes to its map of the region. Scott Schreiner, AltaLink’s director of external engagement, said they were added as a result of the ongoing consultation process. The additions garnered faint praise from Anne Stevick of the Chinook Area Land Users Association (CALUA). “They actually have listened to some of the comments,” said Stevick about AltaLink. “They’ve put some alternate routes in that we think, if it has to go in, would be more suitable.” However, she said CALUA ques-
They’ve put some alternate routes in that we think, if it has to go in, would be more suitable. ANNE STEVICK CHINOOK AREA LAND USERS ASSOCIATION
tions the need for the line, which was determined by the Alberta Electric System Operator in 2008. “We think this line is unnecessary. We don’t agree with it,” she said. Schreiner said company representatives continue to meet with landowners on the potential routes, and another set of open houses or public meetings will likely be scheduled in May or June. “The best information we get is from landowners,” Schreiner said. “That’s how they’re going to help us get to a preferred and alternate route down the road.” More potential routes were added in response to residents’ concerns about routing the new line along existing roads, railroads and power lines and after examining options for connection to other lines at the western end and along the east side of Waterton Reservoir. Schreiner said more options may be added, depending on the outcome of further consultations and public meetings. A proposed route across the Blood Indian reserve would shorten the line and also be cheaper to build, but that will depend on discussions with Indian band leaders. AltaLink successfully negotiated a route several years ago for a power
line that crosses both the Blood and Pikani reserves, said Schreiner, so there is a precedent. Stevick said CALUA has consulted a lawyer and been told that the proposed line becomes a matter of federal jurisdiction if the province plans to use it to export electricity, which could delay or cancel the project. Landowners elsewhere in the province have filed a lawsuit against the AUC that challenges the constitutionality of spending billions of dollars on power lines for the purposes of exporting electricity. The suit is supported by Alberta’s opposition Wildrose party. However, the need for this line was determined four years ago and the CALUA lawyer said chances of revisiting that decision are low. The proposed line is part of the Southern Alberta Transmission Reinforcement project, which is designed in part to provide infrastructure for wind turbine electrical generation. That assumes the wind turbine projects now being considered will come to fruition, but Stevick said it is far from certain. “The lawyer said if people can keep stalling this and keep pushing it back, time is in our favour, because the economics of these wind farms is not going to be there.” Schreiner said AltaLink’s job is not to determine the need for the line but to find the route with the lowest overall impact. Ideally, AltaLink would like to propose a preferred and alternate route to the AUC this fall and start construction in winter 2014. Stevick said her group doesn’t want that to happen.
Alberta Utilities Commission | Preferred and alternate routes soon submitted for review The company tasked with building electrical lines in Alberta has finalized preferred and alternate routes for two portions of a system in southern Alberta. AltaLink released maps in December of its preferred and alternate routes for a 240 kilovolt power line it expects to build from Picture Butte to Etzikom Coulee and from Etzikom Coulee to Whitla. Scott Schreiner, director of external engagement for AltaLink, said the company plans to submit its route information to the Alberta Utilities Commission this spring. The AUC will then decide whether to accept that information, apply conditions or reject the plans. The Picture Butte to Etzikom Coulee portion is a 66 to 80 kilometre line. Specific length depends upon the route selected. The Etzikom to Whitla stretch is a projected 87 to 90 km. Schreiner said AltaLink has consulted with every landowner on the route and will continue to discuss plans as needed. “There’s always going to be potentially smaller movements with the line and the route that can still be done at this point,” he said. The proposed power line route will cross primarily cultivated land, much of it irrigated. The line’s effect
on irrigation and aerial spraying were among concerns raised by landowners during open houses last year. Schreiner said basic compensation for towers and easements are similar for all landowners, but additional compensation for impediments to irrigation or spraying are negotiated case by case. “We compensate on current and best use of the land,” he said. Environmental assessments earlier in the process raised concerns about the line crossing Stafford Reservoir near Coaldale, which could affect a sensitive pelican foraging area. The reservoir is also popular for summer recreation. AltaLink now plans to enclose the line in a bridge-like conduit across the reservoir rather than erect towers for power lines across the span. “It limits the visual impact, it limits the environmental impact and because of the technology that would have been required to do the crossing as an overhead system, the cost of it is very similar,” said Schreiner. AltaLink plans to start construction of both projects next winter if the AUC accepts the proposed and/ or alternate routes that have been presented.
THE PICTURE BUTTE TO ETZIKOM COULEE PORTION OF THE POWER LINE WILL BE
66 to 80 km