BLM asks for comments on Proposed Transmission Line on Steens Mountain
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the North Steens Transmission Line. The Project is a 29-mile, 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line that would convey power generated by industrial-scale wind energy turbines proposed on private land on the north side of Steens Mountain. This transmission line would carry power from the proposed wind turbines to connect to the existing grid. The developer already has a contract to sell electricity produced on Steens to Southern California Edison.
A project description and the full Draft EIS can be found at http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/steen_trans/index.php
Public meetings are scheduled for Burns and Bend. Please attend one
of these sessions and let the BLM know about your concern for the
impact of these transmission lines:
- Monday, August 23, in Burns, Oregon, 6:00-8:00 p.m. the Harney County Community Center, 484 North Broadway, Burns, Oregon, 97720
- Tuesday, August 24, in Bend, Oregon, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Phoenix Inn & Suites, 300 Northwest Franklin Avenue, Bend, Oregon, 97701
The proposed line (Proposed Action, West Route-Alternative B) would cross approximately 19 miles of private land, 9 miles of BLM-administered public land, and 1.3 miles of land on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, including a span over the Blitzen Valley. Another alternative would run north from the mountain. See a map HERE.
ONDA and its allies in the environmental community support the “No Action” Alternative, Alternative A. The BLM and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service should not grant a Right of Way for the Proposed North Steens Transmission Line. The likely harm to the ecological integrity of Steens Mountain from the proposed wind turbines and transmission line is too great for the federal agencies to sign off on the project.
Please take the time to submit comments on the North Steens Transmission Line Draft EIS. We have provided a comment form HERE, alternatively write your own comments.Written comments can be submitted to:
North Steens Transmission Line Project Lead
BLM Burns District Office
28910 Hwy 20
West Hines, OR 97738
