Transmission lines in farm fields a concern

11/18/2010
BY KATE HESSLING

Tribune Staff Writer

UPPER THUMB — Though ITC Transmission is not yet negotiating with local landowners, one law expert says residents need to take the time now to understand their rights. And others aren’t waiting for the Michigan Public Service Commission to finalize the Thumb Loop transmission line route.

“Nobody has a problem with the power line in concept; it’s just the location,” said Fred Elvin, who lives in Rochester and owns land in Colfax and Verona townships.

Elvin said it doesn’t make sense to site high-voltage transmission towers on agriculture land, as he fears it will tear up farmland and ruin tiles.

On Tuesday, he submitted a petition signed by 15 landowners in Colfax and Verona townships seeking an opportunity to comment and participate in a contested case regarding the application ITC Transmission submitted Aug. 30 to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) for expedited siting approval for the Thumb Loop project. The MPSC has six months from that date to make a final decision.

After that, the Thumb Loop’s route will be finalized and ITC Transmission will begin meeting with landowners to negotiate easements.

Elvin said following MPSC’s ruling, ITC Transmission will have the ability to condemn land if agreements cannot be made with local landowners. As a result, he said, he is doing everything he can to get more information and have some input in this issue.

“I thought the more we can throw at them, the better off we are. We’re a helpless group, and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve been railroaded,” he said. “ ... My approach is pretty fatalistic. I’m just trying to throw enough mud against the wall to get somebody to open their eyes and say maybe there is something we can do about this.”

Right of ways: Roads vs. farm fields

The location of the Thumb Loop’s proposed routes and right of ways are at the heart of the concerns of some landowners. The petition submitted earlier this week addresses the location because it’s in prime agriculture land.

Elvin said he wants to see the lines placed on the road right of way rather than in farm fields.

In order for lines to be placed in the road right of way, it would have to be approved by the Huron County Road Commission, said Secretary-Manager Neal Hentschl. He said the road commission has not been formally approached by ITC to utilize the road right of way, which in most instances, spans 66 feet. When asked if the road commission would consider allowing the high-voltage lines on the road right of way, Hentschl said some transmission lines currently exist right on the edge the right of way, but they are not large high-voltage towers.

“A utility pole that services a home or business, you can look all over the county and on the edge of the right of way, there are utility poles,” he said. “(We) haven’t talked to ITC, so I have no clue what they want to do. But are there utility poles on the right of way? Yes.”

ITC Transmission Senior Capital Communications Specialist Joe Kirik said there can be problems with siting high-voltage lines along roadways.

“The location of high voltage transmission lines along roadways does not generally prove to be practical or desirable,” he said, explaining there’s a big difference between the local distribution lines often seen along roads and the large high voltage double-circuit towers.

Because it’s a larger project, consisting of the large high-voltage double-circuit towers, the Thumb Loop will require considerably wider rights of way for the lines in order to maintain compliance with industry standards, Kirik said.

For a double-circuit, 345 kV line, the right of- way is about 200 feet, he said. This means the Thumb Loop needs between 110 and 155 feet more right of way than the currently existing 120 kV lines.

Kirik added it’s difficult, if not impossible, to site a line like this along a roadway without encountering a residence, farm, radio tower or some other facility. Having to detour around these facilities would negate the benefit of trying to follow a roadway, he said.

“If you can picture how that would work, (we) could have lines running through people’s front yards. One of our primary goals through the siting process is to avoid conflicts with residences,” Kirik said.

 

ITC responds to ag concerns

Landowner concerns that new lines will ruin tiles, hinder crop irrigation and/or tear up farmland are taken seriously by ITC, Kirik said.

“Those are very important concerns to everyone involved, and we want to address those ... (we) want to avoid irrigation areas as much as possible and work with landowners to minimize impacts on crop land or farming operations,” he said.

In many instances, the lines will span an entire field, so there will be no impact, Kirik explained. Where this is not possible, specific concerns identified by property owners can be reviewed for incorporation into the detailed design, where feasible.

In some cases, if ITC has to go across an irrigated field, it may be possible to minimize the impact by making minor adjustments to pole locations.

That’s why it’s important ITC works with landowners so the company understands where irrigation systems are and the locations are identified through the planning process, he noted.

“Sometimes we have leeway as to where we can place structures and route the lines. We want to understand the factors that landowners are concerned about so that we can effectively work with them,” Kirik said.

He said there may be some impact on land, including soil compaction and crop damage, during construction.

“All (those are) factors that enter in the negotiation process because we do compensate for any crop damage (or lost production) during construction. We always want to return the property, as near as possible, to its preexisting condition,” Kirik said, adding ITC wants to know things like the location of irrigation systems to avoid damage conflicts in the first place. “These are concerns to landowners and they are concerns to us because we want to work with landowners to minimize the impacts of this process on their property.”

The average span between the towers on the 345 kV line is about 900 feet, he said. In most cases, steel monopoles are used. The steel monopoles occupy a very small area, and they do not significantly hinder farming activities in areas of right of way across agriculture land.

“They can farm right up to and around the poles,” Kirik said. “There are few restrictions on farming under the line. These are factors we’d like to talk through with the landowners and understand their concerns and try to accommodate them as best as we can.”

Also, Kirik noted, aerial application techniques — spraying or seeding — are not precluded by the presence of transmission lines.



Kate Hessling • (989) 269-6461 • khessling@hearstnp.com

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