Letters to the Editor for April 6, 2009

Council not voting under duress

To the editor:

In the report on April 1, about City Council work sessions you quote Councilor Beverly Calder as being frustrated when “too often we get a 30-page report (from city staff) on Friday night and we have to vote on it Tuesday. Work sessions are a conversation, and too often we make decisions under duress.”

I confess that I am new to the council but I am not new to City Hall. City employees are competent, energetic and timely. Besides, I have no difficulty reading 30 pages in four evenings. I do not know of any Council decision that was the product of threat, force, coercion or constraint.

State won’t decide power line route

To the editor:

The Oregon Department of Energy appreciates the Baker City Herald’s coverage of the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line project.

Department staff attended the public hearing held by the Oregon Public Utility Commission in Baker City on March 27, and followed the news media coverage. 

We want to correct one statement in the article about the hearing.

According to the article:  “If the PUC approves the application, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Committee (EFSC) will determine where the line will traverse five counties in Oregon as it runs from Hemingway, near Murphy, Idaho, to Boardman.”

The Energy Facility Siting Council does not determine where the line will go. The project proponent is Idaho Power, and it is their responsibility to design the final route, and submit an application showing that their proposed route meets all of the applicable regulatory codes and standards. EFSC reviews the application for compliance with the standards, but does not choose the route. 

This is a common misconception of the siting process. The article was otherwise accurate and informative.

We recognize that the siting and reviewing process is complex, involving several different agencies, each having a different role. We appreciate this opportunity to help explain this process to the public.

Adam Bless

Senior policy analyst

Oregon Department of Energy