Hearing could affect Idaho Power Co. line

Rep. Cliff Bentz will have lots of company from the 60th District at a Capitol hearing room beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday.

That’s when Bentz’s Sustainability and Economic Development Committee will hear testimony on House Bill 3153, which could affect Idaho Power Co.’s plan to build a transmission line through Baker County.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Brian Clem, D-Salem, and Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, would prohibit establishing a “utility facility” in an area zoned for farm use, forest use or mixed farm and forest use, so long as a majority of utility service provided by the facility will be used within an urban growth boundary.

The bill directs the Oregon Department of Agriculture or the Oregon Department of Forestry to oversee each mitigation agreement and activities. 

A citizens group from Malheur County, Stop Idaho Power, plans to bus members to the Capitol Thursday to voice their support for the bill, which Bentz said today was written to address residents’ concerns over Liquified Natural Gas proposals in Clem’s and Boone’s westside districts.

Those concerns can apply to overhead utilities as well as those utilities that run along the ground, Bentz said.

After speaking with the Malheur County group Monday, Bentz said he plans to offer an amendment Thursday that would limit the height of transmission towers to 50 feet on EFU, timber and mixed-use ground. He said his proposal would allow local jurisdictions — planning commissions and county commissioners — to decide which areas to protect.

“County courts can decide if the land would be damaged by the inability to use aerial application,” Bentz said, a reference to agricultural producers’ fears that the 180-foot-tall transmission towers Idaho Power wants to install would interfere with their ability to spray from the air to protect their crops. “Local communities can decide which land should be protected.”

Bentz said he believes a strong showing from concerned citizens during Thursday’s hearing can influence his colleagues on the Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, which includes five Democrats and three Republicans. Bentz serves as vice chair.

“I believe legislators are always trying to determine how important these proposed laws are to people across the state,” he said. “One measure is how many people are there encouraging the Legislature to act.

“To somebody new like me, it sure seems more serious when all of a community arrives and says this is a very challenging situation, but it will all depend on how people behave themselves. You’ve got to deliver your message in an effective manner.”

Nancy Peyron, who leads Move Idaho Power, the Baker County group opposed to Idaho Power’s transmission line, said this morning that because of short notice she wasn’t aware of anyone from her group who planned to attend the hearing. People who want a seat on the bus should call Peyron at 523-3015.

“But it’s still a really important bill,” Peyron said.

In other business at the Capitol, Bentz said legislators aren’t standing around waiting for the May 15 revenue forecast, which will tell lawmakers how big the state’s budget gap will be in the two-year cycle that starts July 1.

Today, for example, they’re considering more than a dozen bills, including legislation designed to help Oregonians take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit when they fill out the tax forms that are due April 15; a bill that would provide for more logging under the BLM’s Western Oregon Plan Revision, known by its acronym, “WOPPER”; bills refining Oregon’s renewable energy portfolio and the Business Energy Tax Credit; and a bill that Bentz is co-sponsoring that would provide tax credits for water conservation devices.

There’s another bill with Bentz’s name at the top about which he’s not so optimistic. A bill he co-sponsored with House Speaker Pro Tem Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, would have directed Lottery funds to finance water supply projects.

“We had hoped Lottery funds would be available, but that’s not likely right now,” Bentz said. “It probably won’t go far.”

Reach Rep. Cliff Bentz at 503-986-1460 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it