Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 29, 2020 -- FIVE
UEC starts condemnation proceedings
against N. Morrow property owners
Planned transmission line needs easements, but several
landowners object
By David Sykes
In preparation for a new
electrical transmission line
into the Boardman area,
Umatilla Electric Co-op
(UEC) recently filed pa-
perwork with the Oregon
Public Utility Commission
(PUC) which would clear
the way for condemnation
of private lands and give the
necessary right of ways for
the new power line. UEC
says it is still negotiating
with the affected landown-
ers and the PUC still needs
to approve the request.
The new 230kV line
would run from a Hwy 730
electric switchyard near the
I-84 freeway, 4.3 miles east
to Olson Rd at Boardman.
The electric co-op says
the new line is needed to
service future customer
growth in the area, but
critics say condemnation
would be the result of poor
planning for construction of
a new Amazon data facility
in the area. The new facility
reportedly needs additional
power for operation and
some are saying adequate
routes for a power line were
not taken into consideration
during planning. Many
large Amazon server farms
are being constructed in
the Boardman and Hermis-
ton area. The facilities use
large amounts of electricity
and Amazon is attracted to
low prices offered here by
UEC, which in turn buys
most of its power from the
Bonneville Power Admin-
istration’s hydroelectric
electric dams. The dams
have historically been an
inexpensive source of elec-
tricity for the region.
In a recent discussion
with the Heppner Ga-
zette-Times, however, UEC
Chief Executive Officer
Robert Echenrode would
not pin construction of the
new power line solely on
the needs of Amazon’s new
facility, but said instead
the co-op’s Boardman and
the Port of Morrow service
area has shown tremendous
customer growth, and the
co-op needs larger power
lines to take care of future
electrical needs in the whole
area. “At of the end of 2019,
(UEC) energy sales were up
approximately 20 percent
over the prior year, and
approximately 125 percent
over the last five years,”
Echenrode told the PUC in
a report requesting the new
power line. He estimated
the new line would cost the
co-op about $12.4 million
which would be offset by
future electricity sales in the
Boardman - Port of Morrow
area. There is a smaller
115kV power line currently
servicing the area, howev-
er, a larger line and a new
substation are required to
handle the increased capac-
ity, Echenrode pointed out.
Even though the power
is needed, several landown-
ers along the new route are
not happy. Gary Frederick-
son, whose family owns
property along Root Lane
in Boardman along which
the power line would run,
said in a comment to the
Morrow County Planning
Commission, “We are very
opposed to the proposal.”
Frederickson said there are
several residences close to
the proposed line that “will
be negatively impacted.”
He said there are other
routes better suited for the
new power line, including
one north of the I-84 free-
way. The Fredericksons
have hired Pendleton attor-
neys The Blanc Firm to rep-
resent them. Property own-
ers Casey and Nikki Huxoll
are also opposed and they
said putting the power line
on Root Lane “would be
a horrible thing to have
in our neighborhood. We
feel this will lower our
property values as well as
being added traffic to an
already inadequate county
road.” The Huxolls said
there would be health and
noise concerns from being
that close to the high-power
lines. “These high-powered
lines always crackle and
pop in the wintertime and
seems to create much static
underneath them,” the cou-
ple said in comments to the
Morrow County Planning
Department. The Huxolls
also said there is no reason
to bring the line that close
to residential properties
when a better route would
be through an industrial
zone on the north side of the
I-84 freeway. They asked
the planning commission
to deny any request for the
power line.
Another landowner
whose property is actually
needed for an easement, but
so far has not consented,
are former county judge
Terry Tallman and his wife
Cheryl. The Tallmans are
critical of the project and
the condemnation proceed-
ings, saying the power line
is being sold as a transmis-
sion line when it is “clearly
a power distribution line
coming from a switch yard
directly to an end user (Am-
azon). This is not accepted
under utility facility (in
county codes) and does not
serve the public good,” the
Tallmans said in a state-
ment. The Tallmans also
said when it comes time
to redistribute power from
the end of the new line,
there will be more negative
impacts which must be ad-
dressed. They suggest all
distribution lines be placed
underground to lessen the
impacts on the city and
surrounding commercial,
residential and farmlands.
Tallmans say there may
be damage to humans and
plant life when exposed
to strong electrical fields
like those produced by the
overhead power lines. The
Tallmans operate a fam-
ily farm on land needed
for the new line, so their
property would be subject
to condemnation if unable
to come to agreement with
UEC. They also sited lack
of planning as a reason
condemnation proceedings
are even being considered.
Morrow County Com-
missioner Jim Doherty is
also a critic of the project,
and on several occasions
pointed to the lack of plan-
ning he says went into siting
of the new Amazon data
facility. He says that lack
of planning is the big rea-
son condemnation is being
pursued. “You can’t build
three fourths of a facility
and then go to the constit-
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uents and put it on their
backs,” Doherty said at a
recent county commission
meeting where the topic
came up. He also pointed
to poor planning in putting
the new data farm, which
is now under construction.
in a location without ade-
quate electricity. “This was
not pre-planned and now it
is causing havoc with our
constituents,” he says of the
landowners facing possible
property condemnation.
Echenrode on the other
hand says the last thing he
wants to do is condemn and
take away anyone’s proper-
ty for an easement, saying
the co-op is still talking and
working with landowners to
avoid it. “Over thirty years
I have been in this business
I have dealt with thousands
of property owners and I
can count on two hands
the number that have been
condemned,” he says. He
adds that in the past seven
years he has been with
UEC they have not done
any condemnations. But he
points out, it is the electric
co-op’s mandate to provide
electricity where needed.
“That’s our job,” he says.
UEC has already obtained
consent from about 64 per-
cent of the landowners
along the transmission line
route, which covers about
80 percent of the property
needed for construction of
the new line.
The UEC engineering
firm working on the project
estimates an unapprised
value of approximately
$112,959 to obtain ease-
ments from four different
unsigned property owners.
Many other property own-
ers have already signed up
to allow the new power
line. The co-op must get all
the necessary easements in
place before it then comes
to the Morrow County Plan-
ning Commission for ap-
proval of the final power
line route.
As far as different
routes, the engineers looked
at two others and found
them unacceptable because
of a combination of costs,
safety issues, environmen-
tal impacts, impacting new
properties or adverse effects
on agricultural land. The
engineers also looked at in-
creasing the size of existing
115kV lines in the area to
the larger 230kV but found
that economically unfeasi-
ble because of a cost of over
$30 million.
As far as the timeline
for the project, the PUC has
not yet set a public hearing
date for UEC’s request for
Petition for Certificate of
Public Convenience and
Necessity, which is the
prelude needed to begin
condemnation of proper-
ties. If the certificate is
granted UEC would then
then come to the Morrow
County Planning Commis-
sion for approval of the final
new power line route. Then
if planning approves the
route their decision is still
subject to final approval by
the three-member Morrow
County Commission.
Fire Department
offers drive-by
birthdays
The Heppner Fire Department is offering fire truck drive-by
birthday wishes for area kids. Contact Eric Chick for more
information.
Local students
named to dean’s list
Hunter Nichols of Heppner and Daisy Victorio of
Lexington have been named to the Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity dean’s list for winter term 2020.
Eastern Oregon University named 581 students to the
dean’s list for the 2020 winter term. Qualifying students
achieve and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or
higher on a 4.0 scale while completing a minimum of 12
hours of graded EOU coursework.
CALLING ALL HEPPNER & IONE 2020 GRADUATES!
(Or parents of graduates)
We need your Senior photos!
Please send us your photo to be included in the
2020 Graduate pages of the Heppner Gazette-Times
on May 20.
Please include your full name and which school
you are graduating from.
Email to graphics@rapidserve.net
County Commissioner, Morrow County, Position 1
Jim
Doherty
Nonpartisan
Occupation: Commissioner, Cattle Rancher
Occupational Background: Ranch Manager, Crops Manager,
Ranch Owner
Educational Background: Associates Degree in Production
Agriculture, Bachelor of Arts in Business and History
Prior Governmental Experience: President of the Association of
Oregon Counties; Morrow County Commissioner; Governors
Alcohol & Drug Policy Commission; Jefferson County SWCD chair; Morrow County SWCD; NACo
Representative
Re Elect: Jim Doherty - A voice for today, A vision for tomorrow
I have a deep love and appreciation for the people of Morrow County. I don't want to be the candidate that
professes, "I will work for the people," I want to be known for working with the people. I urge you to
engage in your communities. I invite you to become part of the process. People are only voiceless when
no one listens. I hear you! I have carried your message at home, in Salem and all the way to Washington
D.C.
A quote I admire from Theodore Roosevelt, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how
much you care."
Family: I am a fourth-generation Irish immigrant. My great grandfather saw shades of Ireland in the
rolling Morrow County hills. My mother raised along the banks of the Columbia River, in Boardman. I
celebrate 34 years of marriage with my wife Kelly. My son and daughter-in-law have also made Morrow
County their home.
County: I built my cattle operation from the ground up, with sweat, blisters, honesty and personal
relationships. I do the business of the County in the same fashion. I chair the N.E. Area Commission on
Transportation, ensuring Morrow County receives funding for road and bridge infrastructure. I strive to
make communities whole and craft healthy individuals by securing dollars to provide Arts and Culture to
our youth. The Loop program, Wolf committee, Federal forest, Farm, Fair and Health continue as my
priorities.
Endorsement: "Commissioner Doherty has been great to work with. I am happy to lend him my support"
- Senator Bill Hansell