Port of Morrow
mourns the loss of
Ryan Neal
50¢
VOL. 141
NO. 4
8 Pages
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
High voltage power line location brings
crowd to county meeting
Route through Morrow County controversial
Boardman
Hermiston
Bombing
Range
Pine City
Pilot Rock
Lexington
Where the high voltage power line will be located in Morrow County is still undetermined. There is a current proposed route
and an alternate Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) proposed route currently under consideration.
By David Sykes
Although the long-run-
ning plan to build a 280-
mile power line from
Hemmingway, Idaho to
Boardman may finally be
close to construction, last
week’s commission meet-
ing proved there is still
controversy over where
the line will be located in
Morrow County.
A large crowd, mostly
farmers and ranchers whose
land will be under the power
line, crowded the meeting
room and into the hallway
listening as Idaho Power
representatives gave a proj-
ect update, and explained
how the company plans to
obtain needed easements
to build the high-voltage
500kv line.
Morrow County Plan-
ner Tamra Mabbott told
the crowd she and Com-
missioner Melissa Lindsay
organized the meeting after
hearing frustrations from
area landowners with the
siting process. “I heard
from landowners in the
Butter Creek area about
the frustrations they have
with the siting process of
the Boardman to Hemming-
way line,” she said. “It’s
been underway for 20 years
now and more robustly
for the last 10 years,” she
explained. Mabbott said
she and Lindsay contacted
officials from Idaho Power
asking them to attend and
talk to landowners as a
group, “get the truth out”
and dispel rumors circu-
lating around the project.
Company representatives
have apparently been in the
area for some time talking
to land owners about poten-
tial easements.
At the meeting from
Idaho Power were Joe Stip-
pel, project manager, Kurtis
Funke, real estate specialist
and Jeff Maffuccio, siting
coordinator. Also, there
and giving a presentation
was Kellen Tardaewether,
senior siting analyst with
the Oregon Department of
Energy which is also in-
volved in the process.
Tardaewether start-
ed off giving a complex
and detailed explanation
of where the Oregon cit-
ing process is currently,
and what’s left before final
approval is given and con-
struction can begin, which
is expected to be in 2023.
Officials say construction of
the high-voltage line should
take three to four years.
The process has been very
complex and a look at either
the B2H (which the power
line has come to be called)
or the Oregon Energy De-
partment web sites shows
thousands of pages of engi-
neering, environmental and
planning documents, maps
and images.
But last week it came
down to just the landown-
ers in Morrow County who
may be under the power
line, face to face with the
company representatives
who will put it there. “I
understand how everyone
feels and I know it’s not a
pleasant topic,” said Maf-
fuccio, adding he did ap-
preciate the “open dialog”
with property owners. “We
want clarity on what we
are trying to do, looking
at a different route through
this area. I know everyone’s
preference is for us and
this project to go away,”
Maffuccio said bluntly to
the crowd. “Everyone is
hoping for us and the proj-
ect to go away, but that’s
not where Idaho Power is
at right now,” he said, indi-
cating the project is moving
NEW
2022
FOR
food. The concerned citizen
fed the man and called the
Sheriff’s Office with her
concerns.
Deputy Daniel Thom-
as, Deputy Tamara Beard-
sley and Undersheriff John
Bowles responded and lo-
cated the man in downtown
Heppner. The subject ad-
vised he was okay and was
looking for a way to leave
town. He advised he took
a truck from Pasco and ran
out of fuel in Heppner.
The truck was located
nearby, and the keys were
locked inside. Dispatch
confirmed that the vehicle
was stolen out of Pasco.
Contact was made with the
The Port of Morrow has
announced the unexpected
passing of their leader and
friend, Executive Director
Ryan Neal. Neal passed
away the morning of Janu-
ary 18, 2022, from compli-
cations due to COVID.
“We lost a key member
of our port family. We are
all adjusting to the news.
ble to bury the high voltage
lines as it costs too much
money, up to 15 to 20 times
the cost of overhead lines.
Another farmer in the
proposed path of the line
asked why the company
had to keep pushing the
project when it would affect
so many people’s lives in a
negative way. “There will
be impacts on their lives
for the rest of their lives,
including myself, and those
hazards and risks seem
completely overlooked,” he
said adding he thought the
county commission should
investigate those risks. He
said the line will represent
“a huge firestorm that’s go-
ing to happen,” saying the
lines start moving around
when the wind blows. “The
data shows those lines can
start arcing at 35 mph and
the wind at our place was
recently pushing 50 mph.
Nobody has done their re-
search and you guys don’t
care,” he said of Idaho
Power. “When that thing
lights up my wheat field
then I’m done farming that
for six years.”
Maffuccio said as part
of the Oregon siting pro-
cess, the company is now
looking at an alternative
route rather than the orig-
inal path through Morrow
County, mostly to avoid
wind power construction
sites. “We started talking
with some landowners
about how we can avoid
major constraints like the
wind farms that are going
on. We need to get it (the
power line) away from
wind farms and away from
some landowners,” he ex-
plained. Maffuccio said he
understood that with the
group he was facing, “What
is most acceptable is none at
all, but we are going to find
something between here
and there.”
Project Manager Stip-
pel said the company’s goal
is come to agreement with
all the affected landown-
ers and obtain easements
across their properties for
the line. “We are committed
to working with landowners
to minimize the impacts.
forward regardless. The
company is in the process
of making an adjustment
on the route, and that ap-
plication is in front of the
Oregon Energy Facility
Siting Council (EFSC).
“We’re still looking at
this as a major opportunity,
along with Pacific Power
(a partner, along with Bon-
neville Power) to serve
customers in the future by
sharing energy between
the mountain west and the
Pacific west,” he explained
of the need for the project.
Maffuccio said there is
wind development in Wyo-
ming and solar in Idaho that
is and will be generated and
the company plans to “share
it throughout the Northwest
and the Pacific Northwest”.
He said Idaho Power is the
minority owner of the line
along with Pacific and Bon-
neville Power.
An example of the
opposition to the project
came from one Morrow
County landowner, Leonard
Van Burean, who also has
property in Washington
underneath high voltage
lines. He says he has experi-
enced fires and electrically
charged tools and equip-
ment from the electricity
and doesn’t want this now
happening to his Morrow
County property. (See re-
lated story, pg.2). When
asked, Idaho officials said it
truck owner who advised
was not economically feasi-
the Sheriff’s Office to go
ahead and open the truck
to retrieve the keys. Spe-
cial Deputy Terry Harper
responded to assist, as he
E L E VAT E YO U R A DV E N T U R E
is the resident expert with
locks. The truck was then
moved to the Sheriff’s Of-
fice until the owner could
pick up the vehicle.
John Quincy McClam-
my, 22, transient, was ar-
rested and charged with
Unauthorized Use of a Mo-
tor Vehicle. He was lodged
in the Umatilla County
Jail (UCJ) with a bail of
$10,000. UCJ also has men-
CHECK OUT THE ALL-NEW
tal health assistance for
2 0 2 2 P O L A R I S L I N E U P.
WE’LL HELP YOU LOCK
inmates if needed.
I N W H AT Y O U W A N T.
Transient arrested for stolen
vehicle in Heppner
On January 19 at 5
p.m., the Morrow County
Communication Center re-
ceived a call from a female
in Heppner, reporting a dis-
oriented man going through
garbage cans, looking for
Ryan Neal
His loss leaves a big hole.
It won’t be easy,” shared
Marv Padberg port commis-
sion vice-president.
“I know this will be a
huge loss. I admire Ryan’s
dedication to the region
and port industries. My
heart goes out to the Neal
family,” says Rick Stokoe,
port commission president.
After working in sales
and management across the
Pacific northwest, Neal was
offered the opportunity to
return to his hometown of
Boardman in 2015 when he
was hired for a management
position at the Port of Mor-
row Warehousing.
Neal began his role as
Port of Morrow Executive
Director in 2018. He was
passionate about giving
back to the community he
grew up in.
We will not pursue it unless
we have 100 percent buy-in
from everyone,” he said.
However, later when one
person in attendance asked
if Idaho Power would use
eminent domain, or the
taking of private property
through legal action for
public use, he was told,
“We try to get an agreement
with every landowner the
best we can, but unfortu-
nately when we come to
an impasse, yes we will
have to. We prefer to keep
it a negotiation between us
and the landowner and not
get the courts involved but
unfortunately if that has to
happen it’s a path Idaho
Power and the partners will
go down,” an official said.
One member of the
audience said going with
eminent domain would not
be good for the company’s
image. “It will be bad pub-
licity for Idaho Power and
will get in all the press,” he
pointed out. “How do you
guys as a company present
this as an opportunity to us?
Now that we have this huge
power line. What do we do
to turn this into an opportu-
nity for us rather than just
say, ‘Here it’s coming,’”
he asked.
Idaho Power says it
provides a potential back-
bone for future renewables
development. Representa-
tives said all power compa-
nies across the country and
every utility are being told
“get rid of coal. Coal mar-
kets are such that it is not
affordable or feasible. What
we’ve had for the last 60-70
years is coal and it is going
away,” they said, adding
that natural gas (generation)
“is the next one to go.”
“Solar and battery are the
next viable technology, and
I don’t know what’s after
that,” officials said, adding
that the line “opens up the
ability for landowners to
have those products on their
property. There is a lot of
sun here,” he added.
That prompted a com-
plaint from other property
owners who don’t currently
-See POWER LINE/PAGE
EIGHT
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