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Power line won’t come through Westlock

A local landowner group has won the battle against a controversial power line route through the region. On Feb. 10, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) released its decision that Alberta PowerLine’s $1.
Alberta PowerLine’s Fort McMurray West Transmission line will not take the east route afterall, the Alberta Utilities Commission decided on Feb. 10.
Alberta PowerLine’s Fort McMurray West Transmission line will not take the east route afterall, the Alberta Utilities Commission decided on Feb. 10.

A local landowner group has won the battle against a controversial power line route through the region.

On Feb. 10, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) released its decision that Alberta PowerLine’s $1.8 billion Fort McMurray West 500-kV Transmission Project will take the west route through the County of Barrhead, rather than Westlock County.

“For us, all of our neighbours are very excited,” said East Route Landowner Opposition Group (ERLOG) member Nelson Jespersen, who was relieved by the result.

“Through this whole process we got to know our neighbours better and it’s amazing when people come together and have a common goal what you can accomplish. There’s a lot of hard work and time put into this and it was a good community effort, not just our group, but we were shown support all the way along (by) people that weren’t going to be affected directly.

“Even though it was trying at times, we came out strong as group and got the result that we needed.”

The outcome was two years in the making, ever since landowners received a mail-out in January 2015 stating that the east route would be an alternate route for the project.

With the line travelling from Wabamun to Fort McMurray, the project would have removed shelterbelts and in some cases, residences would have been within 250 metres of the transmission line.

“Some of our neighbours that were planning to move if the line came close to their house can now stay where they are and we can carry on business as usual on our farms and in our personal lives,” Jespersen added.

“The power line coming that close to them wasn’t worth the safety risk for their families, or the noise and other issues the power line would have created for them.”

AUC picks west route

In its February decision, the AUC went with the west route due to lower social, economic and environmental impacts — specifically on caribou rangeland, wetlands and vegetation. The west route also had fewer property, residential and agricultural disruptions and was less costly because it paralleled pre-existing cutlines.

“Although the commission approved the west route, it did impose conditions and those conditions related to mitigating impacts,” said AUC external relations director Jim Law. “Those were impacts on traditional land concerns — First Nations and Métis — plus there’s a caribou protection plan that was approved by Alberta Environment and Parks.”

Law explained that the need for the project was not up to the commission since it had already been approved as one of the last Critical Transmission Infrastructure projects under the Electric Utilities Act.

“Our role was looking at the routing and after the public hearing to determine which of the routes, if either one, was in the public interest,” he said. “In doing that they looked at environmental, social and economic impacts of the routing.”

Law added that prior to the public hearing, Alberta PowerLine did adjust its approved route because of requests from landowners and environmental concerns.

A notice of hearing was announced Dec. 29, 2015, giving interveners — groups opposed to the route — an opportunity to speak out. In the fall of 2016, a formal hearing was held in Edmonton over several weeks.

Although interveners along the west route may still appeal the decision, Law said grounds for that are extremely limited to cases where the commission made an error in law, or in jurisdiction.

“The decision made is intended to be final and intended to bring a certainty to the process, to the applicant and to the people along either one of the potential routes,” he said. “Once a decision is made by the AUC, because it’s made with all public input, the grounds through appeal through us is limited.”

The decision stands unless the Albert Court of Appeal overturns the commission’s decision.

The transmission project is expected to be completed and in service by June 2019.

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