Oregon Department of Energy to Hold Five Public Hearings for Proposed Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line

Contact:
Jennifer Kalez, 503-480-9239
Rachel Wray, 503-689-0294

SALEM — The Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Facility Siting Council will hold a series of public hearings on the Draft Proposed Order for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line in Eastern Oregon this month.

The proposed 500-kilovolt Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line would run about 300 miles from Boardman, Oregon to a substation in southwest Idaho. The Idaho Power Company-proposed transmission line would run through five Oregon counties, and would add a new substation in Boardman.

Idaho Power first notified Oregon of its intent to build the facility in 2010, and submitted its complete application in September 2018. ODOE facility siting staff reviewed the 20,000-plus page application and issued a Draft Proposed Order, which recommends approval of the facility – with conditions – to the state’s Energy Facility Siting Council. Siting staff reviewed the application against a number of criteria, known as Siting Standards. The 14 general standards and other facility-specific standards and regulations outline requirements for land use; soil protection; fish and wildlife habitat; noise regulations; and historic, cultural, and archaeological resources, among others.

Before any final decision is made by EFSC, it will hold a public hearing on the Draft Proposed Order in each of the counties through which the Boardman to Hemingway Line would travel:

  • Malheur County: June 18, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. (MDT) at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario

  • Baker County: June 19, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. (PDT) at the Baker City Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall

  • Union County: June 20, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. (PDT) at the Blue Mountain Conference Center in LaGrande

  • Umatilla County: June 26, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. (PDT) at the Pendleton Convention Center

  • Morrow County: June 27, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. (PDT) at the Port of Morrow in Boardman

The hearings will include a short information session about the proposed transmission line in each county followed by an opportunity for public comments. Oregonians can access more information about the proposed facility, view the complete application and Draft Proposed Order, and find additional ways to submit public comments on ODOE’s website. The public comment period ends on July 23, 2019.

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