Labrador Sends Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Regarding Gateway West Transmission Lines

Press Release

Congressman Details Defects with Proposed Preferred Alternative of Placements
in Ada, Canyon and Owyhee Counties

Monday, October 29, 2012

Idaho First District Congressman Raul Labrador has released a letter sent today to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar detailing serious defects regarding the Bureau of Land Management proposed preferred alternatives for the placement of the Gateway West transmission lines and towers through private and public property within Ada, Canyon and Owyhee Counties. The proposed transmission line would bring electricity to residents in Southwest Idaho.

"In a time of rising energy prices, the Obama Administration has chosen to simply ignore the collaborative solution reached by local stake holders in favor of a route that would likely result in additional delays. Stake holders in Idaho underwent a strenuous process only to have their efforts disregarded by federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C."

"An Administration that claims to be transparent has tossed a collaborative agreement amongst my constituents to the side. I commend the efforts of Governor Otter and I join with him in seeking an immediate solution to this crisis. We cannot stand for further delay of the Gateway West transmission line," said Congressman Labrador.

In the letter Congressman Labrador writes in detail of two particular areas where the BLM and its sub-agency, National Conservation Landscape System (NCLS) has both erred and over-reached.

The two defects raised by Congressman Labrador are:

*The NCLS contends constructing transmission power lines should not be permitted through this or any National Conservation Area (NCA) and therefore rejected the stakeholder route, which would follow an existing Idaho Power transmission line, constructed in the 1980's. However, the BLM/NCLS preferred alternative itself passes through the NCA in three specific areas for more than 15 miles. This decision is arbitrary and capricious.

*The BLM/NCLS decision to disregard the outcome of the stakeholder collaborative process reached by consensus is fundamentally at odds with existing federal law as specifically outlined under the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Congressman Labrador calls upon Secretary Salazar to exercise his existing authority under the Act of Congress which created the Snake River Birds of Prey to implement the recommended alternative arrived at by local stakeholders and state based federal agency representatives.

"This proposed alternative routing for Gateway West is a slap in the face to the residents and property owners of Kuna, Melba and throughout Owyhee County who have gone to extensive, if not exhaustive efforts for three years to arrive at a consensus based, collaboratively arrived at resolution that was the source of incredible conflict. If an agency, or an agency head, can capriciously and arbitrarily arrive at a decision so at odds with 40 years of established federal policy, such an agency will serve only to destroy the trust communities and groups should have that their government listens and even cares what its citizens' desire. This proposed alternative cannot stand," concluded Congressman Labrador.

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