Email from Marshall (6/26)

Lets get these transmission line facts straight:
1. The TEP 345,000 volt line is only a Backup line, never to be primary line for Nogales, but is proposed to sell electricity to Mexico. (it's too expensive for us to use but we still have to pay to reserve it for backup purposes, about $15/customer/month and another $15/customer/month for capital costs, and even more if we ever use the TEP line).
2. The TEP line has 8 to 10 times the amount of power (500 MegaWatts, MW) we need.
3. Reliability is equal with either Citizens paid-for 115 kV (60 foot H-frame) line or with TEP's 345 kV (145 foot towers) line and better if there is a local power plant (it'll have 2 lines).
4. Citizens upgraded its present 115 kV line to 100 MW (good until 2025 or so) and present generators in Nogales add another 48 MW capability. Only six times has the demand exceeded 50 MW. We now have 148 MW total, at least 48 MW at the times. We aren't out of power.
5. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved only a 115 kV line in the county.
6. Cost for customers for new line is over $30/month/customer, about a 45% rate increase, which is NOT included in the present purchase power case.
7. TEP failed to complete its required draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) by April 2002, which is required, by law, for the DOE, DHS, DOS, DOD, DOI, USFS, and other federal agencies to make a record of decisions (RODs). Any of these agencies could kill this project if facts in the Final EIS result in significant negative impacts.
8. Arizona refused to require a completed EIS prior to issuing its permit to TEP.
9. AZ Line Siting Committee refused to "cooperate" with DOE in developing the EIS.
10. AZ Line Siting Committee and ACC approved the TEP permit with over 15 incomplete (most not started) and required environmental studies.
11. Statistically, over 55% of projects with an EIS (required for major environmental impacts) result in a major change to the project that must be accomplished before any agencies can issue their RODs. How can anyone decide what's best without the facts?
12. ACC prematurely issued its permit, a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility, before most of the "environmental facts" in the EIS were obtained.
13. As the Line Siting ACC hearings concluded, a Commissioner stated "and now its up to the feds to determine the environmental effects, we've done our part"

Powerline Summary:
Why should any ratepayer in Santa Cruz County pay over $85 million for a backup 345 kV TEP powerline when a $50 million local power station or $18-21 million for a second 115 kV (backup) line are far cheaper with less environmental impacts? This is our real "bottom line."

Something is wrong when our elected state officials interfere with the federal decision making process who are doing what is required by law for a commercial enterprise to meet federal property to sell electricity to Mexico.

The laws governing the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee are A.R.S. 40-360, and can be viewed at "www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/40/title40.htm"

Notices of the committee's public meetings can be found on the Arizona Corporation Commission's website at "www.cc.state.az.us" Also, you can get addresses of each of the Commissioners if you want to write them on this matter.

Documents pertaining the transmisison line project can be viewed at Docket Control at the ACC's Tucson office (400 W. Congress St), or, Phoenix office (1200 West Washington St)

The Dept. of Energy's website is www.FE.DOE.gov. To view TEP's application for a presidential permit (to transmit electricity across the US border) click on "Electricity Regulation on the menu at the top of the page, then click on Pending Procedures on the menu at the right side of the page.

From Tucson Electric Power's "Energy Update" May 2003

"...TEP's Corporate Communications Department will act as a clearinghouse for inquiries at company offices. For more information about the transmission line project, call 520-884-3630 or TEP's website at www.tucsonelectric.com and select "Company," then "News," then "TEP-Citizens Transmisison Line." Send email queries to Translineinfo@tucsonelectric.com ..."

The transmission line project web-site maintained for the Dept.of Energy by Tetra Tech, Inc. is:
"www.ttclients.com/tep" This site will allow you to leave comments; order a copy of the draft EIS; get the latest news; obtain meeting transcripts; view government correspondence; read a fact sheet on the project; view notices in the Federal Register; obtain DOE contact information and link to websites relating to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

If you would like to write our elected officials on the proposed transmission lines, here are two of our 'house' representatives and their mailing addresses:

Representative Raul Grijalva
United States Congress, 7th District, Arizona
1440 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Representative Jim Kolbe
United States Congress, 8th District, Arizona
2266 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC, 20515

RE. Tucson Electric Power Company (“TEP”) – Citizens Utilities Company (“Citizens”) Transmission Line – Docket L-00000C-01-0111 and L-00000F001-0111)

......And remind them to call, email or write to Dr. Jerry Pell by 6 June to indicate if they want a copy of (1) CD-ROM, (2) 30-page summary, or (3) 350-page complete Draft EIS. If they don't contact or post mark by 6 June, they will be removed from DOE's mailing list.

Marshall

Arivaca'a Connection Newspaper has website with a "Forum" page where a topic has been started on the power line issue. This forum allows anyone to post comments. The website can be found at
http://soazconnection.com/forum/ then click on "The Connection Forum"

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for TEP's proposed Sahuarita-Nogales Transmission Line Project will be published soon. In order to receive a CD-ROM version of the complete EIS, you can contact Jerry Pell at the Department of Energy at (Jerry.Pell@HQ.DOE.GOV), or leave a message at 1-800-430-4046.

The draft EIS will also be available on the Internet at http://www.ttclients.com/TEP/

The company that is preparing and will be issuing the Draft EIS is:

Tetra Tech, Inc
Attn: TEP EIS
5205 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1400
Falls Church, VA 22041-9922