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BPA Delays Kangley-Echo Project
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) last month announced the agency will delay its controversial Kangley-Echo Lake transmission project. The delay comes in response to concerns from environmentalists and members of the Seattle City Council that the proposed line expansion threatens the city's water supply. BPA wants to build an additional line adjacent to an existing line through the pristine Cedar River Watershed , which filters and stores Seattle's drinking water. The watershed route is cheaper than potential alternatives by more than $20 million. Critics point out, however, that if the watershed is damaged BPA could be on the hook for building Seattle a water filtration plant at an estimated price tag of $200 million.
Opposition has prompted BPA to take a second look at alternatives to putting the line through the watershed. A June 5 public hearing in Seattle drew a crowd from Maple Valley , a small community where one of the alternative routes is proposed. Homeowners in the area are "understandably outraged," said Michael Shank, outreach director for Biodiversity Northwest , the Seattle group spearheading environmental opposition to the watershed route. According to Shank, residents were made aware that Maple Valley was on the list of proposed routes two years ago but thought the alternative had been dropped.
Given the delay, Biodiversity Northwest is pushing BPA to take a second look at non-wire alternatives, such as targeted investments in energy efficiency and distributed renewable resources. BPA had claimed those alternatives could not be implemented fast enough to avoid what the agency says is a desperately needed new line. The group opposes BPA building in the Cedar River Watershed under any circumstances.
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Mark Glyde