GOVERNOR APPLAUDS DELAYING DRAFT EIS ON
GATEWAY WEST

(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter praised a decision by electric utilities and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to review alternative routes for the Gateway West transmission project proposed by Rocky Mountain Power and Idaho Power.

The BLM issued a statement today announcing a delay in issuance of a draft environmental impact statement on the project while concerns about the proposed route continue to be addressed. Governor Otter said the decision showed a commitment to working closely with counties, citizens’ groups and private property owners to address concerns.

“There’s no doubt that we need more and better ways to get electricity from one place to another, especially here in Idaho. But that can’t mean shortchanging private property rights or engaging in unnecessary conflicts. This is a great opportunity to work collaboratively toward achieving a solution we all can live with,” the Governor said. “I’m encouraging the BLM, utilities and all the parties involved to review their options and work through the challenges as quickly and professionally as possible. What we do with Gateway West will go a long way toward showing the federal government that we can resolve our own issues here in Idaho.”

Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power want to build and operate 230 kilovolt and 500 kilovolt transmission lines from the proposed Windstar substation near the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Glenrock, Wyoming, to the proposed Hemingway substation near Melba, Idaho. The project as originally proposed would involve 11 transmission line segments with a total length of about 1,150 miles across southern Wyoming and southern Idaho. The line would cross about 500 miles of public land managed by the BLM, including 300 miles in Idaho and 200 miles in Wyoming.

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