Utility plan rouses suspicion

Environmentalists says they'll fight Progress Energy on its transmission line project.

By Chuin-Wei Yap, Times Staff Writer
Published February 24, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Progress Energy Florida] This map shows some possible corridors for future Progress Energy transmission lines.

TRINITY - Environmentalists are warily eyeing Progress Energy's plans to expand its power transmission capability through 10 counties from Levy to Polk.

In Pasco, the transmission lines could run through one of three routes: down west Pasco, through the Starkey Wilderness Park or alongside the Suncoast Parkway.

Progress officials said they are considering adding bike or recreation trails under these lines. The project involves adding lines to existing towers or raising new transmission towers alongside old ones.

But if Progress wants to take any public land for this project, it'll have to deal with some environmentalists who say they'll draw a "bright line in the sand" to block the utility.

"Our strong position is that Progress Energy should co-locate any and all transmission projects within the existing footprint of what they already have," said Joe Murphy, coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network. "Any widening of that corridor, whether it's in feet or a half-mile designation, we would strongly oppose."

The "half-mile designation" Murphy referred to had, until Friday, caused a storm of controversy: Environmentalists went ballistic when reports surfaced that Progress might take a corridor half-a-mile wide - that's nearly nine times the width of an interstate highway - for its project.

But in a meeting Friday with St. Petersburg Times news staff, Progress Energy officials said there was a miscommunication. The utility had identified a mile-wide corridor within which they would need a route up to 250 feet wide. Progress plans to pick its specific route by early 2009.

In the Starkey Wilderness Park and west Pasco, Progress would need no more than 125 feet, and might end up not taking any extra land at all, said Buddy Eller and Gail Simpson, the utility's representatives.

Progress already has existing lines running through the park and west Pasco.

But the company does not have a line alongside the parkway, so it could require up to 250 feet of right-of-way if the decision is to put the new lines there, its officials said.

"Wherever we can, we look to co-locate" with existing power lines, Eller said.

He and Simpson also said Progress would not clear any vegetation in the right-of-way unless it interferes with access or maintenance needs, or if the vegetation exceeds 12 feet in height.If additional right-of-way is needed, Simpson and Eller said, the utility might buy the land outright, buy an easement on it essentially a contract to use the property without actually owning it, or - as a last resort if negotiations fail - buy it through eminent domain proceedings.

Startling request

The possibility of a half-mile corridor had shocked even the people Progress had taken months to cultivate.

"I was truly startled," said Jennifer Seney, of Pascowildlife. "They indicated that they would use existing corridors, and I saw no problem with that. But if they're going to widen it to that astronomical width, I'm going to be one of those people on the other side."

In November, Seney had helped Progress officials select about 40 Pasco participants for a two-day "visioning" workshop, but she said she didn't participate in the workshop and hasn't been involved in the deliberations since.

Among those who attended the workshop was Frank Starkey, whose grandfather created Starkey Wilderness Park and whose family still holds substantial land in southwest Pasco.

"It sounds to me like it's possible that they could replace their facilities and buy just a bit of right-of-way," Starkey said. "If that's the case, coming down the existing right-of-way (through the park) would be perfect. ... To me, another few more feet has a less negative net aesthetic effect than coming down the Suncoast or the western route. I think those two are untenable. But only if it is a matter of a few more feet."

Throw in biking or recreation trails underneath the expanded lines, and the proposal might be even more attractive, Starkey said.

"We'll consider these kinds of things," Simpson said Friday, adding that they are not ruling out such crowd pleasers.

Swiftmud's view

The 13,000-acre wilderness park doesn't actually belong to the Starkeys. It belongs to the Southwest Florida Water Management District, also known as Swiftmud, and the new owners didn't have much to say about Progress Energy's plans.

Robyn Hanke, Swiftmud spokeswoman, said the agency is sitting on an advisory committee that Progress has created, but would hold back from giving opinions until it receives a firm application. Joanne Hurley, spokeswoman for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, which owns the Parkway, couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Until Friday, both Starkey and Seney said Progress has never been very clear exactly how much right-of-way it needed.

"I thought they were being as vague as they could possibly be," Starkey said.

Progress' assurances on Friday may defuse some controversy.

"I know they're trying to co-locate, and I appreciate that," said Rene Wiesner Brown, Pasco's environmental lands manager.

But it isn't stopping environmentalists who promise to keep the proposal under close scrutiny.

"It still doesn't change the fact that we would still be opposed to 125 feet," Murphy said.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com or (813)909-4613.

New transmission lines coming?

Progress Energy executives are considering building a new nuclear power plant in Levy County and, if they do, would need new or upgraded transmission lines to carry the high-voltage electricity. So far, they have outlined some general, large corridors (shown in blue) where those transmission lines might go. They also have identified four possible areas for substation sites (denoted by stars). At the substation sites, the voltage of the electricity would be reduced before it is distributed further.

[Last modified February 23, 2008, 20:36:58]