VAN BUREN (KFSM)- The Crawford County Quorum Court unanimously passed a resolution Monday (Jan. 26) urging the U.S. Department of Energy to not approve Clean Line Energy’s application to construct a high-voltage transmission line through Arkansas.
The resolution was presented by Crawford County Judge John Hall.
The $2 billion, 700-mile transmission line would stretch from northwestern Oklahoma to western Tennessee, going through the entire state of Arkansas. The project would go through Sequoyah County in Oklahoma and Crawford, Franklin and Johnson counties in Arkansas. An interactive map is available here.
Mario Hurtado, co-founder of Clean Line, said the company added a separate project to the plan that would include an intermediate converter station in Central Arkansas.
In his resolution, Judge Hall asks the U.S. Department of Energy to carefully consider Clean Line Energy’s application for the transmission project and urges the department to not approve it “unless it identifies clear and substantial benefits to the State of Arkansas that exceed any detrimental impacts caused by the project.”
According to Judge Hall, the project will not provide energy to the citizens of Arkansas and could have detrimental impacts on the property of landowners in counties affected by the transmission line.
You can read the resolution here.
Hurtado said the project will deliver inexpensive clean energy to the mid-south and southeast part of the country.
The project is in the middle of a 90-day comment period where those with concerns can come forward by March 19. The Department of Energy is also reviewing the environmental and financial impact of the proposed transmission line.
The review process may be completed by 2015, with company representatives hoping for construction to start in 2016. Hurtado said he hopes the line is up and running by 2018.
