The U.S. Department of Energy issued a Record of Decision last month selecting the route for the TransWest Express Transmission Project, a proposed 728-mile high-voltage transmission line running from Wyoming to Las Vegas. When completed, the project will be able to transmit approximately 3,000 megawatts of electricity. Following the release of the Record of Decision, local counties once again made their opposition of the TransWest Express project known. A letter from the Duchesne County Commission dated January 30th states: “The proposed route of the power line…is unanimously opposed by all three affected counties in northeastern Utah (Duchesne, Uintah and Wasatch),” along with the request that the new objections be entered into the Forest Service objection record. The first reason listed for the objection is that the project should be located on public lands to the greatest extent possible yet is not. None of the power from the TransWest project will be available to the Utah counties making it of no local benefit and therefore should be located primarily on federal lands. The Duchesne County Commission also emphasized the loss that will be suffered by private property owners stating that one property owner in Fruitland has already lost a sale of property due to the proposed power line route. The Uintah County Commission and Wasatch County Council also issued their own letters of objection, citing similar concerns.
