DOE/EIS-0332; McNary-John Day Transmission Line Project Draft ...

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Affected Environment, Environmental
Consequences, and Mitigation
With regard to access roads, if Bonneville acquires an easement on an existing access
road along the project corridor and the landowner is the only other user, market
compensation would likely be 50% of full fee value or something less than 50% if other
landowners share the access road use. If Bonneville acquires an easement for the right to
construct a new access road for the project, and the landowner would get equal benefit
and use of the access road, market compensation would likely be 50% of full fee value.
If the landowner has little or no use for the new access road to be constructed, market
compensation for the easement would likely be close to full fee value. Along much of
the corridor where there are existing easements, land use limitations have already been in
place.
If the new transmission line crossed a portion of a property in agricultural use such as
pasture or cropland, little utility would be lost between the towers, but 100% of the utility
would be lost within the base of the tower. Towers may also present an obstacle for
operating farm equipment and controlling weeds at tower locations. To the extent
possible, the new transmission lines and towers would be designed to minimize the
impact to existing and proposed (if known) irrigation systems. In areas where new rightof-way
needs to be acquired, if the irrigation equipment or layout needs to be redesigned
because of the proposed transmission line facility, Bonneville would compensate the
landowner for the additional reasonable costs. In areas, where the new construction
would be within existing right-of-way, Bonneville would follow existing agreements
made with the landowner and work with them to minimize the impact to the irrigation
systems.
Environmental Justice
Minority and low-income populations would not be disproportionately affected by the
proposed project because the project would occur entirely within or adjacent to an
existing Bonneville transmission line corridor. The population that would be crossed by
the line are a mix of income levels and there are no minority groupings. Individuals from
these populations may experience positive benefits if they become part of the
construction workforce.
Impacts During Operation and Maintenance
During operation of the project, no impacts are expected to housing, schools, or water
and sanitary sewer systems, and only minor adverse impacts could occur to emergency
services, due mainly to the risk of fire. Positive benefits include increased service
capacity for the Bonneville transmission grid.
Property Values
The proposed transmission line is not expected to have long-term impacts on property
values in the area. Zoning is the primary means that most local governments use to
BPA McNary-John Day Transmission Project
Draft EIS
February 2002