Power lines to controversial mine under consideration

Phillip Franchine

The Sahuarita Sun

Tucson Electric Power is seeking public input on where to run a power line to the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains atop poles that could reach up to 100 feet.

Among the starting points under consideration are the TEP substation in Sahuarita, about a mile north of Sahuarita Road and a mile and half east of Nogales Highway, and a substation in the Vail area, TEP spokesman Joe Salkowski said. Other routes may be considered as well.

The company wants to propose a route to a state siting committee by summer and to bring a detailed proposal before the Arizona Corporation Commission by the end of the year.

“The process we are beginning is meant to define a preferred route as well as potential alternatives, based on input we received from area residents, elected officials and other stakeholders as well as engineering concerns and environmental and other factors,” Salkowski said.

TEP doesn’t have a cost estimate for the line, Salkowski said, “not even a ballpark figure. There are too many possible routes, so anything we offer would amount to an outright guess.”

TEP has begun the planning process for the line because Rosemont said it will need the facilities.

“We have a legal obligation to make service available to customers in our service territory who can cover the costs of service,” Salkowski said. “If the facilities aren’t needed, they won’t be built. It wouldn’t make much sense for Rosemont to foot the cost of building a line that isn’t needed.”

A TEP working group will decide on the preferred and alternate routes that will be proposed.

The proposed copper mine has been widely opposed in the Santa Cruz Valley, with many residents and business owners fearing it would hurt the scenic beauty and appeal to visitors. Elected officials are almost unanimously opposed, including Pima County Board members.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department said it would render the northern Santa Rita Mountains “virtually worthless as wildlife habitat and as a functioning ecosystem, and thus also worthless for wildlife recreation.”

The mine would be between seven and 10 miles south of Corona de Tucson and 15 miles east of Green Valley, roughly straddling the Houghton Road alignment.

The copper mine has not been approved by the Forest Service, whose schedule calls for a draft environmental impact statement to be issued in November and a final EIS and the Forest supervisor’s decision would come in July 2010.

The Forest Service plans to issue an update next week on the involvement of the cooperating agencies and the timeline for involving them in the process.

Details of the TEP planning process and a map of the area being studied are posted on the TEP web site at www.tep.com/Company/News/Rosemont/index.asp.

The public meeting is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on March 25 at Canoa Hills Social Center, 3600 S. Camino del Sol, Green Valley. A meeting also is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on March 24 at Acacia Middle School, 12955 E. Colossal Cave Road in Vail.

TEP is planning to build a 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission line to Rosemont, and a new substation at Rosemont’s site and would upgrade an existing substation. All the facilities are expected to be in service by mid-2011, Salkowski said.

Rosemont would pay the costs of the transmission line and substation, including construction, design and planning costs, Salkowski said.

The regulatory process that TEP follows is independent from the Forest Service process on mine approval.