The Reno City Council on Wednesday heard an appeal from NV Energy and the Heinz Ranch Land Company regarding a condition of approval imposed by the city’s planning commission. The issue concerns the construction of a new overhead power line in an area ranging from Bordertown in Cold Springs to the California substation in Verdi.
The project involves constructing a 12-mile line across 11 miles in Nevada, four of which are within city limits. The planning commission required a condition stating, “Corridor to match general alignment as presented in FEIS [Federal Environmental Impact Study].”
NV Energy obtained easements for the project, which “put the cart before the horse,” according to Nathan Gilbert, a city planner. According to the city, the easements did not align with the required FEIS and were not approved by the planning commission.
NV Energy appealed that the condition would not allow them to meet their obligations under the North American Electric Reliability Corporation rules and regulations. According to the public utility’s appeal, the standard requires the bulk electric transmission system to survive a concurrent failure of two system elements with no loss of load, no overloads, and no voltage changes greater than 5%.
“Without the Bordertown to California 120 kV Transmission line, we cannot meet this standard,” the appeal reads. “By forcing NV Energy to the alignment found in the EIS across private property, the City is creating an administrative taking, violating [state law] mandates that we route our line in a manner least injurious to property owners.”
Ryan Bellows, an NV Energy representative, asked the council to modify the planning commission’s decision to remove the condition.
Bellows said the route the Planning Commission is conditioning goes directly through the Stonegate Planned Unit Development parcel, owned by the Heinz Ranch Land Company. That’s why NV Energy worked with the owners to reroute the line around potential development.
Bellows said all private property easements were obtained and recorded between April and December 2020.
The requirement will cause “significant delay” to the project, along with litigation and added expense, Bellows said, as opposed to their proposal which causes the “least injury to private property owners who have agreed to NV Energy’s proposed route.”
Bellows said the condition could also lead to the project shutting down entirely, affecting west Reno residents.
Mayor Hillary Schieve said she believed more collaboration was needed.
“I was under the impression this would be underground power lines,” Schieve said. “I wonder how much outreach was done to other residents in that area. I’d be more comfortable with the EIS study that wasn’t done. It seems like there needs to be more collaboration with everyone. I think there is more work to be done.”
The council voted to deny the appeal and uphold the planning commission’s decision, with Taylor and Martinez voting against it.
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct name for FEIS, Federal Environmental Impact Study.
