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Proposed MATL line gets more approval than criticism |
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Wednesday, 19 March 2008 |
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Page 1 of 2 By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
 Sandy Broesder
Between 45-50 miles of the power transmission line would extend out in Pondera County using H-frame and monopoles. The line would be about 203 miles long with 130 miles of line being in the Big Sky state.
Not everyone attending spoke, either in favor or against the line. Starting at 6 p.m., it was scheduled to last until 9 p.m. but it was over just after 8 p.m.
Tom Ring from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Tony Como from the U.S. Department of Energy moderated the public hearing. Ring told the crowd about the second round hearing, “We want your comments. Tells us what we got right, or not.” Como added, “The only reason the DOE is involved is because the line crosses the Canadian border.”
Following are a number of comments made at the hearing:
Brett Doheny from Great Falls said, “We can’t have wind (farms) without energy. We have better wind resources than Texas, there is no reason why we can’t do this.”
Sandy Broesder, a Pondera County Commissioner, said the commission fully supports the MATL. She noted the budget for the county was $7 million and the estimated tax revenues from MATL would be $1.2 million. “That’s a big impact folks!”
Chris Berg of Conrad, in favor of the project, said MATL was good for the state and rural Montana and would help to further wind projects that are environmentally friendly.
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