Group Opposes New Power Line

KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson A preservationist group is asking the Rural Utilities Service to send Basin Electric "back to the drawing board" in developing a route for a major new power transmission line. The Killdeer Mountain Alliance wants the proposed "Antelope Valley Station- to- Neset" line re-routed to stay out of a 27-square-mile area set aside for study near the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield. Currently, the proposed route for the 278-mile line runs south of the actual battlefield site, but inside the study area. The Rural Utilities Service held a hearing on the proposal last Thursday, but members of the alliance say it was not well publicized to give members a chance to attend. The group says it would be a tragedy if the line were approved as proposed. Basin Electric officials say the company has been very respectful of the historic site and followed the proper procedure to apply for the needed permits. Construction on the line is scheduled to begin this year.