Updates
September 12, 2013: The Bismarck Tribune updates this story.
The five tribes sent notice of their opposition to the Public Service Commission, which is holding the last of three public hearings on the project today in Williston.
The tribes’ unanimous vote of resolution was signed by Three Affiliated Tribes chairman Tex Hall and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate chairman Robert Shepherd, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the United Tribes of North Dakota. The two are chairman and secretary respectively of United Tribes.
Basin is planning to build a new 200-mile transmission line to carry some 500 megawatts of electricity from its lignite-fired Antelope Valley Station near Beulah into the oil patch west of Killdeer, through Watford City, Williston and over to Tioga.I assume these five tribes will also support the Feds coming back in to regulate fracking on the reservation, effectively shutting drilling down on their historic land. If the Bakken is shut down, the transmission line won't be needed.
Original Post
The $300 million project would route a 200-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line from the existing Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, west through Killdeer and then north through Williston, ending at a substation near Tioga.
It would run through the boundaries of a National Park Service study led by North Dakota State University history professor Tom Isern, who characterizes the battlefield as the most significant historic site in the state.
The 1864 Battle of Killdeer Mountain was a faceoff between native Dakota and Lakota fighters and Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully’s forces. With more than 2,000 fighters on each side, Isern said, “it’s the largest military engagement ever to take place on the Great Plains.”The Press says that the proposal will meet a lot of opposition. Of course, until now, no one, except Tom and six others have ever heard of this -- the "site of the largest engagement ever to take place on the Great Plains."
Maybe they would prefer a couple of wind farms instead. NIMBY.
Respectfully disagree with you here Bruce. North Dakota needs to protect this cultural resource and just re route the power line.
ReplyDeleteI live here and work here, and am a lucky participant in this progress. But we can move a power line and respect our past. Cultural values are important too. There is only 1 Kildeer, in a very flat state. It bears careful development.
From the article, it seems the utility's consultant clearly missed this in his report.
I can find a reason not to build anything anywhere any more.
DeleteIn this case, I'm sure they can find a way to re-route the lines.