Opposition voiced to energy corridor plan

Outdoor enthusiasts and environmental advocates voiced strong opposition Thursday to a multi-agency plan to designate energy corridors through Southern Nevada where future oil, gas and hydrogen pipelines and electrical power lines will cross the Mojave Desert.

Summed up by the first person who spoke against the plan, wilderness volunteer Bill Huggins, and 15 consecutive speakers after him, the message was simple: "No way. That should never happen."

Of about 50 attending the afternoon hearing at the Atomic Testing Museum, about one-third -- 17 -- gave testimony.

Only one speaker, Francis Cherry, an environmental specialist for the Kern River Gas Transmission Co., favored the proposal, expressing concerns that some corridors aren't wide enough and that other areas such as the McCullough Range need to be designated to add flexibility to the plan.

"Corridors through mountain passes and other obstacles need to be studied, and many need to be widened," he said.

Afterward, Department of Energy moderator Brian Mills, said no corridors proposed in the draft impact statement run across wilderness areas, although some in the 11 states covered by the so-called "West-wide" plan would pass near wild lands.

So far, there have been no applicants who want to use corridors, but "I'm sure there will be," Mills said.

Of the 6,050 miles of corridors targeted for designation under the plan in 11 Western states, 86 percent are on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, with 11 percent U.S. Forest Service lands. The rest are on land controlled by the Department of Defense, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Potential impact on the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, where part of a corridor would run inside its southeastern edge, drew the most criticism from speakers in the first of two sessions Thursday.

"Wildlife areas are not for power corridors," said William Belknap of Boulder City.

Patrick Clennan of Las Vegas followed, saying, "The resource that doesn't get much press is beauty."

An energy corridor in the Desert National Wildlife Range "would degrade the aesthetics, the beauty. I go there to escape Vegas, not to be immersed within it."

Written comments on the draft impact statement can be made through Feb. 14. A Web site, http://corridoreis.anl.gov, can be accessed to read more information about the plan, view maps and submit comments.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0308.