Decision on Mark Twain substation postponed

By Karen Woodmansee

Appeal Staff Writer

Residents of Mark Twain who objected to an expansion of a Sierra Pacific Power Co. substation got a bit of a break.

Lyon County Commissioners voted 4-1 to postpone the decision on the special-use permit request by the utility to increase the size and capacity of the Mark Twain substation on Six Mile Canyon Road.

Commissioner Bob Milz wanted company representative Mark Sullivan to go back to the county planning staff and try to work out concerns raised by residents of the area and possibly move the substation to the rear of the nearby Mark Twain Park.

"We need what you are doing, but we need you to do it in a proper way," Milz said.

The upgrade will cover all of the company's two-acre lot on Six Mile Canyon Road across from Dwight Way, will include a 35-foot communication tower, and will be surrounded by a brick wall. It will increase electrical capacity of the substation from 60,000 volts to 120,000 volts.

Sullivan said the upgrade was needed to improve the stability and reliability of electrical service in the Mark Twain area and elsewhere. It would also create a circuit of power from the Tracy Power Plant in north Storey County to the Fort Churchill plant in Lyon County, taking pressure of the Brunswick station in Carson City.

Milz and several residents asked that the power station be moved away from homes to the other side of Mark Twain Park, where it would not be affecting people 24 hours a day.

Dave Lute, who lives nearest the power station, said it would diminish his property value and would cause noise and a safety hazard.

"I'm in my home 24-7," said Lute. "Most kids are only out at the park for a few hours."

Milz acknowledged that the power station was in place before most of the residences, but said changes in the county made compromise necessary, and suggested the park option, adding that the park needed another exit anyway.

Hope Nichols of Dwight Way, holding a small boy in her arms, told the commission that electromagnetic fields from power plants caused childhood cancer and other maladies.

Patricia Cooper said she understood that expansion was needed, but objected to the station being expanded so near homes.

"There are three pregnant women on that street," she said. "What about our health and finances? What about people in the neighborhood? Move it away from people."

Sullivan told the commission it would not be cost effective to move the station because then you would have to move all infrastructure associated with it, including lines and poles. He also said Lyon County ratepayers would bear the cost of any move.

Commissioner LeRoy Goodman voted against the continuance, saying the residents knew the power station was there when they moved into the area.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 881-7351.