Commission Finalizes Special Use Permit Plans

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The public hearing held Dec. 15 at the County Commission meeting finalized the plans for a County ordinance, which allows for the permit and construction of aboveground utility projects, either within or without, the Master Plan designated utility corridors. The ordinance is in pursuant to NRS 278-26503.

County Building Director Cory Lytle said ?We already had that in place, but this specifically puts it in the County Code.?

He explained the intent of the ordinance is to ?simplify the process for the applicant, and the ones that want to build these new projects, and meeting the obligations the County has to factor in. They like it that way, they want to make it good.?

Lytle was to meet with LCPD General Manager Dave Luttrell and BLM real estate specialist Ty Chamberlain this week to further discuss the Master Plan design.

Per the NRS, the above ground utility corridor Lytle explained, is a 200kv or higher design. ?That?s a big power line. You?re not going to see anything in the county locally that is going to be higher than 138kv, at least in our lifetimes.? he said. ?So, to spend a huge amount of time, resources, energy, etc., trying to plan for 200kv power lines everywhere in the county doesn?t make much sense.?

He said a line planned to go out to Rachel is not going to be any larger than 69kv, which is what many of the current lines in Lincoln County are.

There are also the Southwest Intertie corridor that NVOne put a new line in last year, a proposed 230kv line to feed Toquop, and the Fern River line, that goes through the southeast corner of the county to Mesquite, and the TransWest line, from Wyoming, proposed to go down through Clover Valley. ?I think those lines are going to be the ones that we (Lincoln County) designate as above ground 200kv or higher corridors,? he said.

After the map in completed by LCPD, the BLM and Lytle?s Building Department, he asked it be discussed as agenda item on the Jan. 19, 2015 County Commission meeting.