Brookings County Planning and Zoning subcommittee addressed the issue of a proposed 765-kilovolt power line

BROOKINGS, SD (KELO.com) — It was a packed house Thursday night as a Brookings County Planning and Zoning subcommittee addressed the issue of a proposed 765-kilovolt power line.  A long line of residents testified against the line, expressing health concerns from stray voltage.  They asked the subcommittee to reject the project altogether, or to require large setbacks from residential areas and farms.

The line would cross the property of a Hutterite Colony.  Colony member Lawrence Wipf compared the power line to his colony’s recent application for a new hog barn: “That setback (for the hog barn) was a half mile.  So, why is that a half mile (setback)?  I’m sure it’s got its reasons, I don’t know exactly why, but it’s a half mile.  So, I would say in all fairness, this one should be no less than that, if not more.”

The subcommittee approved a 2,000-foot setback requirement.  Their proposal will go to the Brookings County Planning and Zoning commission, which will take up the issue early next month.