Q.C. seeks FAA's approval for power-line route

A route for large power lines favored by Queen Creek and many of its residents wouldn't hinder aircraft if landing procedures at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport were updated to meet new criteria, an aviation consultant hired by the town determined.

But because the Federal Aviation Administration hasn't had time to review the landing procedures, Queen Creek's town manager isn't counting on using the new information to convince a state commission to put the Abel-Moody Line along the town's preferred route of Germann Road.

"This is a really frustrating situation for Queen Creek. We believe we can, with irrefutable evidence and facts, prove that the Germann Road route creates no hazard," Town Manager John Kross said.

The FAA initially determined that the Germann route could create a hazard for aircraft.

However, Ken Scarborough, senior project manager with Planning Technology Inc., believes that wouldn't be the case if the project was evaluated with updated information.

The FAA changed some of its criteria for landing procedures in December 2007 as pilots became more comfortable using GPS technology, Scarborough said.

The new criteria require less of a buffer between planes and obstacles on the ground in certain situations, he said.

So while new procedures are designed with those criteria in mind, the FAA hasn't had time to update procedures at every airport in the United States, Scarborough said.

"Up until now, they haven't updated this (at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway) because it didn't make a difference to the airport. The poles aren't there. The computer program spit out the numbers that said the poles have to be (shorter) at this point because the computer has the old model," Scarborough said.

The Arizona Corporation Commission's line siting committee is hearing testimony on which route the 20-mile, 230-kilovolt line should take from southeast Gilbert to northwest Pinal County. The committee will make a recommendation to the commission, which will have the final say.

Salt River Project favors a route along the Rittenhouse railroad corridor that turns east on Ryan Road and south on Signal Butte Road.

Queen Creek prefers running the line along Germann and Meridian roads, which would put the line on the Queen Creek-Mesa border.

"All we were trying to advocate with Germann Road was, 'Can we share the negative impacts with this very large power line?'" said Kross.

According to Scarborough's analysis, reviewing the procedures using the updated criteria would allow lines along the road without them being designated a hazard, even in emergency situations.

"We're asking (the FAA) politely to look at the new criteria so we can plan accordingly," Scarborough said.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor confirmed that the agency had received an inquiry. An evaluation hasn't been completed yet, Gregor said. The person handling the case was unavailable Friday and a timeline wasn't available.

SRP spokesman Scott Harelson confirmed that the utility's aviation consultant is working with the town's consultant. Both believe outdated information was used for the initial evaluation.

However, that wouldn't necessarily make a difference in SRP's recommendation. More shorter poles could be required, which would impact more residents, Harelson said.

Also, one reason SRP prefers Ryan Road has nothing to do with airplanes. There are homes on both sides of Germann but only one side of Ryan, Harelson said.

Kross said the town will continue seeking the FAA evaluation even if it doesn't come before the line's route is picked.

The current standards would prevent the town from constructing buildings higher than 41 feet on the northern edge of town. Queen Creek hopes to attract aerospace, biomedical and other businesses to that area, which typically would result in buildings that are 55 or 60 feet tall, Kross said.

"The collateral impacts are so incredibly significant. It would throw out 20 years of land-use planning that the town has done," Kross said. "The only other land use you can really consider there would be residential. And no one wants residential uses in the flight path."