The Tennessean
Published: Saturday, 05/06/06
By CLAY CAREY
Staff Writer
Marcie and David Silverman found their dream home in southwest Rutherford County, a simple but elegant brick house on 15 acres of pastureland, surrounded by working farms.
They bought it, Marcie Silverman says, to escape the crowded neighborhoods of Franklin. Now, the growth that drove them out of Williamson County is threatening their new home.
The Silvermans and several other families in that part of Rutherford are holding their collective breath as the Tennessee Valley Authority considers land that includes their homes and farms as possible sites for a 60-acre, steel-and-concrete substation.
Without the substation, TVA says, it won't be able to meet the skyrocketing energy demands created in large part by growth in Rutherford and Williamson counties. Mur-freesboro could need as many as 4,000 new hookups in the city this year and 5,000 next year. Another electric provider expects to add as many as 32,000 new customers to the 112,000 it already has in those counties.
But many who live in and around the four sites selected as its possible footprint fear the substation's forest of towers and high-voltage transmission lines will cost them their rural identity and, in some cases, their homes and livelihoods.
"We will find another place to live, but we don't think we'll find another place like this," said Marcie Silverman. If TVA decides to build on a site near the intersection of Rehobeth and Patterson roads, the substation would take her family's home, much of their property and the barn where Marcie boards horses.
"The thing that bothers us the most about it is that it's such a wide-open community. This is going to be an eyesore to the area," she said. "It's just going to be a monstrosity."
The new 500-kilovolt substation will supply power primarily to Rutherford, Williamson and south Davidson counties, according to Roger Sparry, TVA's manager of siting and environmental design.
Rutherford and Williamson are two of the state's fastest-growing counties. According to U.S. Census estimates, their populations grew by a combined 46 percent between 1990 and 2005.
Demand for power in the area has kept pace, increasing by an average of 3.5 percent a year since 1990, according to TVA estimates.
At that rate, Sparry said, the demand for electricity will exceed TVA's capacity by 2010.
Two entities, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corp. and the Murfreesboro Electric Department, distribute most of the electricity that TVA produces for Rutherford and Williamson. Both project substantial growth in demand.
MTEMC has about 62,000 power customers in Williamson and about 50,000 in Rutherford. The power provider expects Rutherford County's customer base to increase by 10,000 to 12,000 in five years. In Williamson County, it's looking like 17,500 to 20,000 more customers in five years.
Larry Kirk, general manager of the Murfreesboro Electric Department, also expects big jumps. Right now, the department powers about 45,000 customers inside the city's limits. Kirk expects 4,000 new hookups this year and as many as 5,000 next year and doesn't anticipate that pace letting up.
Power substations "are major installations. We only build those when there are major needs in the power system," Sparry said.
Rutherford's new substation will require about 50 miles of new transmission lines. Some will be built on existing TVA rights of way; others will require acquisitions. TVA expects the substation and new transmission lines to cost about $96 million.
Sparry said the Rutherford sites had generated "a lot of inquiries" but little in the way of organized opposition. Often, he said, communities resist such projects.
"There may be some folks who would prefer not to live next to a substation or power lines or a food store or any other commercial or industrial effort," he said.
Many in the substation's possible paths say they're still trying to figure out exactly what TVA is
proposing and what, if anything, they can do to stop it. The agency first started telling property owners about its plans at an open house last month after it had identified the four potential sites. About 800 landowners were invited.
Anita Scott went to the open house expecting to give up a little bit of land for power lines. Instead, she learned that part of the farm that has been in her family for four generations was inside the same substation footprint that would cost the Silvermans their home.
"If there is a substation here, we'll be gone," Scott said, choking back tears as she looked over her family farm. "That is huge. My family has lived here forever."
Jim and Julie Vaughn are under similar stress. One proposed site would consume a large chunk of their property, Rocky Glade Farm. The farm, near Eagleville and about three miles south of Scott's homestead, is their primary source of income — they sell beef, pork, lamb, eggs and vegetables it produces.
If TVA selects their site, Julie Vaughn said, its substation would land right in the middle of Rocky Glade Farm. "It is the best ground that we have," Vaughn said.
They wouldn't lose their home, but the Vaughns would probably try to sell their property anyway.
"I don't think we could look at that every day and think about what it took away," Julie Vaughn said.
The agency could select its preferred site in the next two to three months, Sparry said. TVA would start acquiring land for the project in fall 2007, and construction is scheduled to begin that winter.
Convenience led TVA to the four sites under consideration. The agency was looking for level land that would make for easy road and power line connections.
"We fully understand the sentimental value some people attach to their property," Sparry said. "Obviously, we can't address sentimental value. Those issues are very hard to deal with."
Sparry said TVA would try to buy as much property as it needs, basing offers on comparable land deals in the area. If that doesn't succeed, TVA has the authority to condemn land for its projects, in which case a court would set the price the agency pays for it.
"We work with property owners and really have a pretty successful track record without having to go the condemnation route," Sparry said.
Scott doesn't want to sell her property, but, like others in the affected areas, she believes TVA will just take her land if it is ultimately chosen. "There won't be a choice. We were pretty well told that," Scott said.
The Vaughns went another step. Not long after they learned their farm was on TVA's site list, they hired a land-use attorney.
"This will impact our lives in such a huge way. We want to make sure we are informed as we can be about our rights," Julie Vaughn said. "This is our livelihood, how we make our living. We can't afford to make a mistake."
Others are simply waiting for TVA to give them an idea of what the future holds. The Scotts and Silvermans are both holding off on home renovations.
"Everybody's life is on hold," Scott said. "We're just waiting." •
