SunZia may employ way to outflank county OK

Eminent domain could clear proposed route for power line to Arizona

SunZia Southwest Transmission Project officials do not have to get authorization from the Socorro County Commission if it chooses to obtain property through eminent domain.

Socorro County Attorney Adren Nance said authorization from the county was not required for the 515-mile project that would transport energy generated from wind farms in eastern New Mexico to a hub just west of Phoenix. The project would supply electricity to users in Arizona and California.

“SunZia may either be able to utilize RETA (New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority) or may partner/ take on the authority of a utility to obtain eminent domain power,” Nance told El Defensor Chieftain.

SunZia officials initially told commissioners they did not have the right of eminent domain. But Pattern Energy official Loralee Hunt told commissioners last month that SunZia may seek eminent domain if it could not reach agreements with property owners along the route. Pattern Energy is the anchor tenant for the project.

Hunt told commissioners the preferred method would be to obtain the rights through agreements with private property owners. She said 78 percent of the property owners along the proposed route have already come to an agreement with SunZia. SunZia also has agreements for Bureau of Land Management and State Trust lands, which represent the majority of the land the project passes through in New Mexico.

The Board of Commissioners has passed a resolution opposing the project and passed a road ordinance placing restrictions on roads that could be used for it.