SHERWOOD PARK — A county east of Edmonton has lost a fight to force part of a high-voltage power line underground.
The Alberta Utilities Commission has rejected Strathcona County’s request that the panel reconsider its approval of the Heartland Transmission Line.
The $610-million line is to run near the city of Sherwood Park and the county wanted at least some of the cables buried.
Strathcona County Mayor Linda Osinchuk says she is — quote “strongly disappointed” — that the Heartland line will proceed above ground.
The transmission line has been controversial.
It was originally approved under fast-track rules brought in by former premier Ed Stelmach’s government, but critics have questioned whether the power is actually needed.
Strathcona County had argued that the province’s review of the other power lines constituted new evidence that could lead the utilities commission to change its decision.
The county also argued that the commission failed to give proper consideration to the impact of high-voltage overhead transmission lines.
“I want to assure our residents that we did everything in our power to represent the community’s interests and to bring the environmental and health considerations to the forefront,” Osinchuk said in a release Tuesday.
“We had tremendous support in these efforts from community members, who took a stand and got involved in a long and complex process. Unfortunately, the final decision was not ours, but the AUC’s.”