The noise hasn’t gone away, and neither have the residents who are trying to turn it down.
It’s been two weeks since the Bonneville Power Administration flipped a switch that nearby residents say turned a quiet transmission line into one that makes as much noise as having an idling semi-truck in your back yard.
Bonneville has apologized and said it will work with the 200 homeowners who live along the more-than-13-mile-long transmission line pinned between Snohomish, Monroe and Woodinville.
But that doesn’t cut it for the members of SoundDown Organization, the new grassroots group of property owners trying to force BPA to eliminate the noise that the 500-kilovolt power line makes.
"We believe we’re the only community like this in Washington state, where the voltage was turned up without any warning," said Dulane Crist, SoundDown’s president. "Bonneville has made the statement that they apologize, but they have made no effort to (eliminate the noise)."
The transmission line had been operated at half capacity since the 1970s but is now carrying 500 kilovolts, the maximum amount of power it can handle.
Operating the line at capacity — it’s now carrying enough electricity to power half of Seattle — has turned the formerly silent power line into one that buzzes loudly and constantly.
BPA spokesman Ed Mosey said the agency can’t lower the amperage to reduce the noise because it needs the capacity to serve growth in the region.
Crist said SoundDown has formed a committee to compare filing a class-action lawsuit vs. filing 200 individual lawsuits. Others are looking into ways that Bonneville could reduce power line noise.
BPA is studying the problem and is meeting individually with homeowners who request a meeting. The federal agency will also hold a meeting with the community next week.
Reporter Lukas Velush:
425-339-3449 or
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