The Rural Voice, 1987-04, Page 121
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10 THE RURAL VOICE
HYDRO: LET'S MAKE
A SENSIBLE DEAL
The report of the joint hearing
board on the Hydro transmission lines
from the Bruce Nuclear Development
reverses a decision reached in hearings
some years ago. Priority is now given
to the Niagara Escarpment, a jumble
of natural rocks and ridges, and to the
beautiful hills of Grey County rather
than to the prime agricultural lands of
Huron and Middlesex counties. Did
former agriculture minister Dennis
Timbrell have more clout than the
present minister, Jack Riddell?
One of the anomalies of the re-
commendations is that Ontario Hydro
musr erect narrow
pedestal towers along
much of the route. It
was pointed out to me
that each of these nar-
row pedestal towers,
while saving possibly
half an acre of land,
costs $78,000 more
than a wide -based
tower. The man
who called me said
that it if concemed
his land he would
try to make a deal
with Hydro to have
wide -based towers
put up if he would
receive half the savings, or $39,000.
He figured that this would be a pretty
good deal for both parties.
If you think about it, he makes
a lot of sense, more sense than the
hearing board report does. The
$39,000 invested would bring at least
a nine per cent return, or $3,510. I
don't believe that there are many far-
mers who get such a return from half
an acre, even when subtracting the cost
incurred by having to drive equipment
around the obstruction.
The profit for farmers with a heavy
debt Toad and a high interest rate could
be even better. By paying off $39,000
on a loan at 15 per cern, the savings
would amount to $5,850. For most
families, that's enough to buy grocer-
ies for a whole year.
There is some room here for ser-
ious negotiation with Ontario Hydro
by individual farmers. But it has to
be the individual farmer who takes
on the job. The Foodland Hydro
Committee has argued from the start
that the loss of food production capa-
city is unacceptable. They now cannot
in good conscience turn around and say
that their principles are for sale, that
the decision is acceptable if the price
is right. I believe that the same
applies to the various federations of
agriculture and the
Christian farmers'
association. They
have talked them-
selves into a corner.
Or have
they? Most
counties have
new presidents
who could
probably say
that they took
no part in the
earlier argu-
ment. Possibly
they could nego-
tiate on behalf
of the "farmers -
under -the -line" who would be pleased
with the extra cash.
In addition, those farmers who
use aerial spraying could negotiate for
Hydro to buy them a large modern
field sprayer with precision instru-
mentation. This situation has its
parallels if the town of Goderich gets
a new runway for its airport.
There may be more ideas that the
Foodland Hydro Committee hasn't
thought of (yet). I'm sure the com-
mittee would be pleased to get input
from as many people as possible.0
Adrian Vos, from Huron County,
has contributed to The Rural
Voice since its inception in 1975.