Last update: November 10, 2004 at 7:15 AM

Shira Kantor,  Star Tribune

Marla and Tim Vagts say they would consider moving rather than risk living under a high-voltage power line that a utility company says is needed to serve growing neighborhoods in Farmington and Lakeville.

Great River Energy wants to build the power line from an existing substation in eastern Dakota County to a proposed new one in Farmington. It is part of a larger project to serve growing demand for power south of the river.

The power line would run near the Vagts' home on 210th Street.

"I don't at all believe that there's no health hazards to living beneath power lines," Marla Vagts said.

But she said moving would be difficult emotionally and financially. She built her house 15 years ago and she said she has no doubt the value of her property would decline with a power line running overhead.

Great River Energy spokesman Dale Aukee said the company has proposed a "more robust" power supply system for the area.

Aukee said energy distributors are having difficulty meeting the communities' energy needs.

Several Empire Township residents have banded together to oppose the proposed route along 210th Street. The Vagts are among some 50 residents to sign a petition drawn up by the "Save the 210th Street Residents Group."

Neighbors proposed five alternate routes for consideration by an administrative law judge and the state Environmental Quality Board.

Judge Allen Klein was to take final comments on the issue Nov. 8, and was to issue a recommendation on a route to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) in the next 30 days.

The EQB will then decide what route to permit Great River Energy to use.

Health concerns

The Vagts said their main concern is the potential for increased health risks. They said they were particularly concerned with the potential effects of electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and the possibility EMFs could increase chances of getting cancer or other diseases.

The Vagts are also concerned about the future of more than 100 trees they planted on their lawn to help fend off dust from the unpaved 210th Street, particularly for the sake of Marla's 14-year-old daughter's asthma. They said construction of the power line could require removal of the trees.

One of the Vagts' neighbors, David Baker, joined three other residents in drafting a counter proposal including five other possible routes the power line could take.

"The road is not a major artery," Baker said. "It's the last plowed ... our little road is 33 feet wide and not paved at all."

Baker said he thinks Great River Energy is interested in building on 210th Street because it would allow the total project route to remain under 10 miles, the threshold the company would have to stay under to avoid having to demonstrate need to the Public Utilities Commission. Some of the 210th Street groups' alternate routes top 10 miles in length.

Aukee said Great River studied several alternate routes and determined that the path along 210th Street would have the least negative impact on residents and the environment.

"We try to balance social, environmental and engineering concerns" in choosing a route, Aukee said. "We try to emphasize social impacts more highly."

Aukee said Great River will allow the EQB recommendation to address residents' health and environmental concerns. He said that if the EQB should determine the company should build along a route longer than 10 miles, then Great River would supply the Public Utilities Commission with a certificate of need.