Author: FightDuke

WRTV 6’s Coverage of Our Fight

WRTV 6 covered our neighborhood’s concerns over the high-voltage transmission lines on Thursday night’s broadcast.

Brett Henk, president of the Autumn Lake Homeowner’s Association, said many people oppose the 65 to 70-foot towers.

“Those large transmission poles would essentially be in their backyard, possibly, most likely decreasing their value of their homes and resale. So, that’s a huge impact,” said Henk.

Duke Energy transmission line sparks concerns in Carmel.

Fox 59 Coverage

Fox 59 ran a story about our fight against Duke Energy on the Wednesday evening news on October 11.

“We are frustrated right now,” said Brett Henk, president of the Autumn Lakes neighborhood association.

He said homeowners worry about losing trees, a drop in home values, and possible health-related problems like cancer from the power lines that might hang just feet from many homes.

“I think they’re really concerned about having these high power distribution poles within the neighborhood itself,” said Henk.

Carmel neighbors fight powerline proposal.

Current in Carmel Article

Current in Carmel published an article about our fight against Duke Energy.

“We have notified Duke we passed an ordinance requiring all new lines to be buried,” Brainard said. “I suspect they will sue us, but it should delay it at the very least. The real problem is that privately owned monopolies don’t work. The Russian Communists proved that. If we have to have monopolies they should be owned by the ratepayers.”

Duke Energy’s plan to install new power lines meets resistance from Carmel neighbors, elected officials.

The Proposed Routes

Duke has presented us with three unacceptable options for the route:

proposed routes
Duke’s proposed routes

Route 1 –  East side of Rohrer Road

  • This route would cut down a 30′ wide strip of trees on the east side of Rohrer road, including some trees in people’s yards, inside their own fences. These trees are the only source of shade for these houses, and the homeowners would not be allowed to replace the trees after installation of the poles.
  • This route would not replace the existing poles on the west side of the road. Instead, it would  add additional poles, so there would be poles down both sides of Rohrer Road.
  • The wooden poles on the west side of the street would be the small ones. The giant metal poles they would put on the east side of the street would be 5-10 feet taller than the wooden ones.
Monon trail
The Monon trail would lose trees with routes 2 and 3.

Route 2 – East side of the Monon trail, from the substation to US31, and then along US31

  • This route would cut down a 30′ wide strip of trees on the east side of the Monon, from a little south of the Rohrer Road trailhead to the underpass at US 31, destroying the natural peace and beauty of the Monon trail.
  • These trees block noise and provide shade and privacy to the homeowners whose property borders that side of the Monon. The homeowners would not be allowed to replace the trees.
  • This route turns off the Monon to follow US31. Cutting down trees on this route will make the noise from US31 even more of a problem.
Autumn Lake
Route 3 would have transmission lines spanning Autumn Lake.

Route 3 – West side of the Monon trail, from the substation to US31, and then along US31

  • This route would cut down a 30′ wide strip of trees on the east side of the Monon, from a little south of the Rohrer Road trailhead to the underpass at US 31, then turn to follow US31. Like plan 2, this will destroy the natural beauty of the Monon and make the noise from US31 even worse.
  • Since there is a lake on this path, the line would need to span it. That means extra-tall poles would be put on each end of the lake. The beautiful cottonwood tree that’s stood there for hundreds of years would be replaced with a dangerous high-voltage line suspended over water.
  • Not only would the privacy, shade, and beauty of the trees be lost, but the view of the lake, which currently increases the property value of the houses that surrounded it, would be ruined.

The Proposed Substation

You may know there is already a small gas and electric substation on Rohrer Road. This substation would be built in addition to that one. It would be 3-5 times larger. It would be no less than 40′ tall at its tallest point, which is approximately twice the height of a 2-story house.

If you want to go on a field trip to see what a similar substation looks like, you can find examples:

  • 141st Street at Towne Rd
  • 121st Street between Michigan and Shelbourne Rd
  • 106th Street at Allisonville

Duke’s Proposed Project

transmission line
Example transmission line.

Duke Energy plans to build a large substation off the Monon Trail and Rohrer Road. They also intend to run a high-voltage transmission line through one of three proposed routes.

  • Research shows a correlation between the proximity of high voltage power lines and various cancers – the most prevalent being childhood leukemia.
  • Each route would cut down a 30 foot wide strip of trees, either belonging to the city of Carmel, including those along the Monon trail and homeowners.
  • Giant, 69 kV metal transmission lines would be installed. These are transmission lines, not neighborhood distribution lines.
  • Property values will be negatively affected for numerous homes near the transmission lines.

How You Can Fight

Duke is taking public comments only until October 12! Don’t let them take your silence as acceptance. Let them know you want better options to choose from

Your Carmel city councilperson wants to hear from you, too. They were unaware of this project until homeowners brought it to their attention:

These council members are on the Finance, Utilities, and Rules Committee: