NEW - CVA is committed to protecting the high quality undeveloped open space ranch lands from McCamey D to Kendall Substations

Clear View Alliance List of Intervenors

We Are Making a Difference

Thanks to Clear View Alliances efforts to inform and educate our representatives and agencies, the PUC has asked ERCOT to take another look at the need for transmission lines on the proposed McCamey D to Kendall route. Read the letter from the PUC to ERCOT here.

Stand up and be counted. This is a CVA call to action. Click here to watch the Call to Action videos.

We need you now . . .

You can help protect the Texas Hill Country from being forever scarred by an industrial complex of high-voltage transmission lines. This is the time to stand up and be counted!

As volunteers in this grassroots effort, Clear View Alliance is continuing to work on improving the process for determining the placement of these giant, 18-story high lattice towers and lines. The Public Utility Commission (PUC) is now questioning the need for some of the lines – and the need to thoughtfully question the need for them all. The PUC Commissioners have not been able to ignore the strong case we have made for siting the lines carefully so that the Hill Country’s productive open space, waterways and wildlife habitat are preserved now and forever.

CVA cannot do it without you. To see what is at stake, watch these short video clips, get involved and send the links to your friends.

The world is run by those who show up. If we want to save the Hill Country, now is the time to show up. The deadline for making our voices heard at the PUC is July 28.

Sincerely,
Bill Neiman
President, Clearview Alliance

Lattice Tower Delivery continues at Junction Lay Down Yard -200th truckload of lattice steel arrives. See video here

Every message to the PUC is important. See the videos posted on this page and send your E-mail to the PUC today.

Be sure to go see the videos and send a message to the PUC today!

Be sure to go see the videos and send a message to the PUC today!

July 27, 2010

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) urges PUC to hold off on selecting route for power line
By Candace Velvin - Boerne Star

As property rights advocates and landowner groups are hiring lawyers to fight the proposed route for a power transmission line through the Hill Country, State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) is urging the Public Utilities Commission to stop the contentious process and let the legislature address it in the upcoming session. Read article here

HOT NEWS! LCRA TSC Submits CCN Amendment to PUC

LCRA submits it's application to amend its CCN for the McCamey D to Kendall to Gillespie 345-kV CREZ Transmission Line in Schleicher, Sutton, Menard, Kimble, Mason, Gillespie, Kerr, and Kendall Counties, Texas to the PUC.

The LCRA application is available at the PUC website on docket # 38354.

Go to Resources page to find out how to look up a PUC Docket Number.

Did you know?

Clear View Alliance cares about taking care of the environment and preserving the Texas Hill Country for ourselves and the future of our children and grandchildren.

Land Preservation Pays in Long-term Public Benefit
by Vicki Wolf for Hill Country Alliance August 2009

Blair Fitzsimmons, executive director for Texas Agricultural Land Trust, says society values land solely on its potential productivity because they don’t understand the role that land plays in our environmental well-being, Quoted in a recent article in Cattleman Magazine, Fitzsimmons says land provides a wide array of public benefit. “It’s time to challenge the idea that development is always the highest and best use of the land,” she says.

It may seem that wide open spaces are unlimited in Texas. But there is a limit to how much population growth even Texas can sustain. A study by Farmland Trust shows that in the fastest growing counties 149 acres were lost for every 1,000 increase in population.

When land use shifts from open space to development, we lose much of the natural resources that were an integral part of that land. To preserve open space, landowners need to be able to quantify as well as articulate their value as land stewards. Fitzsimmons says we must explore every avenue that allows people to stay on the land and develop incentives that make it economically feasible.

In an effort to find out what agricultural lands and open spaces are worth, The Trust for Public Land has analyzed the economics of funding land preservation. They found that for each dollar invested in open space and farmland preservation , the return would be about $10 in ecosystem goods and services annually. Ecosystem goods include farm and fish products, outdoor recreational activities, and natural services like filtering the air and water, and controlling flooding.

If we lose the land in the Hill Country, we would have to pay to replace these services or allow our quality of life to decline. We either pay to preserve natural resources like trees and native grasses to prevent flooding or we pay to clean it up. Over time, preserved land pays for itself again and again.

Many thanks to Hill Country Alliance for permission to post this article.

Our Mission

The Clear View Alliance, Inc. is a non-profit formed to raise awareness and work to minimize unintended impacts from the construction of wind transmission lines.

Here Are Some Ways to Get Involved

Donate - With your donation you help us continue the research, keep information flowing and provide expert and community input on this critical issue. Click here to make a donation.

Stay informed - Join the CVA E-mail list for latest updates and check the website often. Click here for more information and to sign up.

Tell your friends and neighbors about the transmission lines issue and how it may affect your community. Encourage them to get informed and involved.

Contact your state and local representatives and let them know you want transmission line routes that do the least amount of harm to the Texas Hill Country. Click here for links to state and county websites and contact information.

Write a letter to your newspaper editor - Click here for tips on writing your letter

Attend Public Meetings - Our ability to influence decisions regarding the transmission lines is strengthened as more people participate on these issues.