Power lines spark debate

By John Loesing Acorn Staff Writer

How the state will deal with its tight budget and how Sacramento intends to handle the issue of high voltage power lines on school properties are twin issues that have put the new Yerba Buena Elementary School in Agoura Hills on a hot seat recently.

The state wants to issue new guidelines concerning high voltage lines on school grounds and local officials say the rules could affect the outcome of the Yerba Buena construction project.

The California Department of Education classifies the electromagnetic field (EMF) that emanates from the power lines as a carcinogen on the order of lead and DDT. The department requires high voltage lines to be at least 100 feet from school property.

While the 66,000-volt lines that crisscross the 11-acre Yerba Buena site are less intense than those used in the state’s EMF studies, they still constitute a health risk to students and probably should be shielded and placed underground, officials said.

Parents, meanwhile, are questioning whether the school district has the funds not only to complete the school, but make it safe at the same time.

Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD) already has one construction project underway, the new Alice C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas. To shield the Yerba Buena lines in 28-inch steel pipe and bury them underground would add another $500,000 to the school district’s construction budget, according to LVUSD figures.

"The feeling here among parents is that we’re waiting until they’re done [with the Stelle Middle School], that the two projects will never proceed simultaneously," said Angela Cutbill, president of the Yerba Buena Parent Faculty Club.

The LVUSD Board of Education considered delaying the opening of Stelle Middle School for one year, a move that would save $500,000 in expenses. No action was taken.

Groundbreaking for the Yerba Buena school depends on how soon an agreement can be reached between the school district, the state and Southern California Edison over the power line issue.

"If we underground it, it will be much better for the EMF," said Rodney Hippenhammer, Yerba Buena project manager.

The site originally had been planned for the construction of 44 Agoura Hills luxury homes. When LVUSD took control of the property in a 2001 eminent domain procedure, the developer discontinued plans for the homes, but the power lines remained.

The school district hopes to sell half the property back to another developer and officials said that placing the lines underground will increase the value of the sale.

Studies show the wires attract the gas radon, a known cancer-causing agent. School officials, however, say the risk is minimal.

"The line in question here has never been attributed to any of these issues because it’s a very small line compared to the lines people are concerned about," said Donald Zimring, LVUSD deputy superintendent.

Cindy Sage, a state environmental consultant, said leukemia risks don’t develop until EMF reaches the two-to-five milligauss range (a unit of measurement for electro-magnetism). She said the lines at the Yerba Buena site offer the same exposure as seen in most residential neighborhoods or about .5 to 1 milligauss.

"You’re going to have a campus that is a milligauss or less," Sage said.

On a positive note, EMF dissipates very rapidly, she added.

"When done properly, it drops to one-eighth of the value every time you double the distance," Sage said.

The 1,700 feet of electric lines help distribute power from Edison’s regional sub-station in Moorpark to the outlying Conejo Valley-Las Virgenes areas.

Meanwhile, groundbreaking for the new elementary tentatively has been set for April.

"That’s technically possible, but we’re not sure," said Hippenhammer.

The 24-classroom elementary school will serve as the new home for students currently attending Yerba Buena. The move will allow adjacent Lindero Canyon Middle School to expand onto the Yerba Buena campus and relieve crowding.