SWEETWATER COUNTY – The Sweetwater County Commission will hear a presentation on PacifiCorp’s Gateway D2.2 Proposed Transmission Line Project. 

Gateway D2.2 is an additive project to the Gateway West and Gateway South projects. According to meeting documents, Gateway D2.2, “is a result of increased transmission need.” The meeting documents go on to state the project will “relieve operating limitations” by providing congestion relief and alleviating voltage issues. 

Gateway D2.2 is a proposed new 500 kilovolt AC transmission line approximately 143 miles from the Shirley Basin Substation to the Anticline Substation. The project will “deliver up to 1,100 megawatts (MW) of additional wind energy,” documents state. 

It would include a new fiber optic regeneration (communication) station approximately halfway along the line, near the county line. 

Approximately 69 miles of the transmission line will be in Sweetwater County, with 33 miles on Bureau of Land Management land and 36 miles on private land. 

Design and engineering is currently taking place, and project construction is expected to begin in the latter half of 2026 with a completion date of December 2028. 

Other Business

The Commission will also consider a resolution that addresses how county-funded entities are funded. Meeting documents explain that in the past, county entities have presented to the Commission and requested funding. Once an amount of funding was agreed upon, there would be a calculation made that took into account vehicle registration fees and mill percentage to attempt to fund the entity for the amount approved. 

The mill amount was then collected and distributed by the Sweetwater County Treasurer’s Office each month. 

The county currently has two different policies for funding the entities. The first follows the previous payment, while the second is an MOU the Commission made with the Fair Board to fund a specific amount regardless of the mill levy. 

Sweetwater County Treasurer Mark Cowan explains in meeting documents that, “there are potential issues” with both policies. 

“Entities with a mill levy may receive more or less funding than requested if tax revenues are higher or lower than projections. Entities with an MOU fixed amount may receive more funding than they otherwise would have if revenues were lower than expected,” meeting documents state. 

The document goes on to list Cowan’s suggestions moving forward: 

• The County to collect all 12 Mills.  
• Each entity requesting funding will be designated a specified amount to be funded during each budget season.  
• The amount funded will be divided into 12 equal payments and distributed monthly to each entity.  
• In the case of lower than expected County revenue receipts the County Treasurer shall determine the percentage the revenues are short on a quarterly basis, and future payments to the funded entities will be lowered by the percentage determined.

The Sweetwater County Commission will meet Tuesday, March 21, at 9 a.m. at the Sweetwater County Courthouse. To view the full meeting agenda, click here. To view the full meeting packet, click here.