Over three years ago, Duke Energy decided to build a new tie station at Hyatt Creek in Swain County to upgrade their service due to the expansion at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel. The problem with that is the proposed station was in the view shed of Kituwah – a sacred site known as the Mother Town of the Cherokee.
Many in the area opposed the location of the proposed tie station including leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Swain County Commissioners and members of a group known as Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County.
That group filed a complaint with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in March 2010. That complaint was heard Aug. 2, 2011 and the Commission issued its findings for Duke Energy on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.
“The Commission concludes that Complainant has not carried its burden of proof to show that Duke acted unreasonably and inappropriately in its decisions and actions…,” the ruling states.
In August 2010, amid pressure from the Tribe and the Swain County Commissioners, Duke Energy announced it had abandoned its original plan and decided not to build the Hyatt Tie Station instead going with construction of a tie station at the Swain County Industrial Park.
– Staff Report
