NC county halts plans for utility substation

CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) - Leaders in a western North Carolina county have temporarily stopped plans for a Duke Energy substation that would be near a sacred Cherokee site.

By: The Associated Press | WNCT
Published: March 16, 2010

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CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) - Leaders in a western North Carolina county have temporarily stopped plans for a Duke Energy substation that would be near a sacred Cherokee site.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Swain County commissioners have approved a 90-day ban on electrical and mobile telephone towers. They say that gives county staff time to research an ordinance to regulate their construction and require public input before they're built.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Monday praised the decision. The substation was planned on a hill overlooking a site that archaeologists think is the ancestral mother town of the tribe. It was inhabited at least 9,000 years ago and tribal members say the substation would desecrate the site.
The newspaper said Duke's district manager, Fred Alexander, didn't immediately return a message.
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Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com

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