Sumner council approves 31-year aerial easement for BrightNight battery lines

The Sumner City Council voted unanimously to grant an aerial right-of-way easement to BrightNight, allowing the energy-storage company to install and operate overhead transmission lines that will connect its battery energy storage system to the White River Substation.

The easement, adopted by council after a staff presentation, grants BrightNight rights in a vertical column of air above the roadway and is limited to a 31-year term with two options to extend for 10 years each. Deputy City Attorney Doug Roof described the scope and limits of the agreement: "It is an aerial easement ... a 60 by 85 area, and then 25 feet above that area, going up to wherever the FAA regulates, would be where they have their rights to put their transmission lines." He added the lines themselves are expected to be mounted around 45 feet above ground.

The easement requires BrightNight to construct, operate, maintain and, if necessary, remove the lines. Roof told the council the agreement contains an automatic termination clause if BrightNight loses its leases for battery facilities and allows the city to remove lines after written notice if BrightNight fails to do so. He described a bonding requirement that would be periodically recalculated "to keep up with inflation plus 10%" so the city could pay for removal and repairs if needed. Roof said the city would be able to take down the lines after written notice and a 120-day period; later in the meeting staff referenced a decommissioning period of 121 days.

BrightNight representative Jess Meline told the council the system will be "an energy storage system that's connected to the White River Substation," with three power conductors and two fiber/communications lines (OPGW) to monitor and control the facility and grid interactions. Meline said the company had previously obtained the conditional use permit for the facility and that the current request only concerned the aerial easement that encapsulates the transmission lines.

As compensation for the easement, BrightNight will pay $25,175 that the city intends to direct toward design work for improvements at the Forest Canyon Road and East Valley Highway intersection. City staff described that payment as a community-benefit contribution tied to the easement rather than an impact fee. Councilmember questions covered emergency access, potential need to relocate lines if the city rebuilds the roadway, and the mechanics of mortgage/collateral for lenders; staff said easement rights may be mortgaged as part of broader project financing and that the easement would be limited in scope to the lease term to align with the company's property interests.

Councilmember Greg Elfers moved to adopt the easement; the motion was seconded and carried by unanimous roll-call vote. The ordinance and the signed easement specify the city retains authority to require relocation or removal of lines in the future if necessary for public works projects and allows the city to perform removal and repair and recover costs if BrightNight fails to act.

Supporters at the meeting noted the project's potential tax and economic benefits; staff materials provided to council estimated long-term tax contributions from the facility over its life. BrightNight also provided renderings of the lines and staff offered a Street View tour to show where poles and lines would be sited near the Cascade Water Alliance property and the White River Substation.

The council's approval covers only the aerial easement described in the document; several council members requested and staff agreed to provide additional information on the community-benefit payments and permitting details if council wishes to review them further.