Tooele • It's beginning to look like David vs. Goliath.

Third District Judge Stephen L. Henriod made that comparison Thursday during a spirited hearing on Rocky Mountain Power's quest to erect a high-voltage line that would ply the foothills near Tooele's southern and eastern boundary.

The judge is weighing whether to issue an injunction to stop construction on the line pending a legal challenge by Tooele. His ruling could come next week.

At stake is a major power-grid upgrade for the burgeoning Wasatch Front. The proposed Mona-Oquirrh line would bring 500 kilo-volts from Juab County to a substation south of the Tooele Army Depot. From there, a 345 kilo-volt line would run east over the Oquirrh Mountains to Salt Lake Valley.

A second 345 kilo-volt line would run from the substation north to Interstate 80 near Grantsville and parallel the freeway eastward to a substation near the Salt Lake City International Airport.

No timetable has been set for the northern line along I-80, but Rocky Mountain officials say to meet demand, the southern line over the Oquirrh Mountains must be completed by 2013.

After months of haggling, the Utah Facility Review Board ordered in June that the southern line go forward. But Tooele filed suit in 3rd District Court last month and is seeking an injunction to halt construction until the case can be adjudicated.

Arguing on behalf of Tooele, Perrin Love said the Facility Review Board was unable by law to consider the findings of the county Planning Commission that the line would harm watershed, wildlife, view corridors and property values, among other things.

"Tooele's voice is not being heard," Love said. "We have been denied a forum to have our issues raised."

Beyond that, Rocky Mountain officials delayed seeking a conditional use permit until time was running short, said Troy Booher, an attorney representing Tooele County. The utility sought approval from the federal Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Public Service Commission and others before going to Tooele County in December 2009 for a permit by early 2010.

"They knew in 2005 the southern line was going to be controversial," Booher said. "[But] they planned it this way, so that when they got to the Facilities Review Board, they could say, 'it's now or nothing.'"

But David Jordan, a lawyer for Rocky Mountain Power, told Henriod that 3rd District Court is not the jurisdiction for sorting out the issues. Tooele County has appealed the Facilities Review Board decision to the Utah Court of Appeals and, therefore, cannot bring the same action in another state court.

Further, Jordan said Tooele County could have proposed alternatives before the Facilities Review Board. Under the law, a local government can choose its preferred route. The Review Board will then assesses who will bear the burden of any added costs.

"You can't say you didn't have a forum when you didn't present evidence because you were afraid of the costs," he said. "They were not denied due process."

But Henriod wasn't convinced. "A county with no money can't stand up to a party with a lot of money," he told Jordan. "It might not be a fair process."

csmart@sltrib.com Rocky Mountain Power's Mona-Oquirrh proposal

March 3, 2001 • The Tooele County Planning Commission denies Rocky Mountain Power's application for a conditional use permit.

March 30 • Tooele County Commission denies Rocky Mountain's appeal.

June 21 • Utah Facility Review Board overturns Tooele County, orders issuance of conditional use permit by Aug. 20.

Aug. 17 • Tooele County appeals to the Utah Court of Appeals.

Aug. 17 • Third District Judge Stephen Henriod grants Tooele city a temporary restraining order, halting the permit.