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QUINCY, ILL. -- A surprising letter landed in the mailboxes of some Quincy residents. More than 4,500 property owners received, or will receive the notice from the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois has two routes in mind for high transmission power lines that will run through Quincy as part of the Illinois Rivers Transmission Lines project. Their goal is to minimize the amount of property affected and stay away from established homes.

The ICC's letters warned property owners that those lines may affect their property.

"There's no way to know how it's really going to impact you, so I checked online and there's no way of knowing where your property is and where the lines are going to be," Homeowner Cindy Stupavsky said.

Stupavsky and her family are included in the thousands affected by the Illinois Rivers Project. A proposed substation along the route would be located less than a mile from the home her family built off South 36th St. 8 years ago.

Stupavsky noted,"My concern was primarily the health and safety of my family. I know what with the emissions that they are claims that it causes leukemia."

The CDC sites studies into the affects of exposure to emissions similar to those from the high powered lines. The medical community seems to be at odds on the subject. Different studies have come up with different results.

The transmission line project brings other, more immediate concerns as well. A representative from Quincy Association of Realtors says those living close to the lines can expect a decline in property values, especially those within view of the lines. Stupavsky wishes the Illinois Commerce Commission would have sent the letters long before the public hearings.

"I think I'm just a little bit disgusted with the fact that Ameren has not-I don't want to sound so harsh, but I guess that they have not been up front enough about this. When they talked about having notified the people of the meetings through the newspaper, I don't think it was clear to people that it really affected them. I don't think they really noticed there were meetings because it didn't pertain to them," Stupavsky said.