Tomorrow, the public “meetings” for Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement begin…

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

1:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Plainview American Legion

215 – 3rd St. S.W.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

1:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Pine Island American Legion

108 – 1st Ave. S.E.

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Thursday, April 14,2011

1:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Cannon Falls High School Auditorium

820 East Minnesota Street

Here are some handouts I’m printing up:

DEIS Comment Form

Buy the Farm – eminent domain option in Minnesota

DEIS Issues Info

It’s SO important to show up, do NOT presume anything by the labels “Preferred” and “Alternative.”  Everything is on the table, make NO presumptions!

Here’s a little something that I find fascinating, that little matter of connection of the Prairie Island-Blue Lake line into this mess at the Hampton Substation.  It’s deemed part of the Hampton-LaCrosse line in the Applicant’s FERC rate recovery filings and came up a while ago in Minnesota and recently in South Dakota:

The northwestern terminus of the La Crosse Project wlll be the new Hampton Substation, which will connect the new 345 kV transmission line to the existing Prairie Island – Blue Lake 345 1cV transmission line in the vicinity of Hampton, Minnesota. From the new Hampton Substation, the new 345 kV transmission line will be routed to a new substation (North Rochester Substation). This segment of the La Crosse Project will be approximately 40 to 50 miles long and will be constructed using a double circuit compatible configuration.

Once more with feeling – please take a look at this and tell me where you see the Prairie Island-Blue Lake line (that green line with dots, right below “33”) connecting to the substation!

It’s been filed with the identical language in SD and MN:

SD Rate Filing – see p. 4-5

PUC Docket 09-1048 – Rate Recovery p. 32 of 102 (pdf)

Here are some other things that stand out to me that MOES needs to do:

Point out homes that are not shown on the maps.

Disclose the full range of potential magnetic fields in all the configurations proposed for this project.

Address impact of the width of the Right of Way (see DEIS Table 8.4.1-1):

· RoW must be wide enough assure magnetic fields are below 2mG at the RoW edge to protect the health and safety of the public;

· Disclose chart showing width of RoW necessary to assure mG level at 2mG or lower;

· Identify basis for RoW width.

Comply with the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act:

· Must have more than one completely separate route; and

· Must have more than one river crossing location a Alma (as is being done in the UDEA’s Rural Utility Service EIS that is in the works).

Incorporate the Rural Utility Service EIS into the MOES EIS.

Minnesota policy of non-proliferation means that transmission must use shared railroad and highway rights of way. Minn. Stat. §216E.03, Subd. 7(b)(8); (e).   MOES conflates Minn. Stat. §216E.03, Subd. 7(b)(8) and 7(b)(9).

· DEIS must identify shared railroad and highway rights of way and tally independently;

· DEIS must identify separately from parcel and field boundaries;

· Include maps showing only shared railroad and highway rights of way.

· DEIS must not include or characterize ag land survey lines or other natural division lines as

“shared corridor.”

Minnesota policy supporting agriculture requires that transmission corridors, if sited on ag land, utilize survey lines or other natural division.

· DEIS must identify separately survey lines or other natural division lines utilized to avoid disruption of agricultural operations;

· DEIS must identify and set out survey lines or other natural division lines separately from railroad and highway rights of way;

· DEIS must not include or characterize ag land survey lines or other natural division lines as “shared corridor.”

Take a look at the DEIS, here’s MOES DEIS page:

MOES DEIS page

Comments on the DEIS are due Friday, April 29, 2011, transmitted by 4:30 p.m..  Send to:

Matthew Langan
State Permit Manager
Minnesota Office of Energy Security – Energy Facility Permitting
85 7th Place East, Suite 500 | St. Paul, Minnesota, 55101

By fax: 651-297-7891

Or by email: matthew.langan@state.mn.us