A Letter to the Editor in the Cannon Falls Beacon today — at the PPSA Hearing yesterday, we learned from one landowner that his home and five other nearby were NOT shown on the maps.  Houses were represented by little squares, and there were no little squares for his home and neighbors.  Shades of the Goodhue County nuclear waste application… anyway, here’s the LTE:

No CAPX2020

To the editor:

Why is it that with a project that could potentially affect 70,000 people from the Dakotas, through Minnesota, to Wisconsin, when the first CapX2020 document was filed in 2006, I have only heard of it just in time to stand before an administrative judge to give testimony that we neither need, nor want CapX2020 in residential and agricultural areas in Goodhue County?

Why is it that Xcel, Dairyland and nine other utilities have united in one group (CapX2020) so they only need to bypass the checks and balances (contained in the law to safeguard our freedom) ONCE, rather than the many times they’d have to do so separately if they were not in a combined group; and why is it that our legislature who’s supposed to be the voice of the people has given these same power companies exceptions to the statutes that are on the books for everyone else except the utility companies?

Why is it that after giving testimony in front of that same administrative judge that has yet to make a determination on whether we need the project, I am attending public meetings hosted by CapX2020 to determine the route of the project whose certificate of need has not yet been approved?

Why is it that when I attended those same public meetings and talked to someone in a leadership role to determine routing for CapX2020, that he said he had no idea – he was not aware there were so many houses in our area that may be affected by that route? It makes you wonder what else he was not aware of!

Why is it that I need to lose sleep at night worrying about the potential health hazards to my children and family that may result from CapX2020 being routed through a residential and agricultural area, when I live on a small dirt road with seven houses on it off the main highway, and I don’t live on a major state road or interstate highway that is already zoned for uses like the CapX2020 project?

CapX2020 is an unnecessary, huge power line that carries 345 kilovolts, 10-20 times normal power lines, which may be proposed to be doubled to 690 kilovolts in the future. The poles are over 15 stories high (170 feet) and will be visible for miles. Until electro magnetic field (EMF) exposure is proven safe, stop exposing citizens to potential risk, and don’t put it in residential and agricultural areas.

Why is it that when I chose to live in Goodhue County (an area that’s well known for its protective stance for agriculture, and its proud support of many of our longtime residents whose families have been in this area for many generations), I need to fight against the CapX2020 project that may jeopardize those same agricultural interests and families that work so hard to feed mine?

When evaluating the need for new high voltage power lines, Minnesota statutes require analysis of the direct and indirect economic impact of proposed sites and routes including, but not limited to, productive agricultural land lost or impaired.

Why is it that myself, and other property owners who are similarly affected, need to work so hard to inform others in the area of the potential damage to property values resulting from CapX2020, rather than have citizens in every township so affected join forces in a united voice against the project that’s impossible for CapX2020 to ignore?

No matter where we live in between Hampton and LaCrosse, let’s join forces in a united voice against a project that puts high voltage power lines in residential and agricultural areas and not on existing industrial rights-of-way.

The next meeting is tentatively set for JANUARY to inform the public as to the recommended route that CapX2020 will be submitting to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Check out the web site at www.capx2020.com for scheduling and specific route information.

CapX2020 IS AN UNNECESSARY, HUGE POWER LINE THAT THREATENS OUR HEALTH, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AND PROPERTY VALUES. ATTEND THE PUBLIC MEETINGS ON THE CapX2020 PROJECT and help us assist CapX2020 and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in making an INFORMED CHOICE when considering WHERE these 15-story power lines may be built as they travel across Minnesota and into Wisconsin.

Linda Grovender
Dennison