Got Citizens Task Forces!
DISTRESS!!!
Spent an afternoon at the PUC, just about lost it, but prevailed and got what we set out to get.
It never ceases to amaze me the oppositional positions taken by the Dept. of Commerce. Xcel Energy isn’t the one objecting to Petitions for Citizens Advisory Task Force, it’s Commerce objecting, and they will do just about anything to prevent a Task Force. Why? Because Task Forces have a habit of ferreting out the truth about an application, vetting it in a way that the state toadies will not do.
Dig this – none of the Intervenors in the Certificate of Need proceeding were on the Commerce list that was served with Notice of the PUC meeting and the Staff Briefing Papers! The PUC site was constipated and I couldn’t get in, had been checking every now and then, and finally got on mid-afternoon Monday, and THERE IT WAS! So I fired off a Petition to Intervene and a Petition for Citizens Task Force (see prior posts). And from the way that hearing went yesterday, you’d think Dakota County area was the only one that deserved a Task Force — guess again!
And that’s just the start. CALL SCOTT EK AND RAY KIRSCH AND SIGN UP TO BE ON THE A TASK FORCE. LET THEM KNOW IF YOU’RE “HELENA SUBSTATION TO LAKE MARION SUBSTATION” OR “LAKE MARION SUBSTATION TO HAMPTON SUBSTATION (through Dakota County) OR “MINNESOTA RIVER CROSSINGS” OR …
Scott Ek, Project Manager
651-296-8813
scott.ek [at] state.mn.us
Ray Kirsch, Public Advisor
651-296-7588
ray.kirsch [at] state.mn.us
Copy deborah.pile [at] state.mn.us
The Task Forces are going to be organized geographically, that’s why it’s necessary to tell them you’re in the “Helena substation – Lake Marion substation” area or the “Lake Marion substation to Hampton Corners substation” area, or on the leg going from “Lyon County to Granite Falls” to join with the Big Stone II transmission in Granite Falls. Or if you’re concerned with “River Crossings” because this line crosses the Minnesota River at least twice…
Get to your friends and neighbors and family along the proposed Brookings route and let them know this is their opportunity to dive in!
I strongly support the Modified South Route because it impacts fewer homes and affects less people