The Department of Commerce has issued the Scoping Document for the CapX 2020 Brookings line.

Commerce Scoping Decision – June 30, 2009

Look at this list of what’s outside the scope:

The “No Build” option is specifically excluded, and yet got zero serious attention in the “Environmental Report” for the Certificate of Need.  In the ER, they assumed applicants’ stated “need” and so dissed the “no build” saying it couldn’t meet all three types of need that applicants were claiming.  YEAH, SO???!!!???  And the PUC approves that lame excuse for environmental review of a project with this extreme level of impacts?

This whole siting docket is such utter bullshit.  If you recall, this is the docket where they had only two Citizen Advisory Task Force groups, despite interest across the line from east to west.  AND, this is the docket where both, not one, but BOTH, Citizen Advisory Task Force groups REFUSED to vote on route segments Commerce put before them — as I understand it, it was because of the way Commerce framed the “choices” so as not to be choices at all.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t there and, well, is it just me, or do the notes from the Task Force meetings refuse to come up for you too?

Minnesota River Crossings to New Prague Task Force Page

Lake Marion to Hampton Task Force Page

I’ll keep working on pulling those notes up from these pages in my spare time… SNORT!