RUS Comments are DUE!
Here’s the official poop from Stephanie Strength, USDA’s RUS:
When the deadline falls on a weekend, comments will be accepted postmarked the following business day or emailed through midnight of that day. In this case that would be Monday July 27, 2009. That said, it generally takes at least a month to prepare the scoping report and comments coming in past the close of the comment period will be incorporated as much as is practicable. Comments not considered in the scoping report will be carried forward into the public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
That means your comments will be accepted if you:
- email 11:59 p.m. Saturday, July 25th (why a Saturday deadline?)
email by 11:59 p.m. Saturday to: stephanie.strength@usda.gov
- Mail and have POSTMARKED sometime on Monday
Mail, postmarked no later than Monday, to:
Stephanie Strength Environmental Protection Specialist USDA, Rural Utilities Service Engineering and Environmental Staff 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571
Washington, DC 20250-1571
It seems that comments after the deadline may also be incorporated, but it’s not certain. Sooooo… get them in.
That said, I’ve been nosing around on the internet again, and am finding some interesting tidbits, like this one going way back, showing the intent of CapX as an integrated unit:
Legislative Electric Energy Task Force – Utility Perspective – Sept. 14, 2004
And then there’s the Cerificate of Need Scoping Decision for the “Environmental Report” that side-stepped joint environmental review with the RUS by flat out lying about the potential for RUS EIS:
Hi
I’m againist the capx2020, it’s interfering with the enviroment with its chemicals they use get rid of veggitation, impact on the migrating birds and our veiws of nature around us all. Lowering the cost of our properity also. We have these running right behind our ten acres the 345vk lines and they are huge and our health also is effected from these types of lines even though they say it has no effect on health. We talked with a doctor about these lines and he said he wouldn’t live ten miles from them and why would we, as of now we are planning to move from them and it is hard to find a places were there isn’t any high power lines. Why cann’t they use already exsisting line and extending them instead? We know they are going to use the coal power along with the wind, why is it going so close to these coal producing power plants its so noticable and why is there coal burning plants anyways of the governments are sooo green. We are so againist this project in this state and all the other states, we’ll help in any way possible to stop this project, out of hand. Thank you for this action an keep up the good work. Please keep us informed about any other support that we can do for you.
Kristan Rectenwal and Diane Frye