There has been a flood of public comments in response to, and because a comment period opened about, Xcel’s request for permit amendments.\u00c2\u00a0 The lion’s share of them are regarding the short stretch of E-5 and AS-1, from landowners near the Quarry substation.\u00c2\u00a0 Because that substation was selected in the St. Cloud-Monticello routing docket, that’s the terminus for the Fargo-St. Cloud line, which is why I didn’t think the Fargo-Monticello route should have been split up.<\/p>\n
To check out the flurry of comments, go to www.puc.state.mn.us<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, click “Search eDockets” and search for docket 09-1056.<\/p>\n … and further south, problems brewing as landowners are faced with condemnation, or worse, shifting it just off their land so they get the impacts and no compensation.\u00c2\u00a0 From an article in the St. Cloud Times, it seems landowners were approached about easements, and then suddenly, the alignment shifted:<\/p>\n The Walshes say they would have taken the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buy the Farm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d option and others were considering it.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We think they realized, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have to compensate all seven of these people. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get it out of here,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u009d Belinda Walsh said.<\/p>\n CapX spokesman Tim Carlsgaard said the utilities are trying to keep the transmission line as far away from houses as they can.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our goal was to stay off their property to have as least impact as possible,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. However, Carlsgaard said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been any deliberate effort to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to keep it off your property so we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to pay you.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Uh-huh… right…<\/p>\n Here’s the full article:<\/p>\n <\/a>Written by Kirsti Marohn <\/a><\/a> The Walshes worry that the power line will loom across the skyline in front of the two-story, gray house where they have lived for six years, lower their home\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s value and possibly affect the health of their children.<\/p>\n But because the power line won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually touch their land, the Walshes \u00e2\u20ac\u201d along with their six neighbors \u00e2\u20ac\u201d won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get any financial compensation, the power to negotiate for damages or the option of having the utility companies buy their property. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s put the residents in the unique position of wishing the power line would be built closer to their homes, rather than across the road.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Legally we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any rights with it just off our property,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Belinda Walsh said. The high-voltage transmission line that will pass about 300 feet from the Walshes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 home is one of four lines the CapX utilities, including Xcel Energy, are building across Minnesota. Construction already is under way between Monticello and St. Cloud. The wires are supported by towers 140 to 170 feet high.<\/p>\n In June, the state Public Utilities Commission approved a route for the segment between Fargo and St. Cloud. It follows Interstate Highway 94 for most of the way between Fargo and Sauk Centre, but then veers south of the freeway near Freeport. A portion runs along Stearns County Road 2 between Cold Spring and St. Joseph, where the Walshes and six other houses line the west side of the road.<\/p>\n Xcel and the other utilities are negotiating with landowners for easements along the CapX route. In most cases, a 150-foot easement is needed within the 1,000-foot corridor approved by the PUC.<\/p>\n Under a 1973 state law known as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buy the Farm,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d homeowners and farmers can force a utility to purchase their entire property at fair market value rather than selling an easement.<\/p>\n The County Road 2 residents said they were visited last summer by a land acquisition agent, who told them an easement would be needed on their property.<\/p>\n But on Sept. 14, Tim Lisson, senior land rights agent for Xcel Energy, sent a letter to the seven property owners apologizing for the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153miscommunication\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that gave the landowners the impression an easement would be needed from them. The approved alignment does not place any portion of the transmission line\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right of way on their property, Lisson wrote.<\/p>\n The Walshes say they would have taken the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buy the Farm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d option and others were considering it.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We think they realized, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have to compensate all seven of these people. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get it out of here,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u009d Belinda Walsh said.<\/p>\n CapX spokesman Tim Carlsgaard said the utilities are trying to keep the transmission line as far away from houses as they can.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our goal was to stay off their property to have as least impact as possible,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. However, Carlsgaard said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been any deliberate effort to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to keep it off your property so we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to pay you.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Rights to claims<\/p>\n Nicholas Delaney is an attorney with the St. Cloud law firm Rinke Noonan, which is representing some of the landowners along the CapX line. He said landowners like the Walshes have few legal options because their property is not being taken.<\/p>\n In contrast, landowners whose property the power line does touch have the right to invoke the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buy the Farm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d statute or \u00e2\u20ac\u201d if they decide to stay \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they are paid for the easement area being taken. They also have the ability to claim damages for the remainder of the property, Delaney said.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a luxury that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist for someone who owns adjacent property next door,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n Delaney said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there can be no doubt\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that there are properties being affected by the visual impact of CapX that can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a claim for damages.<\/p>\n Xcel and the other CapX utilities have said they are willing to consider minor shifts to the line\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s route. They submitted 12 proposed route amendments in cases where all affected landowners were in agreement and the new route wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cause any additional environmental damage. But in the County Road 2 case, no amendment has been filed.<\/p>\n The utilities have the flexibility to put the power line anywhere within the approved 1,000-foot corridor, said Dan Wolf, spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission.<\/p>\n Complaints<\/p>\n Landowners can file formal complaints, which the County Road 2 residents have done. The law gives the utilities 30 days to work with the landowners to resolve the complaints, then they are referred to the Department of Commerce for review. Eventually, the PUC will make a decision on the complaints, Wolf said.<\/p>\n The residents say it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense to move the power line farther into a farm field, when state law requires utilities to use existing corridors whenever possible.<\/p>\n In an Oct. 11 letter to Lisson, Mark and Betty Philippi, who own the field, wrote that moving the towers farther into their land will make even more of it untillable.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would ask that you keep the towers as close to County Road 2 as possible as to not impact any more of my land, considering what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re already going to be disturbing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the letter stated.<\/p>\n Neighbors Alan and Judy Nelson had planned to spend their retirement in the home and yard they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been fixing up for years. They owned property in Glenwood when a controversial power line was built across west-central Minnesota in the 1970s.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We knew how the people felt when it went through,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Al Nelson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We never expected it to come here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n The residents along County Road 2 are critical of Xcel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s handling of the process. They say they have been given conflicting information and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel they can trust what utility representatives say.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The whole process has just been a nightmare for us,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Scott Walsh said.<\/p>\n The residents have enlisted the support of state Rep. Larry Hosch, DFL-St. Joseph, and Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville. Hosch said he thinks their concerns are legitimate. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult to argue that by moving the power line a few feet off their land that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to affect them, he said.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening to them is unfortunate and not right,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hosch said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to impact their land.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n When spread over millions of Xcel ratepayers, the cost to reimburse the County Road 2 residents would be minimal, Hosch said.<\/p>\n Compared to the overall cost of the line from St. Cloud to Fargo \u00e2\u20ac\u201d estimated at $255 million \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the expense of compensating a handful of landowners is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nothing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Scott Walsh said.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get away from this power line,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be here, and we just want to be treated fairly.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There has been a flood of public comments in response to, and because a comment period opened about, Xcel’s request for permit amendments.\u00c2\u00a0 The lion’s share of them are regarding the short stretch of E-5 and AS-1, from landowners near …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[370,341],"tags":[14,651,652,382,50,75],"class_list":["post-3549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fargo-st-cloud","category-stcloud-monticello","tag-capx-2020","tag-landowners-rights","tag-monticello","tag-transmisison-line","tag-transmission-lines","tag-xcel-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3549"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3551,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549\/revisions\/3551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nocapx2020.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}CapX 2020 power line worries neighbors who aren’t part of compensation deal<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n11:41 PM, Nov. 7, 2011<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>
\nST. JOSEPH \u00e2\u20ac\u201d When the CapX 2020 transmission line is built along Stearns County Road 2 south of St. Joseph, Scott and Belinda Walsh and their four children will get a front-row seat \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but not much else.<\/p>\n
\n
\nRoutes<\/p>\n