Legalectric

Spring of 2022, we stopped at Minidoka National Historic Site, a former Japanese internment camp, which opened not that long before we visited.

Hot off the press, in the inbox today:

The Boundary of the Oppressor: Challenging the Use of the Historic Footprint as an Appropriate Property Boundary for the Minidoka TCP

This is the second “internment camp” (prison) we’ve been to, a few years before, Manzanar National Historic Site, near “Independence” (really) California:

Manzanar – Information on Japanese American Internment

posted February 27th, 2017

Both sites obviously prisons:

Back to Minidoka, here’s the layout originally:

Here’s the boundaries of the area declared as a Historical site, maybe a quarter of the prison layout:

From the Addendum Report Defining the Boundary of the TCP (Traditional Cultural Place) Boundary of the Minidoka Concentration Camp:

The viewshed:

Viewshed is an important consideration because of the proposed encroachment of the 1,000MW Lava Ridge Wind Project.

Here’s the BLM Summary of DEIS Comments from August 2023 (EIS is not out yet).

From the BLJ’s Lava Wind Newsletter, September, 2023, here’s the BLM’s project environmental review schedule:

Final EIS a year from now? That’s a LONG wait! Gotta remember what comes after “Record of Decision,” and that goes back over a decade to the Mesaba Project. Seems BLM doesn’t want folks to know what that means.

I just fired off a Data Practices Act Request about the build-up to a “Special Planning Meeting” that’s coming up soon:

WHO’S A STAKEHOLDER?

Yes, there’s a Public Utilities Committee “Planning Meeting” coming up, and this one is “Special.”

But there’s some history before that, starting with the August 22, 2023 meeting, where they discussed… options to speed up our permitting process… well, ya gotta listen for yourself (starts at 1:30:50, though xmsn presentations before are worth a listen):

https://minnesotapuc.granicus.com/player/clip/2149?view_id=2&redirect=true&h=47f816d1629a68b097d9c02c12707629

Do y’all remember when Beth Soholt and Matt Schuerger were paid to promote transmission? That was when Wind on the Wires was a Izaak Walton program. Now, decades later, Beth Soholt is still being paid to promote transmission, and Matt Schuerger is “Commissioner” Schuerger, permitting transmission. Surprised much? And I have mixed feelings about Matt Schuerger’s participation in transmission issues at the Commission because of his Wind on the Wires “consultant” work and because he probably is the only one on the Commission who really understands the big picture. … sigh… Sullivan does express concern, seems he’s thinking… sigh… again…

Again, starts at 1:30:50. Note Chair Sieben asks for display of “language I worked with our staff” for discussion and decision:

Note the agenda did not have even a hint that this would be considered and that a decision would be made, “language” not posted, probably not handed out at meeting, and no opportunity for public to review and consider what they were doing:

Anyway, the result of this August 22, 2023 meeting, from the minutes, was “stakeholder meetings,” with stakeholders selected by “meeting facilitator” Dan Lipschultz :

There’s no docket for this “streamlining” effort, I don’t recall any notice of the “stakeholder” meetings (though I do get so many notices, could I have missed it?) — so how do we stakeholders who don’t count enough to be part of the group weigh in? There’s not even an agenda posted for the January 3, 2024 meeting, and if the report is due December 31, 2023, will it be posted post haste?!?!

ONWARD…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!! It’s the Annual Power Plant Siting Act Hearing, where we get to tell an Administrative Law Judge how we think our state’s system for Power Plant Siting works and doesn’t work. In these days of extreme regulatory capture, it’s hard not to just barf at the thought. But here we go again.

The map above was turned in at the 2006 PPSA Annual Hearing. It is an OLD transmission map, from 2005, long before Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII) became an issue, so don’t even think of claiming this is CEII info! The highlighted lines are rough approximations of the transmission lines proposed for CapX 2020 (PUC Docket CN-06-1115). The green squares are cute little coal plants, existing or planned, with megawatts ID’d. Every picture tells a story.

My comments, Round 1 highlights — full packet below:

When they’re talking about planned & proposed transmission what are they talking about? It’s a big, long list.

Here’s the Commerce handout:

Compare the list provided by Commerce, page 4, and note which ones are missing — that is which that have been assigned a PUC docket number, but aren’t in the list: 1( Brookings-Lyon Co. & Helena-Hampton (CN-23-200 & TL-08-1474); Wilmarth-North Rochester-Tremval a/k/a Mankato-Mississippi (CN-22-532 & TL-23-388); Big Stone So.-Alexandria-Big Oaks (CN-22-538 & TL-233-454). Here’s their list:

Here’s a rough map of what’s been and is proposed, from the 2001 SW MN 345kV line, to CapX 2020, to MISO MVP Portfolio, to the current MISO “Tranche 1” in Minnesota:

HOW MUCH TRANSMISSION CAN WE POSSIBLY NEED?

HOW MUCH TRANSMISSION SHOULD WE PAY FOR?

Here’s the Commission’s 4 color glossy powerpoint (and yes, Comment period ends January 12, 2024).

And here are my INITIAL Comments:

THIS is the most important part — CapX 2020 transmission was predicated on a 2.49% annual peak demand increase, which we knew then was bullshit, and utilities said, “Oh, that’s just a blip.” Right… we new better, and we have the proof it’s not a “blip.” The peak demand numbers in the chart and graph are taken from Xcel’s SEC 10K filings. Xcel in 2009 claimed 9,632.6 for 2009, though SEC filings said 8,615. NOTE: Demand is essentially FLAT over time:

So why are they wanting all this transmission, transmission that we pay for, that landowners forfeit land for easements, WHY?

Let’s focus on this and ruminate a bit…

City of Red Wing’s budget is stalled out after having reached an agreement, which some abandoned. The vote at last meeting was 3/3, and meanwhile the Mayor is threatening a veto. SHAME!

If the budget isn’t passed, from the staff report:

Agenda and Packet: https://redwingmn.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3026/overview

My belief is that they were trying to shut down the City, hoping that if they didn’t pass the budget and get it to the County, everything would grind to a halt. There were objections, but nothing concrete offered, just NO NO NO! That doesn’t work. That is abdicating their job, which is to get to a budget, pass it, and get it to the County.

For months, I’ve been sending missives about the budget, the hare-brained ideas I’ve seen and heard, the complaining and complaining without any offerings of reasonable solutions, and so I will have to break down and go to this meeting tonight.

Meeting over. I was so wound up at the meeting that when Chair Biese motioned at me during the meeting, I jumped up and let them have it — AND IT WAS THE WRONG AGENDA ITEM! OOPS! SNORT! It was one in the Consent Agenda that I had no comment on. Oh well, Biese let me get up again later for a short rehash for 11.A. AARRRRGH!

Here’s the primary docs from the City site – READ IT before complaining – what would you do differently? What services would you cut? What revenue sources would you pick up?

During the meeting, Councilor Kliewer tried to diss those raising the notion of cutting snowplowing service, saying, “I don’t know where that idea came from” as if we were making it up. DOH! It was in the “Mayor’s” Special Meeting packet and was discussed and discussed and discussed. Councilor Norton had been at that Special Meeting and called him on that, he just shrugged, looking down, shaking his head, and he did not acknowledge that he was pushing false narrative. After the meeting I went up and also called him on it, he said “I don’t remember hearing about that” and I reminded him that it was in writing, it was the Mayor’s September 12, 2023 “Special Meeting” and I’ll send him a copy. It is not OK to misrepresent specific things, statements intended to ridicule and discredit those raising issues, and DOH!, things for which we have documentation. DOH! DOH! DOH!

This kind of thing I will not let slide. I sent this and a few photos of the inevitable West Ave demo derby after snowstorms:

Just don’t do that — odds are you’ll get caught.

And the there’s the Mayor’s Marine Museum following on the agenda. I just couldn’t… Conflict much? And he didn’t even recuse. When they got to making the decision, the Channel 6 webcast died, white screen, and when I got to the webex, they’d moved on. So later…

Oh, what delightful news! Prosecutors have opened up tRump’s phone and are able to show what he was doing while the insurrection was on, what he was texting and to whom, what sites he was on, and where he was. I recall seeing clips of him in this tent, watching the crowd, excited, gleeful expressions.

Then the insurrection began in force, and he left, holed up in front of the TV, much as I was that day!

And now we’ll know what he was doing, who he was communicating with and when, and where those folks were at the time, and what was said between them. Here’s the filing — yup, I’m waiting with bated breath for this testimony: