Zip Rail’s dying gasp…
February 16th, 2016
There was a big turn out tonight at Urland Lutheran Church, where at least 100 people interested in the Zip Rail joined Sen. Matt Schmit and DOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle to hash it out.
This project is so “not happening.” The state has pulled its funding, Olmsted County has pulled its funding, and the North American High Speed Rail Group is on its own (with no money).
County puts spike in Zip Rail project
MnDOT suspends its work on Zip Rail project
The last “Project Schedule” was published in March, 2015, 11 months ago to the date, and from that, it’s obvious this project is going nowhere, because nothing has happened since:
It seems many people want certainty, want this to END! They want confirmation that this thing is dead and buried and won’t reappear… but that’s not how these things happen. It’s moribund, “lacking in vitality or vigor.” In my humble professional opinion which I voiced at the meeting, based on over 20 years of wrestling with so many ill-advised and pipedream projects, there are two things to do:
- Write Comments on the Alternatives Analysis Report and file them with everyone who had any connection with this project, so they’ll put them in the file with the Alternatives Analysis Report, to “inform the record” and be found if it should somehow be resurrected. DOT says to send Comments to: webmaster.dot@state.mn.us
Sen. Matt Schmit says the link for comments should be: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/ziprail/comment-form.html
I would also send copies to:
Dan Krom
Director
651-366-3193
daniel.krom@state.mn.usPraveena Pidaparthi
Planning Director
651-366-3199
praveena.pidaparthi@state.mn.usGarneth Peterson
Environmental Coordinator
651-366-3615
garneth.peterson@state.mn.us
- Put feet up, deep breathe, move on, and keep a casual eye open in case it pops up again.
There’s nothing that can be done to force a more certain resolution, and it requires a bit of trust (and maybe experience with public process?) that it’s stopped, is without funding, and that’s that. Learn to live with it, it’s like a remission diagnosis, because there’s nothing to be gained from spending energy and effort being worried and fretful wondering if it’s going to come back, it’s time to live life.
What’s Chuck Michael going to do now? What could possibly follow the Mesaba Project “pipedream of green and clean” and then this flop called Zip Rail?!?!
Hot off the press, received from the DOT yesterday:
Environmental Impact Statement suspension
MnDOT has announced the suspension of work on the Rochester-Twin Cities Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (Zip Rail) process that had a Final Scoping Decision Document issued on Jan. 19, 2015.
This project is a voluntary EIS under state environmental regulations. Public funding constraints, as well as private sector actions to undertake a similar project, have led to this decision. As the Responsible Governmental Unit, MnDOT, along with its partner Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority, determined that the most appropriate step is to suspend the Zip Rail EIS at this time.
MnDOT is also notifying interested individuals and agencies that participated in the environmental review process about the suspension of the EIS.
For more information about Zip Rail in Minnesota, visit MnDOT’s Zip Rail website.
And in the RW bEagle, here’s Alan in the background!
MnDOT commissioner tackles questions on high-speed rail
By Michael Brun on Feb 17, 2016 at 12:05 p.m.
“It was frankly a little vague, and we were very reluctant,” Zelle said of the proposal.
Details for submitting a comment can be found at www.dot.state.mn.us/ziprail/contacts.html.
Zip Rail — Lobbying? Conflict?
January 16th, 2016
Yeah, Chucky’s baaaaaack! And if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck…
Chuck Michael is back and he has been for a while on this Zip Rail project. And it’s a small world, particularly in this public policy and infrastructure area.
Turns out it’s much smaller, he’s been working a couple of sides of this project, Olmsted County and apparently the North American High Speed Rail Group, meeting with officials in “other states.” And they’ve been to Washington, together, and have been lobbying hard in Minnesota, both Olmsted County and NAHSR:
And look how he’s represented for the conference, Twin Cities HSR Passenger Corridor, on which that article above was based, where an Olmsted County representative and a NAHSR rep are also on the bill:
U.S. High Speed Rail Conference
Hear about the new private high speed rail project advancing in Minnesota being developed by Zip Rail and North American High Speed Rail Group, a Minnesota company set up to develop, construct, own and operate electric high speed rail systems in the USA.
-Ken Brown, Olmsted County
-Chuck Michael, Twin Cities HSR Passenger Corridor
A project from Las Vegas to LA was waved around as competition to this Metro – Rochester Zip Rail, as in a threat of “build Zip Rail and if not we’ll go to Vegas,” and if so, doesn’t that “competition” mean it’s a conflict, and not working in the interests of Olmsted County? Or is it that Michael went “out of state” as in to Washington? It doesn’t say what project he was working on “out of state,” whether it was Zip Rail or something else. That should be disclosed.
But big picture, I don’t see this as much as a “conflict” as an “reporting” issue, because based on the conference presentation above, their lobbying together, because I’d guess the parties’ interests regarding Zip Rail, the positions/interests of Olmsted County and NAHSR are pretty much the same, though Olmsted County should have more of a sense of working in the public interest. THAT is a problem, and it’s Olmsted County’s problem and the voters there should address this!
More of an issue is declaration of those interests and where and how much money is devoted to pushing those interests. Who’s registered with Campaign Finance Board? Chuck Michael is not registered as a lobbyist under any entity. Nada… The essence of his job is lobbying, in Minnesota and nationally, and he’s not listed with the Campaign Finance Board. Not Olmsted County, and not North American High Speed Rail. I think it’s time Chuck Michael and the associations he’s working for on this project register and disclose.
Anyone that had anything to do with Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Project, as Chuck Michael did, needs high scrutiny.
Wabash Valley coal gasification plant closing!
January 13th, 2016
The Wabash Valley IGCC (coal gasification) generating plant was built as a demonstration project, and oh what a miserable failure that was. Such a failure that they’re now shutting down the coal gasification part and will be running only on natural gas.
After it was “finished” it took years of work, with at times 22 engineering contractors, to cobble it together and make it run. It rarely ran at capacity, and often didn’t run at all. Operating costs were through the roof. It also exploded and killed two workers, which made headlines just as our opposition to the Mesaba Project was getting into full swing, yet that explosion was just the tip of the iceberg in the many problems with this project.
Wabash River IGCC plant explodes, two workers killed
More on coal gasification plant explosion
Coal gasification explosion: metal fitting broke, released gas
Wabash River Final Technical Report(it was “routinely” in violation of its water permit for selenium, cyanide and arsenic)
And here’s the good news — IT’S SHUTTING DOWN FOR GOOD!
47 employees will be laid off. Wabash Valley Power Association to cease operations at sgSOLUTIONS
And:
Xcel objects to No CapX and Overland intervention
January 5th, 2016
Yesterday at the Xcel Energy rate case prehearing conference, Xcel’s attorney, Eric Swanson, stated that they’d be objecting to the No CapX 2020/Overland intervention. Just after that prehearing conference ended, their objection was filed:
Good idea, Xcel….
What do other Petitions for Intervention look like? What other Objections has Xcel made to Interventions? What do Petitions for Interventions that have been granted by an ALJ look like? Let’s compare…
Recently, Xcel Energy’s Chris Clark, who I’d been working in tandem with years ago when he was just lowly corporate counsel cohort opposing the legislatively mandated Power Purchase Agreement for the Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project said, “I just don’t understand why the transmission side hates you so!” (rough, not exact quote).
Well, Chris, I guess you’re gonna find out.
I presume that this is just a way to eliminate anyone that they haven’t bought off in the course of that “e21 Initiative” where they “reached consensus” about wanting a business-plan based multi-year rate plan — many of the usual suspects were NOT present at that Prehearing Conference and there’d only been two Interventions filed prior to the Prehearing Conference, and only one filed since.
Yeah, great idea. I testified against that effort at both Senate and House committees, where the room was backed full of those who’d “reached consensus” and they were all S-I-L-E-N-T as Sen. Marty and Rep. Garofalo ushered that bill through. SHAME! Will they show up for the rate case, and what position might the take? Certainly not anything challenging the “Multi-Year Rate Plan.”
There was an interesting twist too. I’d brought up that under Minn. Stat. 10A.01, Subd. 2, participation on a rate case is deemed lobbying, and requires registration and reporting when/if the thresholds are met, and requested that this requirement be addressed in the Prehearing Order. The ALJ clearly knew nothing about it.
Minn. Stat. 10A.01, Subd. 2. Administrative action.
“Administrative action” means an action by any official, board, commission or agency of the executive branch to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule under chapter 14. “Administrative action” does not include the application or administration of an adopted rule, except in cases of rate setting, power plant and powerline siting, and granting of certificates of need under section 216B.243.
I’d noted in the discussion that the lobbying statute is typically noted in the Commission’s referral to OAH, and thankfully, on the record, I’d thought to look at that Order, and there it was, p. 7:
And I noticed that Eric Swanson was very, very quiet during that discussion. HE is the one who charged me with not registering as lobbyist in the Not-so-Great Northern Transmission Line case, as attorney for Minnesota Power. That was such a low budget virtually pro bono operation that there’s no way either RRANT or I would meet the thresholds for registering or reporting. That gambit of his was just more harassment, trying to limit legitimate critique of their project and process.
So now, for a response to that Objection to Intervention of No CapX 2020 and Overland…
Three Musketeers? Three Stooges?
June 30th, 2015
Oh… My… DOG! Imagine Julie Jorgensen, Dennis Egan, and Mark Andrew, all for one, and one for all! Where does the public fit in?
I love solar, but with these three, their track records, lobbying shenanigans, and their public project and public money magnetism, I’m going to take a very careful and skeptical look.
More solar could be coming
Julie Jorgensen (Julie Jorgensen CV ) was a Chief co-conspirator in the Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project, thankfully now virtually defunct (discounting its zombie qualities. For more information go to www.legalectric.org and search “Excelsior Energy” or “Mesaba Project” or “Julie Jorgensen” or “Tom Micheletti” or “boondoggle” or “coal gasification” or “carbon capture” or “sequestration” or “IRRRB” or just “IRR” or “Iron Range Resources” or “Renewable Development Fund” and of course go to the Citizens Against the Mesaba Project www.camp-site.info and settle in for a good read. And from a little over a year ago — zillow.com says it sold, but who knows the real story:
Tom & Julie’s house is for sale February 2nd, 2014
And this on the money they sucked out of the IRRB… how much has been written off? And then there’s the state’s “Renewable Development Fund” Again! Legislative Auditor on IRRRB! April 19th, 2015
And Dennis Egan, he’s front man on solar projects HERE? In Red Wing??? Well, for sure he’s no longer ED of Minnesota Industrial Sand Council (that’s a google cache, I got a 404, “the site is crashed and should be repaired.” It might be different by the time you see this, I’ll check tomorrow).
April Fool on April Fools Day! April 1st, 2013
Mayor Egan Resigns March 7th, 2013
Where’s the Mayor’s resignation letter? March 4th, 2013
7p TONIGHT – Red Wing City Council Meeting February 25th, 2013
Mayor Egan to resign? Sand mining bill introduced! February 23rd, 2013
Last Mayor Egan post before Council meeting February 11th, 2013
KARE 11 turns up the heat on RW Mayor Egan February 7th, 2013
Red Wing Mayor Egan exposed February 6th, 2013
Mayor Egan – the voice of frac sand mining! February 5th, 2013
And then there’s garbologist Mark Andrew, champion of the HERC garbage burner in downtown Minneapolis.
Here’s some info about his garbage burner:
At a Mayoral debate, he did an inventive Al Gore:
And Mpls. garbage divides mayoral hopefuls – MPR News. Needless to say he didn’t get the job.
And now, these three are selling solar in the Red Wing area. What are they cooking up? Read the fine print very carefully, and keep all the public money tied down.