NO! to transmission “Permitting Reform”
January 28th, 2022
There’s a Climate and Energy Finance and Policy committee meeting next Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 10:30 a.m.
TUNE IN HERE!
Why? Because they’ll be talking about transmission. “Transmission: Challenges, Solutions and Legislative Options for the Grid”
And a bill labeled “Permitting Reform” has been proposed which is up for discussion, and read it, it is SO frustration in that it PRESUMES transmission is needed.
JUST SAY NO!
HF XXX (Stephenson) Permitting Reform – 1/27/2022
This has got to go:
Sections 7, 8, and 19 are just so off, and I let them know:
For that Subd. 8 Transmission planning in advance of generation retirement, here’s what I suggested:
Simple huh…
WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ TRANSMISSION!!
I also referenced and attached, from the 2021 Biennial Transmission Plan docket, Commerce-DER’s Information Request 1, which asked:
The response to A was NO, over and over and over for each of the transmission owning companies (and then the response to B was uniformly “N/A.”)
So tune in, and find out why on earth they think we need transmission. WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ TRANSMISSION. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR EVEN THINKING THAT THERE’S ANY REASON FOR CAPX 2050.
Oh, but the FERC approved 10.xx% return on investment… riiiiiiiiiight…
If you’re interested in letting them know how you feel about this proposal, fire off a missive by early Monday so it will get to them in time to digest before Tuesday’s meeting:
I sent mine to the author, Rep. Zach Stephenson, and the Committee administrator, and then copied all committee members, and you can cut and paste, easy-peasy:
rep.zack.stephenson@house.mn, Committee Administrator <mike.molzhan@house.mn>, rep.jamie.long@house.mn, rep.patty.acomb@house.mn, rep.chris.swedzinski@house.mn, rep.robert.bierman@house.mn, rep.greg.boe@house.mn, rep.shelly.christensen@house.mn, rep.mary.franson@house.mn, rep. glenn.gruenhagen@house.mn, rep.athena.hollins@house.mn, rep.frank.hornstein@house.mn, rep.spencer.igo@house.mn, rep.fue.lee@house.mn, rep.todd.lippert@house.mn, rep.dave.lislegard@house.mn, rep.shane.mekeland@house.mn, rep.jeremy.munson@house.mn, rep.rena.moran@house.mn
p.s. MISO is getting ready to unleash the new MTEP, so I figure this is a good place to park this, from July, 2021:
Consent based (!) nuclear waste?
January 27th, 2022
| An email just in from the Dept. of Energy, cut and pasted, THEIR content, not mine. Do send in comments: |
RFI At-A-Glance
We’re more than halfway into the response period for our Request for Information (RFI) on using a consent-based siting process to identify federal interim storage facilities. Ready to share your thoughts? You still have five weeks left to respond!
What
We are requesting information on how to use a consent-based siting process to site Federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Who
We anticipate that the following groups may be interested in responding to the RFI:
- Communities
- Governments at the local, State, and Tribal levels;
- Members of the public;
- Energy and environmental justice groups;
- Organizations or corporations; and
- Other stakeholders
We especially welcome insight from people, communities, and groups that have historically not been well-represented in these discussions.
See the full RFI by clicking here. Translated versions of the RFI can also be found here.
How
Interested parties may submit comments electronically to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov. More detailed instructions can be found in the RFI. You can also check out the draft consent-based siting process and the summary of public comments referenced in the RFI at energy.gov/consentbasedsiting.
When
Responses to the RFI must be received by March 4, 2022, by 5:00 p.m. (ET).
Sturtevant redo next spring!
January 23rd, 2022
The Sturtevant Street project meeting was last Thursday night, and few neighbors were there. HEADS UP, NEIGHBORS!
The project has been postponed for a couple years, but for this spring, 2022, it seems to be a GO! The plan is to dig up and redo utilities and the street, from West Avenue over to Prairia, and Pine over to Putnam. It looks like a cost of at least $6,000 per house, and a spring and summer of discontent. What we did learn with the “Great West Wall” was that the City did work with people to make sure they knew the schedule, could access their homes, and for sure this will not be as complicated as the Great West Wall project:
CONTACT RYAN ILLA AND ASK TO BE PUT ON STURTEVANT PROJECT NOTICE LIST — THEY SEND OUT EMAILS AND UPDATES REGULARLY. ryan.illa@ci.red-wing.mn.us
Sturtevant in Red Wing has been a mess for a while, full of constantly refilled potholes. It’s narrow, with parking on only one side. We’re on the corner of West and Sturtevant, so impacts won’t be as bad, as we have a driveway on West, not just the short one on Sturtevant, so parking won’t be an issue here. However, the assessment? Just a few years ago, we got hit with the “Great West Wall” project assessment, and now this one, whew, it’s going to hurt!
Apparently they made some mistake in calculations regarding the sewer and water, I believe, they admitted this, $369 worth, so I’m waiting for the correction, but looking at the map, I think the 140′ on the north side is also off, but I can’t verify, because that’s not online anymore – click and see!!! We’ll be checking that out. Alan did some measurements after we got the house.
Ryan Illa is the Project Manager (651) 385-3628 and (651) 260-5956, ryan.illa@ci.red-wing.mn.us
Jay Owens is the Grand Pooh-bah in City Engineering Dept: (651) 385-3625 and jay.owens@ci.red-wing.mn.us
Red Wing is offering FREE televising of your sewer connection. Call Steve Thoms (651) 385-3680, (651) 380-0470, or steve.thoms@ci.red-wing.mn.us, to schedule. This is helpful if you’re considering, or NEED TO, replace service to the house, and city only goes ONE FOOT past the sidewalk. The rest is up to the homeowner.
If you need to replace service to your house, get on the plumber’s list early.
Rough schedule:
- February 14 – Public hearing prior to council formal approval
- April – May 2022 – “Private utilities work” (not clear what that means)
- May 2022 – begin work on the project
- Fall 2022 – project over, with luck trees will be planted in fall.
- 2023 – Assessments start to hit.
Assessments are an issue, because in these times of very, very low interest, the city’s interest rate to spread it out is way too high. Very few people are able to cough up that amount of money, looks like about $7,000 per house, before it goes into “payment” mode and they start charging interest. I’ve called Marshall Hallock, City Finance (651.385.3602 or marshall.hallock@ci.red-wing.mn.us), and will keep on this so Council is aware that this is a problem. If the City’s interest rate is an issue for you, CALL AND MAKE IT KNOWN! They’re not mind readers.
Sturtevant Street needs to be redone, the storm system needs to be extended up the hill, and yeah, we will need to replace our house service (UGH!), no doubt about it. The money end of it, though, needs attention.
Supreme Court does not extend Executive Privilege and docs will be turned over to House
January 20th, 2022
The Supreme Court did the right thing!! From New York Times: In Rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court Allows Release of Jan. 6 Files:
Here’s the Supremes’ opinion:
Contactless Caucus – Feb 1
January 18th, 2022
From Goodhue County DFL:
Due to the continuing rate of COVID-19 spread, the Goodhue County DFL will conduct “contactless caucuses” on February 1, 2022. We’re seeing a record breaking surge of infections and hospitalizations; there is no way to know who’s been exposed or where someone’s traveled. Our caucuses rely on volunteers to operate, and we want to ensure everyone can participate in the democratic process safely. Because our Democratic caucuses are an open, public event to anyone that affirms they are a DFL-er, the Goodhue County DFL unit (Goodhue21) is providing multiple ways for all Democrats to participate in the 2022 Precinct Caucuses.
Participation in this year’s caucus will consist of submitting the following:
Precinct Caucus Non-Participation Forms: Precinct caucus attendees can submit a Non-Attendee form which shows their desire to hold Precinct Officer or Convention Delegate positions via email, mail, or in-person drop off at their caucus location. If there are more people interested in being a Convention Delegate than delegate slots, a random selection will be held during a public Zoom call on Wednesday, February 9. Watch your email for more details.
Resolutions: Attendees can also submit resolutions to be considered for inclusion in the State DFL Party Platform. All resolutions must be attached to the official resolution form. All resolutions will be forwarded to the OU convention (similar ones may be combined).
Ways To Participate:
Fill out the online form (Goodhue 21 Google Form) and submit directly to Goodhue 21 DFL.
Download and print the online form (Non-Attendee, Resolution), fill it out, and email the scanned document to goodhue21dfl@gmail.com. You can also physically mail documents to 11995 350th Street Way, Cannon Falls, 55009.
Print and fill out the online form, then submit in-person at your Precinct Caucus location on Caucus night.
Come to your Precinct Caucus location on Caucus night to fill out and submit your forms.Regardless which option you select, all Non-Attendee and Resolution forms must be received by 9pm on February 1 to be considered. Options one and two can be submitted any time before the deadline. Submit completed forms at any one of our 8 caucus locations:
Cannon Falls Elementary School, Door A
Goodhue Public School, Door 8
Kenyon-Wanamingo Elementary School, Wanamingo, Main Door
Kenyon-Wanamingo High School, Kenyon, Main Door
Lake City High School, Door 2 or 11
Pine Island High School, Door 18
Twin Bluff Middle School, Red Wing, Main Door
Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School, Zumbrota, Main Door
A Goodhue-21 DFL representative will be at each of the 8 caucus locations from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm on February 1 to accept your documents.
Download the Non-Attendee Form:
From the DFL website at https://dfl.org/…/Precinct-Caucus-Fillable-Non-Attendee…
Or fill out the online form (Google Form) at https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfwhoVXHWa…/viewform…
Download the Resolution Form:
From the DFL website at https://dfl.org/…/Adopted-7-August-2021-Rev-A-Page-A-1.pdf
Or fill out the online form (Google Form) at https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSedeZF3u7j…/viewform…
Email all documents or any questions to goodhue21dfl@gmail.com
Find your Caucus Location here. You can find more information on our website at www.goodhue21dfl.org