Legalectric

BAD POLICY ALERT!!!

STUPID LEGISLATIVE TRICKS ALERT!!!

CapX2020 facilitates coal, and does it quite nicely! And no, that’s not a good thing…

CapX2020, a multi-BILLION dollar transmission project, is spending a lot of time and money at the legislature. They get a full House Energy Committee meeting to sell their sob story, and the only testimony allowed is from those who have a vested interest in CapX2020 (TRANSLink). Why do the get so much time for their sales pitch? Why are they getting any time at all? I’ve been told “oh, they don’t want anything.” Right… oh, pleeeeeze…

CapX2020 will want to latch onto the RES claiming that renewables can’t be added without the transmission.

Capx2020 claims they need to “streamline” and of course will want to gut the Certificate of Need and/or environmental review. CapX2020 (TRANSLink by another name) and WoW have consistently advocated for gutting of state review, abdicating to federal non-review.

200,000 landowners across MN are affected by CapX. Of course they don’t want to have any review!!!! Particularly at a time when Dept. of Commerce analysis shows both Big Stone transmission (and plant) and the Mesaba Project are not needed/not in the public interest. They can’t prevail under the rules so we should change them just for them… the arrogance!

1) RES can easily be done once or twice over without significant transmission additions — RES renewables can be sited carefully and effectively and save us billions AND it doesn’t facilitate coal.

2) Streamlining is desired only because they cannot prove need — and when it’s not needed, why would we spend billions to build it?

3) Any project in the BILLIONS must have full review — it’d be nuts to exempt it!

4) If CapX 2020 were to be exempted from environmental review, then 200,000 landowners would not have recourse of “Buy the Farm” where they can elect for utility to buy out the entire parcel so they can move away from the line. Minn. Stat. 116C.63, Subd. 4. This would screw over 200,000 Minnesota landowners, great policy idea, eh?

Given the Waltons have been shamelessly promoting CapX2020, if this proposal comes up, who will oppose it? I don’t know of anyone who has resources/funding to do that. Just remember that when it comes to CapX2020, the Izaak Walton League is promoting their self interest, and not the public interest, and not representing “environmental” groups. And of course there are those of us doing what we can with what we’ve got to shine a light on CapX2020!