Legalectric

Slow evening at Rural Utilities Service’s scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact Statement for the Cardinal – Hickory Creek transmission project.  RUS is involved because Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) plans to hold a 9% undivided interest in the project, and are looking to RUS to provide the funding.  RUS held two more meetings, following on prior meetings October 31 and November 1 & 2, because their notice for those meetings went out a day late, so another Notice went out:

Notice of Intent To Hold Public Meetings and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement (October 18, 2016

Second Notice_2016-27988-2

Where’s my prior post on these meetings?  It’s gone! Here’s the dates and locations (click for larger version) — the last one is tomorrow in Barneveld, Wisconsin:

So to make quick work of it, this is cut and pasted from the RUS Cardinal Hickory Creek page:

I had a quick chat with Dennis Rankin who’s in charge of the environmental review on this and the Dairyland Q-1 South projects, and had a few quick things to register, particularly that ATC has announced that the project is delayed:

ATC postpones Cardinal-Hickory Creek project – The Dodgeville Chronicle -Dodgeville, WI

I had this article and a few comments to add tonight, and will file more detailed comments before the deadline — now January 6, 2017.

(don’t worry, I’ll get this looking pretty by the deadline!)

On the way in, there was new transmission marching across the countryside, so ugly:

And look how close to this house in New Vienna, right up near the garage, and not far from the house either — this line cut right through the middle of town:

But all in all, it was a beautiful day for a drive today!

The internet is going nuts with news that the Army Corps of Engineers has denied the Dakota Access Pipeline permit.  It’s a pause… not STOPPED!

Morton County Sheriff briefing on moving back from bridge

Bismarck Tribune: Police consider pulling back from Backwater Bridge

But what’s really happening with the permit?  No direct statement from Army Corps yet.

UPDATE: From U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:

Army will not grant easement for Dakota Access Pipeline

Now, from Dept. of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell:

It looks like what’s happening is that the ACoE is denying the permit for the route over the river and through sacred Indian lands, and will be looking for a reroute and doing an Environmental Impact Statement.  ABC News states that pretty clearly below.  It’ll be in “stick it there” mode, with the ACoE looking for somewhere to put it!  I’ve been looking and looking, don’t see anything from ACoE directly.

NYT – Federal Officials to Explore Different Route for Dakota Pipeline

Dakota Access Pipeline denied near Sioux Reservation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denies easement for Dakota Access Pipeline

Administration orders review of Dakota Access Pipeline easement (this version most closely states what I’m guessing is going on)

DAPL: Sec. of Army announces DAPL easement has been denied

ABC News: JUST IN: US Army denies easement allowing Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under North Dakota lake, citing “need to explore alternate routes”

After this election, there are so many things to be concerned about, so many reasons to be utterly horrified… a Muslim database, Trump’s fraud trial to begin November 28th, promise of mass deportations, sharp increase in hate crimes, assaults and threats on the street and in the schools (and online, oh my!).  Trump’s “100 Days” plan was out in October, and has many points, full of words to decode, including a ‘clean coal’ reference, showing he’s clueless, just clueless:

Trump’s Contract with the American voter — the First 100 Days

In the 2nd and 3rd debate, Trump used those two words that have deep meaning to me, “clean coal,” because of Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Project here in Minnesota, and because of the NRG proposed IGCC plant in Delaware, both of which were defeated after a long protracted fight.  There is no such thing as ‘clean coal.”

Coal gasification is one thing that my coal-plant designing Mechanical Engineer father and I had some bonding moments over, going over EPRI coal gasification reports from the 80s and the Mesaba application…  And I had the pleasure of meeting and working alongside my father’s boss’s son, who is also an engineer, formerly with NSP/Xcel, who knew what a bad idea coal gasification is.  Oh yeah, we who fought these projects have learned a lot about coal gasification, “carbon capture and storage,” and will not go there again (see Legalectric and CAMP – Citizens Against the Mesaba Project sites for more info).  We know it doesn’t work.  And experience with the few projects that did go forward, what a mess, cost overruns beyond the wildest SWAG estimate, inability to get the plant running…  Trump, don’t even think about it:

IGCC – Pipedreams of Green & Clean

IGCC, coal gasification, is nothing new.  And despite its long history, it’s a history of failure, failure to live up to promises, failure to operate as a workable technology, and failure to produce electricity at a marketable cost, failure to produce electricity at all!  On top of that, it’s often touted as being available with “CO2 capture and storage” which it is not.  That’s a flat out lie.  Check this old Legalectric post:

More on Carbon Capture Pipedream

A key to this promotion is massive subsidies from state and federal sources, and selection of locations desperate for economic jump-start, so desperate that they’ll bite on a project this absurd, places like Minnesota’s Iron Range, or southern Indiana, or Mississippi.  The financing scam was put together at Harvard, and this blueprint has been used for all of these IGCC projects:

Harvard I – 3 Party Covenant

That, coupled with massive payments to “environmental” organizations to promote coal gasification, and they were off to the races.

Joyce Foundation PROMOTES coal gasification

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation & IGCC – WHY???

VP-elect Mike Pence should know all about coal gasification, he’s from Indiana.  Indiana is coal generation central, and has had a couple of IGCC projects planned, construction started, and built.  Indiana’s Wabash Valley plant is a perfect example, a small IGCC plant that was built, and after it was “completed,” took 22 on-site engineers to keep it running, now and then, at a greatly reduced capacity.

Wabash River Final Technical Report (it was “routinely” in violation of its water permit for selenium, cyanide and arsenic)

When they tried to sell the Wabash Valley plant recently, of course no one wanted it:

Wabash Valley coal gasification plant closing!

And another Indiana plant, with huge cost overruns that never started operating:

Rockport coal gasification plant dies – Indianapolis Star

Coal News: $2.8B coal gasification plant in Indiana canceled

And then there’s Edwardsport IGCC plant, also in Indiana, what a disaster:

Edwardsport plant not at promised capacity

Settlement won’t be the last word on controversial Indiana coal plant

Duke Energy Edwardsport Plant Settlement Expanded

The original settlement in September was a response to the plant’s rising operating costs while failing to meet performance expectations.

In the new agreement, Duke Energy agrees not to charge customers for $87.5 million of the operating costs of the Edwardsport plant, $2.5 million more than the original agreement.

And note that problems with Edwardsport tie in to similar problems with the Kemper IGCC plant in Mississippi:

Indiana ‘cease fire’ could provide a model for Mississippi regulators

Yes, in Mississippi, the Kemper IGCC plant is proving to be a problem, and yes, folks, note the Obama promotion of IGCC — after all, Obama is from Illinois, a coal state, and had lots of support from coal lobbyists.  Check this detailed NY Times article:

Piles of Dirty Secrets Behind a Model “Clean Coal’ project: Mississippi project, a centerpiece of President Obama’s climate plan, has been plagued by problems that managers tried to conceal, and by cost overruns and questions of who will pay.

The sense of hope is fading fast, however. The Kemper coal plant is more than two years behind schedule and more than $4 billion over its initial budget, $2.4 billion, and it is still not operational.

The plant and its owner, Southern Company, are the focus of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and ratepayers, alleging fraud, are suing the company. Members of Congress have described the project as more boondoggle than boon. The mismanagement is particularly egregious, they say, given the urgent need to rein in the largest source of dangerous emissions around the world: coal plants.

Trump, just don’t.

Early today, another train derailment, this time near Ellendale, Minnesota.  The town has been ordered evacuated, school is closed (can’t get to it!), but that evacuation order has been revised, and now there’s a declared 400 foot “hot zone” and others can come back home.

It’s a train with multiple types of cars and freight, but one tanker is visibly leaking.  HazMat crews are on the scene, it’s a propane plume, you can see the release in photos.  They’re going to just let it go, and it should be expelled soon.

Reports vary, but some news outlets are saying “several” and “four car” derailment, and yet photos clearly show at least 11 cars off the tracks.

Photo by Ryan Anderson, AP

City of Ellendale FB page

UPDATES:

KSTP: Ellendale Residents Allowed to Return Home After Train Derailment

At a midday news conference, Thiele said the gas cloud from a rail car with a cut in it had decreased, reducing the danger. A “hot zone” of 400 feet around that car will be maintained, he added. There’s no threat to the public outside of the “hot zone.”

MPR: All Clear in Ellendale after train derailment

Details took a while this morning, but here’s a good STrib article:

Train derailment prompts evacuation of Ellendale in southern Minnesota

This is an example of why it’s important to stand up!  This is also an example of regulation, how the process works, and why we need it.  But for regulation, they’d have rammed the Sandpiper pipeline through even though it’s not needed, and would have rammed through the Clearbrook-Clearbrook West 115 kV Transmission Project through as well.

But regulation worked.  The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Order that the Clearbrook-Clearbrook West 115 kV transmission line be withdrawn has been served as of a few minutes ago.  This was a transmission line with the sole purpose of serving a pumping station/tank farm for the Sandpiper pipeline.  Sandpiper pipeline was withdrawn, ergo, transmission line application should be withdrawn as well.  We got the request/demand in right after the Sandpiper withdrawal, and the applicants did indeed request withdrawal.

PUC Order_Withdrawal_201611-126419-01

IT’S WITHDRAWN!  YES!