Legalectric

Oh my, take a little time off, and look what happens!

Cardinal-Hickory Creek: Secret messages with former regulator prompt utilities to seek new permit for power line

Here are the Petitions from ITC and ATC filed Monday, June 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. and 10:09 a.m.:

And it’s instantly on the agenda for TOMORROW’S Commission meeting (meeting starts at 10:30 a.m.).

Listen to Live Broadcast HERE!

The “notice” was provided on Tuesday. June 29, 2021 at 3:15 p.m., not even 36 hours before the meeting (note there’s a “CS memorandum of 6/29” where Commission staff offers background and suggestions that we don’t get to see):

OBJECTION!!! Ja, you betcha, from Jewell Jinkins Intervenors and others:

What are we asking for? It’s pretty simple:

DALC and WWF filing just came in and they have a very different take:

And ATC and ITC’s scheme is getting some coverage:

Controversial transmission line through Iowa/Wisconsin suffers setback

Owners Of Controversial Power Line Project Ask To Refile Application After Messages With Regulator Surface

Here it is, read it and SNORT!

From a post about 2,100 MW of new transmission:

Developers of 2,100 MW MISO-PJM transmission line choose engineering firm

Let’s think about this a bit. This is a MISO to PJM transmission project. Transmission serves what’s on the line. In MISO, (see above) it’s coal, followed by natural gas, both fossil fuel, and those two followed by nuclear, the most toxic, dangerous, and expensive generation.

Amid all the bluster about climate change, coal generation has ramped up over the last year. Factor to consider — in May of 2020, not much was happening anywhere, so increased generation from then seems likely, to be fair, we need comparison to 2019, BUT, clearly the coal plants are NOT being shut down. And with our transmission build-out over the last 20 years, they can ship and sell it anywhere. What is it going to take to get this fossil generation shut down?

And look at PJM’s mix:

And again, much of the coal in PJM was smaller plants, except for that monster in West Virginia, smaller plants that were too expensive to run, not at all marketable, so they were shut down. MISO is another story, with large coal plants, transmission to get it from any Point A to Point B, and probably the last coal plant to be built, Warren Buffet’s 700MW MEC coal plant, served by the transmission build-out through southern Minnesota and across Iowa.

Why would we need more transmission? WE don’t. THEY DO, it’s a major part of their new business plan. As Lisa Agrimonti so aptly stated in a recent Grid North Partners Conference, it used to be about NERC reliability criteria, “a pretty simple story,” but now, “we need this transmission line to deliver energy more broadly” and it’s a more complicated need story.

Yeah, that’s what they’re wanting to do, for sure!

With the change from reliability to the general “we want it” corporate greed = need, how can a project be challenged?

After wading through the bullshit last night, it feels a lot better this morning in Red Wing. Watch the video, particularly Agenda Items 7, 10C, and 10D:

Red Wing City Council Meeting – June 14, 2021

In order of appearance:

• Agenda Item 7 – Terri Cook appointed to Charter Commission, no discussion, no muss, no fuss.
• Agenda Item 10C – Recall – Brown and Buss – once again, no malfeasance or non-feasance. DOH!
• Agenda Item 10D – Shared space – Mayor Wilson does not have exclusive rights to the shared space at City Hall.

There was a call to SHOW UP and support the Council, that’s the folks in white shirts, who far outnumbered the “RECALL” folks, about the same percentages as in the Presidential votes in our fair city. Overflow crowd.

In the Republican bEagle:

4 things to know about the Red Wing City Council meeting

In the Rochester Post Bulletin:

Recall committee loses another round at Red Wing city council meeting

The “Recall City Hall” committee so screwed up the Petitions to recall Wards 1 & 2’s Dean Hove that they were all returned with this missive:

So now they have to start all over from zero, and yesterday, a new Petition was filed for certification:

AND, there’s a gathering tonight, at a CHURCH, to start the Petition drive, info posted on Shelley Pohlman’s (a/k/a Rena Marsh, etc.) Red Wing Minnesota News page:

“Bureaucrats paid by the City of Red Wing found technical reasons to reject the first petition, signed by hundreds of citizens, to recall Council member Dean Hove for participating in secret meetings in violation of Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law.” That’s not why!!! You’ll also find this false statement on the “Recall City Hall” page. Ummmmm… right. Let’s just keep that bs going…

… nevermind that they didn’t use the Certified petition when collecting signatures to recall Hove. Good grief — is this so hard to understand? The Hove petitions were not done as legally required!!

So tonight, head on down to the New River church. Let’s see if they’ll train the folks soliciting signatures not to lie and misrepresent the reasons for the recall. Look at the Recall City Hall site!!! SNORT! The Recall petitions are not about firing Pohlman… it has nothing to do with “lower taxes.” Let’s be clear this time folks, here’s your rationale (click for larger version):

Maybe Shelley will even put up the ENTIRE certified petition this time, rather than this half-assed snippet from earlier times (linked too!):

Maybe Shelley will even move up these 250 words to the TOP of the Recall City Hall page? Feature it up front so the world can read? Naaaaah, that would be too honest.