Assoc of Freeborn County Landowners – Intervention Granted
September 12th, 2017
The Minnesota part of the Freeborn County wind project is the site in red, above.
The Association of Freeborn County Landowners has been granted intervention, we’re a party!!!
And a footnote for those wonks interested in Minnesota Rules and OAH and Public Utilities Commission procedure:
For more information about this docket, the application and the filings thus far, go HERE and search for Public Utilities Commission docket 17-410.
Landowner comments on Freeborn Wind Project
July 14th, 2017
Here are Comments filed on behalf of Association of Freeborn County Landowners:
Association of Freeborn CountyLandowners_Petition & Initial Comments – Filed July 6, 2017
Association of Freeborn County Landowners — Add to Service List
Process Issue – Timing of Request for Contested Case
Reply CommentsCompleteness – Association of Freeborn County Landowners
RCMP cleared in shooting of Site C dam activist
May 23rd, 2017
James McIntyre was shot outside an open house for a dam project, “Site C” for the dam. You know, those open houses they hold to tell the public what they’re going to do before they do it… There was an investigation of the shooting by Canada’s “Independent Investigations Office,” and I’d had an alert and checked now and then, particularly a year after the shooting, but didn’t find the articles on the IIO’s November release of information until yesterday! Here’s the report from the IIO:
Here are some press write ups:
Police ‘begged’ Site C activist to put down knife before shooting him, witness says
IIO clears RCMP in shooting of James McIntyre
RCMP officers cleared in shooting death of Site C protester in Dawson Creek
Look at the way the press framed this article:
RCMP officer cleared in shooting death of B.C. activist that sparked Anonymous revenge campaign
This shooting of McIntyre hit home for me because of my routine of going to the open houses and hanging out at the door, and I know so well how angry people get when there’s infrastructure proposed in their community, on their land. They published my LTE about this in the Alaska Highway News:
Here are my older posts about the shooting, including a video of the shooting by someone in the hotel who was looking out the window:
RCMP shoots hydro dam protester? Nope, misidentified!
James McIntyre ID’d as man shot by RCMP
It’s been a year since McIntyre was shot in BC
Drumpf’s “Questionnaire” to Dept. of Energy
December 9th, 2016
Trump’s energy agenda, vague as it is, has been essentially to promote “clean coal,” nuclear and to deny climate change and dismantle federal climate change and “renewable” energy programs, of course with no move to eliminate subsidies for coal and nuclear. The “transition team” sent a big laundry list of questions to the Department of Energy, and it’s pretty broad. It’s also something that would be both telling and intimidating to receive. Looking at this, there’s no doubt where they’re headed.
Here’s the document — read it and see what you think… and note how many of these questions are “Can you provide…” which are easily answered with just a “Yes” or “No” and that’s the end of it!
But wait… there’s another version (similar, but different order, etc.):
I think Trump needs somebody to write his questions for him, somebody new that is. He obviously didn’t come up with this, but his staff person who did, well, if they worked for me, “YOU’RE FIRED!”
NOTICE – Annual Hearing – Power Plant Siting Act
December 5th, 2016
Here we go again, the Annual Hearing for the Power Plant Siting Act.
The full Notice:
Now’s the time to dig back into the cobwebs of memory of all the dockets over the last year, and the last 20+ years, and let them know how the Power Plant Siting Act is working, and more importantly, how it’s not working.
Comments are open until January 20, 2017. To file in eDockets (highly recommended), go here, and log in. If you don’t have an account, register (it’s simple, and fast) and then file in docket 16-18.
Note something different, this year they’re going to go over pipeline projects:
Recently, I’ve been involved in a project working toward increased meaningful and effective public participation in a pipeline docket, and what’s going through my head as I attend meetings, conference calls, and read very long intense emails, is that this is exactly what we’ve been talking about at these Power Plant Siting Act hearings for TWENTY YEARS! This is exactly what we’ve been working to deal with in the Certificate of Need Minn. Ch. 7849 rulemaking for THREE YEARS! These are exactly the same issues I’ve been raising in docket after docket, gaining a remand in one, some “adjustments” in others, and even to the appellate court a couple of times — MCEA had more success in this (see the EIS decision here). And so little changes.
2006 Report to PUC – Docket 06-1733
2007 Report to PUC – Docket 07-1579
2008 Report to PUC – Docket 08-1426
2009 Report to PUC – Docket 09-1351
2010 Report to PUC – Docket 10-222
2011 Report to PUC – Docket 11-324
2012 Report to PUC – Docket 12-360
2013 Report to PUC – Docket 13-965
2014 Summary Comments– Docket 14-887
OK, folks, time to saddle up for another cattle drive! Let’s get to it!
And on December 20… sigh…