Transmission lines comin’ to town
July 15th, 2006
The transmission line passing, with the pipeline, through lower Scott & Dakota County, near Northfield, goes through Red Wing and then south to Wisconsin through LaCrosse.
Letter: Huge transmission lines coming to community
The Republican Eagle
Published Saturday, July 15, 2006
To the Editor:
Utility infrastructure investments are a 50-year energy policy commitment. Utilities are embarking on spending billions of our dollars on thousands of miles over thousands of property.
Is this necessary for reliability, adequacy of service or system security? No, this infrastructure is being built to facilitate unregulated export of bulk power for profit. What do we get out of it? Transmission lines in our yards.
There are three 345kV lines planned through our community. Two are now beginning the application process: Notice plans have been filed with the Public Utilities Commission. Because Minnesota law gives preference to existing corridors, the line is likely to parallel one on north side of Highway 61 atop the hill west of town, then to Prairie Island, taking a scenic meander through the reservation, back up and over the bluffs, through the Westwood subdivision toward Rochester.
I informed the Prairie Island Indian Community and theyâ??re paying attention, attending transmission planning meetings.
Whereâ??re Red Wing and Goodhue County? I informed the Realtors posting signs in Westwood, city planning, too; no one seemed concerned. The subdivision is an example of poor planning. Itâ??s bad enough theyâ??re allowed to build homes there, but whoâ??s telling residents whatâ??s in store?
These transmission proposals are nothing new. The Prairie Island to Wisconsin line was proposed as â??Line 3a/bâ? in 1998 and has been talked about for years. Transmission links are on my blog at http://www.legalectric.org in the â??Transmission for Dummiesâ? section. These specific lines are in the 2005 Transmission Plan, and public meetings were held last May. I didnâ??t see any city or county representatives there, and I know they were provided notice because the stateâ??s Transmission Plan rules require it.
Will county and city land-use professionals start attending the state meetings so they know whatâ??s in store and wonâ??t be surprised again? Will developers, landowners and land-use officials pay attention to canons of appropriate land-use? Will local governments submit comments about the Notice Plan and participate effectively in the Certificate of Need docket? Will our elected officials represent us?
Carol A. Overland
Red Wing
Carol Overland is running for City Council member at-large.
City of Red Wing does a “Matt Entenza”
July 14th, 2006
Against the backdrop of John VanHecke doing Matt Entenza’s dirty work (“Morons!” says a guy with ties — I couldn’t agree more. If I had more pocket change, I would have registered for A.G. yesterday when I was at the S.O.B.), the City of Red Wing was caught with its papers down.
What’s the deal? For those filing for City Council, the City wants a signed “General Authorization and Release” where candidates list everywhere they’ve ever lived, and agree to release “any and all private data which relates to me,” and checks with “one or more consumer reporting agencies, which may include, but not be limited to, criminal records checks, court records, driving records, credit reports, and summaries of educational or employment data and histories” by “City of Red Wing and its Agency’s(sic), Verified Credentials, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and all City and County Law Enforcement Agencies in which I have lived.” This is in the filing packet, REALLY! And this note in the middle of it, “I am not legally required to sign this Authorization; I am voluntarily choosing to do so because I want to be considered for employment or volunteer service with the City of Red Wing.” Just a little extortion between friends, right? … sigh… I don’t think so.
So of course I filed this a.m. $5, that I can handle. Just don’t have the resources to put Sen. (from Xcel) Steve Murphy out of a job.
Check this article in the Red Wing Republican Beagle:
City Hall screening council candidates
Mike Longaecker
The Republican Eagle
Joe Krueger is mulling whether heâ??ll complete his filing for Red Wing City Council.
After signing the necessary paperwork and paying the $5 fee, the former council member is hedging on one last document to which heâ??s just not comfortable laying ink.
Itâ??s a release form that authorizes the city to run background checks on City Council applicants through a private firm.
City Hall officials said the check â?? instituted during last yearâ??s council appointment process â?? merely searches for felony convictions by sifting through criminal and driving records.
The form Krueger and every other council applicant has been asked to sign reads differently.
â??… the City may desire to request reports from one or more consumer reporting agencies which may include, but not be limited to, criminal records checks, court records, driving records, credit reports, and summaries of educational or employment data and histories,â? the document states.
Krueger said he wonders whether the language will cause other applicants to shy away from candidacy.
â??To me, it has a chilling effect on the whole democratic process,â? Krueger said, noting that heâ??s scrutinizing the document on philosophical grounds, not because of anything in his past. â??People see this â?? theyâ??re going to get intimidated.â?
â??Good policyâ??
The background checks were initiated last year on recommendation by City Attorney Jay Squires, he confirmed Wednesday. City Clerk Kathy Johnson said this week that background search records of last yearâ??s at-large candidates remain on file with the city, though she said state law prohibits her from disclosing the contents.
The screening, as Squires sees it, â??seems to be good policy,â? he said, though he admitted the language listed in the document is â??a little bit of a misnomer.â?
â??Itâ??s incorrect to list that the city is conducting that type of an inquiry,â? Squires said, adding that the searches will apply to â??only that which pertains to eligibility to hold office.
â??The intent isnâ??t to inhibit anyone from filing for office.â?
But at least one incumbent isnâ??t balking at the background check. Council member Dean Hove, who filed for re-election last week, said he supports the search since it could potentially snare ineligible runners sooner than later.
â??To me, thatâ??s the right thing to do,â? Hove said. â??It doesnâ??t bother me at all.â?
Squires and Johnson said city officials may review the document to clarify what the search entails. The form given to council candidates states that it also applies to new city employees and volunteers.
â??We might be changing that a bit,â? Johnson said Wednesday.
A unique approach?
Still, some in local political circles are questioning why the checks are necessary at all. While Squires defended the screening as â??an independent means to be able to verifyâ? candidate eligibility, the new process is a break from local and state requirements.
Candidates for Goodhue County Board sign an application that includes an affidavit at the bottom, according to the Recorderâ??s Office. The sworn affidavit promises that the signee isnâ??t a convicted felon and fulfills residency requirements.
The same goes for the Red Wing School Board. Supt. Stan Slessor said School Board hopefuls only sign an affidavit of candidacy when filing for that elected office. By doing so, they declare they are eligible under state law to run.
â??We do not do criminal background checks,â? Slessor said.
Candidates vying for state lawmaker posts also arenâ??t facing background checks, the Secretary of Stateâ??s Office said. If someone were to question the legitimacy of a legislative hopefulâ??s sworn affidavit, a challenge could be filed through the courts system, said Secretary of State Communications Director Kent Kaiser.
And according to Red Wing City Charter, the affidavit of candidacy is all thatâ??s required. But, Squires pointed out, charter doesnâ??t preclude a background investigation.
â??Itâ??s good to be thorough these days,â? he said. â??Iâ??m comfortable we have a right to do this to be proactive rather than reactive.â?
Squires, who also represents other cities around the state, said that while he hadnâ??t researched other municipalitiesâ?? practices, he wasnâ??t aware of other cities initiating similar searches.
National
search included
According to Johnson, Red Wingâ??s check includes a search of each county the applicant attests on the form to have lived. A driving record search is also to be conducted, she said, as is a search of a national criminal database.
Johnson said the national search was added as a catch-all if some former addresses arenâ??t listed.
She said last yearâ??s screenings were administered by Verified Credentials, a Lakeville, Minn., background screening business.
This yearâ??s checks are scheduled to go through the same service.
Clare Larsen, a marketing copywriter for the firm, declined to share what information the city has requested for investigation.
Staff Writer Scott Wente contributed to this story
Great Excelsior/Mesaba editorial in GRHR today!
July 13th, 2006
.
What would the late “Jack Pine
Grand Rapids Herald-Review
Editor:
The late â??Jack Pine Bobâ? Cary once remarked that instead of spending millions of dollars on poorly planned economic development the government would be better off giving 100 people 1 million dollars. These people would quit their jobs creating 100 job openings and would spend like crazy, boosting the local economy and creating more jobs.
However, I donâ??t think Bob would approve of spending almost 2 billion dollars to build a power plant near Taconite at the price of about $20 million per job. Heâ??d likely point out that we have no need for more power in this area. Why would we want to take away our neighborsâ?? land to build transmission and pipelines for the benefit of a private corporation and then send the power to distant cities or states? Why would we want more train traffic and coal dust in downtown Grand Rapids? Why should we give our hard-earned tax dollars to an unproven company, and why would we risk those tax dollars on unproven technology?
Bob might ask why we should trust Excelsior Energy when they have never produced a single kw of power? Why should we trust CEO/lobbyist Tom Micheletti when his main strength appears to be making deals at all levels of government? Why would we trust his wife and co-CEO Julie Jorgensen when she was previously a top executive with NRG (a company that filed a $9.2 billion bankruptcy shortly after her departure)? The â??expertiseâ? of Excelsior seems to be greasing political wheels and schmoozing. Nothing in this companyâ??s background indicates they are capable of success.
Before Itasca County Commissioners get too excited about distributing and bonding millions of dollars for this project, Bob might caution them to consider what happened with Technimar, Tirecycle, and the chopsticks factory in Hibbing.
In contrast, the MSI steel project seems worth supporting as the principal players are experienced and know how to produce a product for which there is a market. They will purchase power from MP & L, not Excelsior! MSI does not need Excelsior, but Excelsior needs a mandated Power Purchase Agreement for the electricity they hope to produce. They are hoping the Minnesota PUC will force another utility to buy their power. Right now this is an ongoing legal battle that they very well may lose. Excelsior has said that without a PPA, â??not a shovelful of dirt will be turned.â?
Bob would look at the overall downside to this project and wonder at the audacity of our local and state officials supporting $15-20 million dollars of our tax money per job (very few of which any local resident is qualified for), construction jobs too specialized for local workers, up to 540 pounds of mercury emitted per decade leading to fewer fish safely eaten, several thousand annual tons of pollutants up the stack, dusty train traffic, and loss of our personal property to eminent domain.
Heâ??d probably give a wry smile and ask, â??Are we stuck on stupid?â?
â??White Pineâ?
Jim Anderson
Pengilly
Backing down wind generation for Mesaba
July 11th, 2006
OH, this is just too funny. For the Mesaba Sensitivity Stability Analysis, to make this bunch of tinkertoys and wires work, they had to change the model and cut out 675MW of wind from the 1,500MW in the model:
Reduced generation in SW MN to approximately 825MW and reduced load in the XEL area (zone 601) by a corresponding amount.
Click here for G519, the revised report, go to Section 6, paragraphs 6.1.2.1 and 6.1.2.2.
Yup, you heard it here… they’re cutting modeled wind generation in Southwest Minnesota from 1500MW to 825MW! And on top of that, for it all to work, they’re “keeping the output of Big Stone II in North Dakota.” Oh really… ummmmm… Let me see if I understand this — to put 600MW of Mesaba coal gasification on line they need to cut 625MW of wind in SW Minnesota.
This just gets better and better…
Take 625MW wind off to put 600MW coal gasification on. Oh, and pay the curtailment payments for the wind, eh? Great, good idea, yeah, this is one hell of a deal we’ve got going here…
Transmission is coming to Red Wing
July 10th, 2006
Yes, it’s here. Yes, transmission is coming, three lines in the Red Wing area, and here are the first two:
1) SW Minnesota to “Hampton Corner” or Prairie Island
The first is the one from SW Minnesota to “southeastern Twin Cities,” and the Notice Plan has been filed.
To find info on this, go to the PUC site, www.puc.state.mn.us, and click on eDockets and enter the docket number “06-857.”
Notice Plan Comments were probably due at the end of the month, but you can send Reply Comments, QUICK, NOW, to:
Dr. Burl Haar burl.haar@state.mn.us
PUC, 121 E 7th St., Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-2147
2) “Twin Cities” to Rochester to LaCrosse
The second one affecting the Red Wing Area was called “Prairie Island to Rochester to LaCrosse” and now it’s called “Twin Cities” to Rochester to LaCrosse. We’ll see what that means, and from the maps, it’s anybody’s guess.
There’s no PUC docket number. What I received was the Notice Plan, and comments are due at the PUC by 4:30 p.m. on July 21, 2006.
To get copy of Notice Plan and a lot of cute but confusing maps (aren’t transmission lines all connected??? Very strange) and one that has the 345kV line going right through the Prairie Island Administration Building. Right, good plan there… and that map has TWO lines doing a scenic tour of the reservation. Why???
Anyway, to get a copy of the Notice Plan call Xcel, Mary Martinka (612) 330-6737.
I checked Xcel’s Transmission site and neither of these are listed.
3) Chisago Project
Just for yucks, here’s the other one I got in the mail, the Chisago Project is being revived. Don’t they get it’s brain dead? ME3 used to have the archives, but that’s all gone now… sob… and that Chisago substation is connected to the third one coming to Red Wing, the Chisago-Red Rock-Prairie Island line.
Have we had enough of transmission for today?