Xcel Annual Shareholder Meeting
May 14th, 2018
FYI, you only get to go inside if you register, and to register, you have to have owned stock by March 20, 2018. You have to register, and then THEY decide if you can go.
IT WILL BE WEBCAST — CLICK THIS XCEL LINK!
Red Wing City Council Elections
May 14th, 2018
(viewable map linked below)
Red Wing has a email newsletter now, and it’s most helpful. Here’s the poop on the upcoming elections, which is BIG news here, what with a bunch of resignations from City Council. Cut and pasted from the RW “City Beat” newsletter:
This is your time. You can do this.Interested candidatesmust file betweenMay 22 – June 5, 2018
Red Wing, we’re voting for FOUR City Council seats and the dates to file are almost here. Anyone interested in running must file between May 22 and June 5.Open slots are At-Large; Wards 1&2 Combined; Ward 3; and Ward 4. Click here to see ward locations. Terms are 4 years from Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2023.Why should you care about City Council elections? Click here to find out.It’s definitely an unusual schedule this year. Find out key dates here for the special & general elections. Questions? Call Teri Swanson at 651-385-3615.
Line 3 – Exceptions to ALJ’s Report
May 12th, 2018
Today was the deadline for filing Exceptions to the Administrative Law Judge’s Recommendation for Line 3 Certificate of Need and Route. Here’s the ALJ’s Recommendation:
I quick filed an Exception on behalf of Association of Freeborn County Landowners, objecting to inclusion and objecting to any consideration of “System Alternative 04” or SA-04, because no notice was given to landowners in Freeborn County, and well, to any of the landowners along SA-04.
Friends of the Headwaters proposed SA-04, the only “System Alternative” proposed in the Certificate of Need proceeding. … sigh…. foisting it elsewhere is not a good strategy. Search their Exceptions for more info on their rationale – do a search for “SA-04” of this filing:
20185-142900-04_Exceptions – Friends Of The Headwaters
Are there others advocating for AS-04? Looking… it’ll take a bit.
System Alternative SA-04 is noted 139 times in the ALJ’s Recommendation, and is first mentioned on p. 24:
And the Public Utilities Commission accepted it for further evaluation, but no notice was provided:
But no meetings in the area — and still no notice:
… sigh… on it goes…
And regarding the DNR’s take on SA-04 (will find DNR comment):
Here are all the other references to SA-04 in order — the ALJ does reject it, saying it is not a viable alternative:
And then the ALJ considers comments:
The DNR comments are troubling:
Here’s the actual DNR Comment:
The DNR said about SA-04:
And back to the ALJ’s mentions of SA-04:
Calendars!! MN’s Nitrate rulemaking hearings
May 12th, 2018
There’s a rulemaking afoot, and rulemaking hearing. Usually rulemakings are the not-so-blind leading the blind, because by the time there’s a rule to comment on, the fix is in. It’s been decided how it will go, and the public comment period is just a box to check off. All the action occurs before it is released, the wrangling about language, the focus, all that is done by the agency in consultation with “stakeholders” who are typically the corporate sort that agencies regard as their “constituents” and there’s little public or advocate participation. That’s how it works. If we’re (we the people) are lucky, or if we really push for it, there’s an Advisory Committee, as authorized by Minn. Stat. 14.10:
I don’t see any evidence that it happened here. So… we have a proposed rule, and the comment period is now open, and hearings are being held in various spots in Minnesota.
There’s a hearing now scheduled for Red Wing (links to docs below), which was not in the original list:
Red Wing Nitrate Hearing
Tuesday, June 5
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota State College Southeast
308 Pioneer Road
Red Wing, MN 55066
Here’s the original schedule:
1:00-6:00 PM on Monday, July 16, 2018
Robert Boeckman Middle School
800 Denmark Ave
Farmington, MN 5502410:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Stewartville Civic Center
105 1st St E
Stewartville, MN 5597610:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Thursday, July 19, 2018
Minnesota West Community and Technical College
1450 College Way
Worthington, MN 5618710:00 – 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 25, 2018
River’s Edge Convention Center
10 Fourth Avenue South
St. Cloud, MN 563019:00 AM – 3:00 PM on Thursday, July 26, 2018
American Legion
900 1st St E
Park Rapids, MN 5670
The “draft” rule has been released for public comment, but there was a first draft rule from June 2017. Below is the official draft, revised in April, 2018:
|
Groundwater Protection Rule (PDF: 328 KB / 26 pages)
Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) (PDF: 3.18 MB / 164 pages)
Notice of Hearing (PDF: 85 KB / 3 pages)
SONAR Appendixes (PDF: 15.73 MB / 208 pages)
COMMENT PERIOD:
- Initial Comment Period closes on July 31, 2018 at 4:30 p.m
- Rebuttal Comment Period: August 1, 2018 through 4:30 p.m. on August 7, 2018
Here’s where to send comments (note SEND TO OAH, and not Dept. of Ag):
https://mi1111esotaoah.granicusideas.comldiscussio11s/
or
Administrative Law Judge Palmer-Denig
Office of Administrative Hearings
P.O. Box 64620
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55164-0620
There are more specific instructions for filing comments on the OAH site:
Instructions: To comment, scroll down to “Topic: Submit a Comment” and click “View Topic.”Please make sure that your comments:
- Identify the specific part or subpart of the rule you are addressing;
- Specify whether you support or oppose the proposed rule language;
- Give reasons for your views; and
- Be specific and offer language changes to solve the problems you identify.
Attachments: Commenters may attach up to three documents to a comment. Allowed attachments include PDFs, spreadsheets, and word documents. Please include your name and contact information on all attachments.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to be specific, and to refer to parts of the rule that you’re commenting about. Vague rah-rah OR blah, blah, comments will have no impact, nor will form letters or postcards. Once more with feeling, be specific, and to refer to parts of the rule. Have at it!
What’s going on with Bent Tree?
May 1st, 2018
Update on Bent Tree. Filed earlier, Notice of Settlement Agreements:
And today:
And yesterday from EERA-Commerce:
20184-142562-01_EERA_Commerce_Comments
As for process going forward, Commerce recommends:
From WPL yesterday:
Next up – Public Utilities Commission meeting, the sooner the better.