Legalectric

Just the other day I was going back and forth with someone about assessments, and suggested that it shouldn’t be an assessment to individuals, that it should come out of the general fund. We’re fortunate in that we don’t have a house payment or car payments, but most regular folks have both, and to pay the assessment on top of living expenses, how will people manage? One family had assessment x2 because they have a house and a vacant lot, adding up to just over $12,000! HOW ON EARTH IS THIS WORKABLE?

Assessments add up. We’d had the “Great West Wall” construction on West, the Wall across from our house, and it was the project from hell, very intense, and the worse for the people living up above the wall, two houses nearly inaccessible for the full construction season. That was circa 2014, and a bit of 2015, and we’ve pretty much recovered from that, the project and the assessment. But we’re on a corner, so redo of both streets means assessment for both — though there’s a “corner discount,” but…

The redo of Sturtevant, and the water and sewer service underneath, is happening RIGHT NOW (Alan said that where they’re digging there, they dug up new stuff from the West redo, the fire hydrant and some big gate valves, a guy is wrenching on one right now — why take out? And let’s not have a fire here for a while.).

It’s for sure not as intense as West, but they’re out there, noising starting at 7:30 a.m., and it’s really hard to work with this going on, even with windows closed. In conjunction with this, we’re having to replace water service to our house, sewer service too. THIS WILL COST A FORTUNE! And that’s over and above the $5,000+ assessment by the City!

Then, when driving out to client meet and greet, I hear this:

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter proposes 15% property tax levy increase in next year’s budget

Here’s the case that was referred to above, SIX YEARS AGO. The focus was on taxation of non-profits, and that street assessments to non-profits (churches, etc.) was taxing them, therefore prohibited:

First Baptist Church of St. Paul v. City of St. Paul

And MPR piece on that case about assessments:

MN Supreme Court: St. Paul ‘assessments’ are really taxes

Wonder how this relates to Red Wing assessments? Someone suggested I contact the Mayor! Oh yeah, he’d love to hear from me! But I’ll rattle the cages of Mayor and City Council when I’ve got the scoop. So I guess I’ll harass Marshall Hallock to find out about that!

Alan found an article about the Elk River nuclear plant with info I’d not know before:

Elk River – Rural America’s First Atomic Power Plant

This CEII stuff , Critical Energy Infrastructure Information, is way out of hand, anything for an excuse to exclude the public from information we need to know. When I tried to enter a transmission map in 2008, I was essentially accused of being a terrorist and violating CEII law — good grief, I’ve been doing this for SO LONG as licensed attorney sworn on oath.

Above is the shuttered Kewaunee nuclear plant, and is my habit, I stopped by for a visit in fall of 2019. We pulled in, I got out the phone and snapped a few, and before I had time to put the phone away, a van came screeching up, guy jumped out, HAND ON GUN, demanding to know what I was doing, and he wanted me to delete the 2-3 photos I’d taken, saying “you can’t take pictures, it’s against the law.”

Oh, right, get thee to google, and look at all the pictures, assuredly better than mine!!

GOOGLE IMAGES OF KEWAUNEE NUCLEAR PLANT HERE

And of course, google earth — it’s there, no secret!

One of the best photos on google — the aesthetics of this plant are unique, and the rainbow (it’s in an ad for rentals in the area), what a hoot:

Anyway, back to business. CEII, and information about the grid… the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has issued a Notice of Comment Period:

To view the full dockets, go HERE TO SEARCH eDOCKETS, and then search for dockets 20-800 and/or 19-685.

Here’s what they say they’re looking for, but be sure to pipe up if there are other issues of concern that they’re not considering, or avoiding!!!

This is an issue near and dear to me because I really enjoyed attending the MAPP transmission planning meetings up in Elk River at GRE (site of the Elk River nuclear demonstration plant that my father worked on!). Those meetings gave me a good background in transmission, particularly learning the ins and outs from engineers like NSP’s Rick Gonzalez. But as CapX 2020 started to bloom (like algae), attendance became difficult and information ceased.

MAPP adopts shroud of secrecy

But by that time, it was clear what they were up to — massive build-out of bulk power transfer.

What they were doing then, and what they’re doing now, is misapplying the CEII rules, which pertain only to certain info filed with FERC, and they’re declaring it’s all secret. Why? Because then we’d know much of the transmission is not needed, we could continue to expose their transmission “solutions” to distribution issues, the trajectory and patterns would be clear.

Had a good chat with FERC counsel about this, they know MISO is limiting access this way, and PJM too, and sent me the transmission map that MISO says is the reason it’s CEII and verboten for me to attend, even after signing Non-Disclosure agreement. Still couldn’t get into the meetings. Color me PISSED OFF!

In the last comment period on the CI-20-800 and M-19-685 dockets I sent this, including the details on unreasonable exclusion based on a bogus “CEII” claim:

There’s plenty of time to write a comment, not due until OCTOBER!!! Get to it!

Just wow, considering Dairyland’s Genoa was just south of La Crosse!

So I sent this missive to the promoters of this presentation, the “Climate Change and the Driftless Region Regional Read,” and their emails are there so you can too:

Subject:	Nuclear??? I live in Red Wing, a nuclear town…
Date:	Sun, 14 Aug 2022 11:21:27 -0500
From:	Carol A. Overland <overland@legalectric.org>
To:	lhackbarth@lacrosselibrary.org, ae@lacrosselibrary.org, aremsburg@uwlax.edu, lcr_dir@selco.info, sustainability@westerntc.edu, kuhlmanl@cityoflacrosse.org, winonapl@selco.info

( Contact page, no email shown: Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration )

All –

I live in Red Wing, a nuclear community, and as an attorney have worked on nuclear issues since 1995, when I represented Florence Township when confronted with nuclear waste storage in the community (proposal defeated and withdrawn), have participated in Genoa decommissioning festivities, commented on federal dockets such as the Nuclear Waste Confidence docket and consent based nuclear siting, as well as the current docket at MN PUC where Xcel has asked for permission to use different storage casks at Prairie Island while refusing to disclose what casks it wants. Going even further back, my father worked on design of Minnesota’s Elk River nuclear demonstration plant, twin of Genoa, and I grew up playing with a geiger counter that he used in the characterization study of that plant.

Have any of you participated in the Genoa “Lifetime Termination Plan” regarding the decommissioning of Genoa and handling of nuclear waste?  I have… as have many I know of closer to Genoa, and who have also been working on nuclear issues for decades.

How and why is nuclear advocacy “part of the Climate Change and the Driftless Region Regional Read” project?  It’s inconsistency with the other programs offered jumps from the page. DJ LeClear is an unabashed ADVOCATE of nuclear generation, nothing objective here!  https://youtu.be/fcgR81bIRaM

This program of promotion of nuclear generation in La Crosse, a community with a history of nuclear generation that has informed the area about the unending problems of nuclear generation, should at least be accompanied by a presenter with equal time to address the flip side of nuclear and the La Crosse community’s decades long work on nuclear. It’s odd that you’d not include local nuclear experts.

November 6th?  It’s on my calendar in pen, highlighted in neon orange.

Carol