Legalectric

Yet another time the Trump administration’s balloon is popped. Trump’s minions can’t be disappearing the “Public Apportionments Database.” https://apportionment-public.max.gov

The Wayback Machine shows an interesting story:

Federal Court of Appeals upholds a July Order instructing them to restore the database, and what great language:

Here’s the initial District Court Order from July:

And the stay is lifted and they’ve got to get to it, though the substantive appeal plods on:

Appeals court orders Trump administration restore public funding tracker 

The Court of Appeals says, with more delightful language, beginning with:

And yes, progress. It’s gone from this:

To this, which is a start, but I took a look at 2025’s “Energy” and it’s a bit shy on details (!), no line items, so we’ll see if they do disclose specifics showing that the funds have been properly disbursed:

Here we go… It’s MISO Tranche 2, which means more transmission, and BIGGER transmission coming to Minnesota, and this is for the “Iron Range to Arrowhead” transmission line, the first Notice Plan and Exemptions Request of the bunch. Here’s the BIG picture:

To look up any of these projects, go to eDockets: https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/documents then plug in the docket number, i.e. 25-111 for this one:

Interactive Map for Iron Range to Arrowhead HERE!

The PUC dockets to plug in (and FYI, the MISO number from above, substations, and voltage) are:

• CN-25-109 MISO 20 – Maple River – Cuyuna 345 kV
• CN-25-111 MISO 21 – Iron Range – Arrowhead 345 kV
• TL-25-112 ” “
• CN-25-116 MISO 19 – Bison-Alexandria 345kv
• CN-25-117 MISO 22 – Brookings – Lakefield 765 kV
• CN-25-118 MISO 23 – Lakefield – East Adair 765 kV
• CN-25-119 MISO 24 – Lakefield-Pleasant Valley – N Roch 765 kV
• CN-25-120 MISO 25 – Pleasant Valley – N Roch – Hampton 345 kV
• CN-25-121 MISO 26 – N Roch – Columbia 765 kV Dairyland
• CN-25-122 ” ” Xcel

The project with the just filed Notice of Comment Notice Plan and Request for Exemptions is MISO #21, and PUC Docket E015/CN-25-111, from the Iron Range sub to Arrowhead sub.

And here’s the Comment Notice:

The “Topics for Comment” that the PUC lists is just one, about the Exemptions Minnesota Power (MP) and American Transmission Company (ATC) have requested:

But… but… but… where’s mention of the Notice Plan? Do check out the Notice Plan and if it’s deficient, let them know in your comment.

Send Comments to:

I highly recommend signing up for eFiling and filing them directly in the docket — that way others can benefit from your filing to help recognize and address issues. INSTRUCTIONS TO REGISTER (yeah, it’s over 20 pages, but there are screen shots to walk you through, and once you’re registered, it’s EASY to file.

p.s. Here’s a post (linked HERE) from over a decade ago predicting this mess of 765 kV transmission:

Thanks, American Clean Power Ass., f/k/a American Wind Energy Ass.

And yes, transmission and markets, or American Clean Power’s “Markets & Transmission,” — it’s all about money:

Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy hits it out of the park! Yes, they couldn’t have done a better job, and y’all know I’m no fan of MCEA. MCEA’s positions on transmission and coal gasification have been horrible, guided by funding for promotion of transmission, and limitations on coal gasification to only addressing CO2. Right now, MCEA’s doing one hell of a job! Really!

Here’s the good news, took a while, color me slow on the uptake, but here it is. MCEA has sued the City of Lakeville and the City of North Mankato about their deceptive, improper, and avoidant use of Alternative Urban Area Review (AUAR). It’s so well done — this is what advocacy is all about.

EVERY CITY USING AN AUAR TO SNEAK IN A DATA CENTER WITHOUT ADEQUATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW NEEDS TO BE SERVED WITH A COMPLAINT LIKE THIS!

For your edification and reading enjoyment:

Ya made my day, MCEA!

Here’s a link to help them ramp up this work – specify “data center” to direct it there: DONATE

Sirens? Look at them all surrounding Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant:

Today at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, during discussion of granting Xcel Energy a Certificate of Need for many new nuclear waste storage casks, as an aside, but a VERY IMPORTANT aside, Chair Sieben asked about the emergency warning sirens.

The meeting isn’t posted yet, but will be soon, scroll down to #44 at the bottom of list for their YouTube channel.

For some reason lately, Xcel Energy must have floated a press release, the transfer of sirens is in the news. Yup, that’s it, a press release — here’s their August 1, 2025 press release about emergency sirens:

New technology will enhance safety communications near Xcel Energy’s nuclear plants

And look who’s picked it up, just some of them:

• Xcel Energy switches from sirens to cellphone alerts to warn public of nuclear emergencies
• Xcel Energy will now use cellphones to send emergency alerts related to nuclear plants
• Xcel Energy replaces nuclear plant sirens with wireless alerts to boost public safety
• Xcel Energy switches from sirens to cell phone alerts to warn public of nuclear emergencies
• Xcel Energy will now use cellphones to send emergency alerts related to nuclear plants

Cell phones? (Note Monticello also signed up last year, and they only took on 5 sirens, compared with Red Wing’s 33. Hmmmmmm…)

Who has phone on them and ON 24/7, and what about those who don’t have it, or are in the areas here with unreliable or no cell service?

Look at all the emergency warning sirens on that map above, and in that little chart in lower left corner, Xcel says there are 40,870 people in the vicinity of these sirens. Xcel Energy wants to eliminate their responsibility for these sirens and use cell phones for emergency warnings, as they say, “like Amber Alerts.” With this goal, over time, Xcel Energy has been handing them off to local governments, giving them offers they can’t refuse. From Legalectric last year:

Prairie Island nuclear sirens decommissioning? March 10th, 2024

Local governments get the choice of an Xcel Energy “donation,” and are obligated to take on the responsibility of maintaining and replacing the sirens, OR the sirens will be “decommissioned” by Xcel. Hobson’s choice much?

Here’s the bottom line, from Red Wing’s June 24, 2024 City Council packet:

Why an issue today? Because when PUC Chair Katie Sieben asked about the status of this shift to cell phones, Pam Gorman Prochaska said she didn’t know. She is the Xcel Energy’s General Manager, Nuclear Fleet Operations. If I know about some of the local governments siren deal, how could she not know? Naaah, I just don’t believe it — I think it was a topic that wasn’t to be discussed today. Don’t know?? That’s a really bad look…

Color me incensed. DOH! I’ve had it posted here on Legalectric since March, 2024!

So I fired off a missive to the PUC, a letter AND the City of Red Wing City Council packets from January 22, 2024 and June 24, 2024, where this was discussed, and on June 24, 2024, when the City rolled to Xcel’s extortion and took on the sirens and maintenance, repair and replacement costs. Such a deal…

That process of dumping the sirens and costs onto Red Wing started over a year and a half ago. The documentation and details are here:

EQB Meeting

Wednesday, August 20 from 1 – 4:00 p.m.

520 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, lower level conference room – south

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The topic at hand is use and misuse of AUARs as evidenced by so many data center projects proposed and shuttled through via AUAR environmental review, and support for EQB’s workplan and development of AUAR Guidance. USE OF AUARs for review of these many data centers — just NOPE! (this isn’t a general call to action — it’s not about all the known impacts of data centers, the noise, the water use, need for protective zoning including protective setbacks, size and height restrictions — all legitimate issues — but that’s for another time).

I first became aware of the use of Alternative Urban Area Review (AUAR) way back in March 2023, so filed scoping comments on the data center project proposed on the north-east corner of Northfield (map above), brought to us by our good friends at Xcel:

Xcel/Northfield AUAR! Old news, but… January 25th, 2025

It was clear that a data center was wha was contemplated, despite no application… yet. And right now there are a handful of data center projects in southern/southeast Minnesota, most proposed by developer tract, and again, these are beyond contemplated, planned already, but no application… yet… It’s one of those nudge-nudge wink-wink things…

… yes, for Cannon Falls, it’s clearly a data center in the works, not yet applied for but plans all drawn up and ready to go. I got specific info through a FOIA request:

Here’s some of that info received in response to the Data Practices Act Request:

Tract Data Center in Cannon Falls – 6/24/25

Despite the pretty firm plans, lots of money into drawing up those plans, it’s environmentally reviewed via an AUAR. WHAT?

The AUAR is to be used as “a planning tool to understand how different development scenarios will affect the environment of their community before the development occurs. The process is designed to look at the cumulative impacts of anticipated development scenarios within a given geographic area.”

Earth to Mars, see Minn. R. 4410.3610: “The procedures of this part may not be used to review any project meeting the requirements for a mandatory EAW in part 4410.4300, subparts 2 to 13, 15 to 17, 18, item C, D, or E, or 24, or a mandatory EIS in part 4410.4400, subparts 2 to 10, 12, 13, or 25.”

As far as specific projects go, AUAR can be used…

… but sufficient information must be provided for review, and that is NOT happening.

I’d written about this in my comments on the Cannon Falls “AUAR” because it was clear this was for a data center and insufficient info was presented — this pretty much sums it up:

The disingenuous use of AUAR is an open secret that needs to be brought into the sunlight and STOPPED!!

Here’s my full comment:

In addition to Cannon Falls, the RGU, and Randolph Township, which will lose land due to annexation by Cannon Falls for the project, I sent my comment to the EQB for consideration at their next meeting. They need to know in technicolor what’s happening.

The next EQB meeting is coming up — August 20, 2025! Here’s the Board’s packet, my comment is towards the end, starting on p. 142 of 173:

The good news is that AUAR Guidance is on the FY 2026 EQB workplan, starting on p. 133 of 173, and continue searching for “AUAR” in the packet, looking at AUAR from different angles:

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Unfortunately, AUAR Guidance is deemed a low-medium priority (p. 138 of 173):

The work on AUAR Guidance is happening right now, July through November!

Work has begun, but with the handful of AUAR reviews of data center projects, it’s a little late! HURRY UP!

Another issue — with these many data center projects queuing up, consideration of cumulative impacts is crucial:

And btw, here’s one that caught my attention, Energy Infrastructure Permitting, nerd that I am, for sure I’ll be commenting on this: