Denial is NOT withholding… Piedmont v. FERC
February 18th, 2009
EEEEEEEEEEE-HA!
OH HAPPY DAY!!!!
A victory for states’ rights, for state decision-making authority and jurisdiction over transmission lines. The National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designation has been horrifying to many of us because the talk on the street was that the rules allowed transfer to FERC where a state was “withholding” granting a permit. That was being interpreted as broadly as a state denial — that if a state reasonably denied a permit for transmission, the applicant could then take it to FERC and get it rammed through. So it went to court…
AND THE COURT SAID NO!
NO!
Like wow…
It’s printing now, and I’ll find some choice snippets. This is such a relief, but I doubt the utilities will let this go unchallenged — onward and upward!