Legalectric

On Wednesday, Association of Freeborn County Landowners filed an appeal of the Public Utilities Commission’s denial of AFCL’s Petition for and Environmental Assessment Worksheet. It was mailed Certified Mail yesterday, as required by statute, and today, filed on the PUC’s eDockets:

The PUC really screwed this up, in so many ways. Granted there are few Petitions for EAW to the Commission, and Commission staff may not be familiar with EQB rules and process. However, in the only other Petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet/EIS, they denied a Motion and then a Petition for EAW forwarded by the EQB, and it was sent back to the Commission by the Appellate Court:

In the Matter of Minnesota Power’s Petition for Approval of the EnergyForward Resource Package

Lesson not learned. We’ve been trying to get environmental review of wind projects for how long now, particularly given the demonstrable impacts, actual and constructive notice, beyond the “potential” for environmental impacts. Bent Tree noise excedences and landowner settlements? What more is needed?

Bent Tree Order filed by PUC

In the Staff Briefing Papers, which is staff’s recommendation to the Commission, over and over it was said that the Petition was insufficient because there were not 100 signatures, but there were 380+ signatures! In the Staff Briefing Papers, over and over it was said that the Commission could declare the Petition insufficient, when it is NOT the Commission’s job to address sufficiency, that was already determined by the Environmental Quality Board, which validated the Petition and forwarded it to the Commission for action! Read the Briefing Papers… really, it’s that absurd:

I fired off a letter requesting correction, which never happened:

And even after denying AFCL’s Petition, they went further, and provided “notice” in an email to the EQB that the Board had made its decision:

And that “notice” was published in the EQB Monitor on February 18, 2020:

And yet to this date, they’ve not filed an Order or the Record of Decision on this decision! WHAT?!?! Yes, really!!

I’d sent a letter to the EQB about the Commission’s failure to file the Order and Record of Decision nearly a month ago:

STILL NO ORDER OR RECORD OF DECISION. There are no Findings of Facts to explain, to support, the Commission’s decision. I guess it’s harder to make them up than staff thought?!?!

Meanwhile, the appeal deadline of a decision on an EAW Petition is 30 days after the notice is published in the EQB Monitor. Minn. Stat. 116D.04, Subd. 10. It’s kind of hard to Appeal a decision without the necessary documents, so I can guess that’s one more reason the Commission has chosen not to file! Oh well… ONWARD!

Prior posts on AFCL’s Petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet:

Freeborn EAW – more time!

EQB forwards EAW Petition to PUC

Petition for EAW – Freeborn Wind

The PUC has asked for additional time, noting that our Petition for EAW for the Freeborn Wind project is expected to come before the Commission on February 6, 2020. PUC asked and PUC received:

Old news on Legalectric:

EQB forwards EAW Petition to PUC
January 3rd, 2020

Petition for EAW – Freeborn Wind
January 2nd, 2020

The Environmental Quality Board has forwarded Association of Freeborn Landowners’ Petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet to the Public Utilities Commission. YES!

They zipped it, listed as “FreebornWind.zip” on the ftp site (ftp://files.pca.state.mn.us/pub/tmp).

Next step – the PUC needs to determine whether an EAW is necessary, the transmittal letter lays out the process. In the meantime:

Onward. Potential for Environental review of a wind project in Minnesota — what a concept!

Association of Freeborn County Landowners has filed a Petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet on Freeborn County Wind. Minn. R. 4410.1100. It’s HUGE, my server was over quota, so it’s been going out just one piece (of 10) an hour, should be done in about half an hour. Times like these it sure would be good to have minions. AFCL did a tremendous job, getting over 380 signatures for the Petition over just 3 days. WOW!

Here it is:

And the Exhibits – here’s the Table of Contents to make it easier to find them:

Whew – emailing one per hour takes WAY too long, but even zipped, Exhibit E was still over 100 mb, no way to send that. Posting this took all of 20 minutes with interruptions. Technology…

This round is for comments on Xcel’s Permit Amendment Request:

Here’s what we (Association of Freeborn County Landowners) filed:

Quite a few comments were filed.

Reply Comments due November 19, 2019, one week from today!