Legalectric

Turns out that this morning, I received an “invitation” to the Public Utilities Commission meeting tomorrow.

Tune in: Agenda MTG Thursday, February 4, 2021, 1pm

Meeting Details Agenda Live Webcast Viewing Instructions

I’d really not had time to think much about this on Monday, had to take a quick look and zip something off — testimony was due for WI so I had lots of back and forth with clients — so in afterthought, I realized that I’d missed the flip side of this, that the folks complaining were left in the dark here. THEY’RE NOT EVEN ON THE SERVICE LIST! WTF??!?!?!

So today after I got the Wisconsin testimony filed, I fired off a missive, and as I went to file, there were Xcel filings in the inbox:

Here’s my second missive:

Here’s my post from Monday:

Blazing Star Wind NOISE!

February 1st, 2021

Turns out a landowner couple have been complaining about noise since March 9, 2020, and this Thursday it is coming up before the Public Utilities Commission. I read through some filings and got OH-SO-PISSED-OFF! Better pissed off than pissed on… and filed this:

THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION WAS WARNED! THEY HAD ACTUAL AND CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE THAT NOISE IS A PROBLEM, AND ACCEPTED GI/GO “MODELING” AND PERMITTED THE PROJECT.

Here’s a letter summarizing the landowners complaint:

This above complaint was dated September 25, 2020, but was not filed in the PUC’s eDockets until January 12, 2021.

They made their first complaint March 9, 2020, and there were other complaints March 17 and 24, and April 2 and 14, 2020, regarding turbines 11, 28, 31, 41, 42, 43, 45, 83, 84, 85 and 86.

Complaints made were reported in the monthly permit-required “Complaint” compliance filing as “pending,” with repeated complaints not disclosed. Thursday’s agenda item deals only with the Weverka noise complaint and turbine 90, and does not address the multiple complaints of March 17 and 24, and April 2 and 14, 2020, regarding turbines 11, 28, 31, 41, 42, 43, 45, 83, 84, 85 and 86.

The time-frame of Weverka noise complaints and actions by Xcel are listed here — pay particular attention to the dates, and note it’s XCEL hiring the consultants for the noise monitoring, not Commerce as occurred for the Bent Tree noise complaints:

DoC-EERA notes that:

… and Commission staff repeats this statement in the Staff Briefing Papers (p. 6):

… to which I can only say, DOH!

Doc-EERA recommends this be addressed regarding Turbine 90 only, when a more logical response would be to look at the entire project and compare monitoring results with the pre-construction noise modeling DONE AT THE IMPROPER 0.7 GROUND FACTOR! DOH! and DOUBLE DOH!

Post-construction noise modeling of the project “was completed during the summer of 2020,” but it’s not been filed yet, as of January 14, 2021. WHAT?!?! How long does it take to print out the results, write up a summary, and file it?

And what’s this Xcel July 9, 2020 noise report that was filed on 11/13/2021?

And this November 23, 2020 “Xcel Response to Noise Complaint” that also was not filed until 1/13/2021:

Here’s the initial Noise Modeling from the Application, Appendix A:

Here’s an “updated” Noise Modeling – REDACTED, dated December 2016, filed June 2020:

I really don’t have the time to dig into this, but it’s clear they’re hiding info, that the complaints are legitimate, that there are noise exceedences, and that the Commission knew the noise modeling was off, garbage in, garbage out. The Commission also knew that the setbacks were not adequate, because setbacks at Bent Tree, with smaller turbines, less noise turbines, were not adequate, and there were noise exceedences at 1,150 feet at Hagen’s home and 1,525 at Langrud’s home. They’re “resolving” this in secret, with back and forths between Xcel and Commerce-EERA without involvement of the landowners. THE LANDOWNERS ARE NOT EVEN ON THE SERVICE LIST!

THERE IS NO EXCUSE, NO EXCUSE FOR THIS!

Better get this Rebuttal Testimony posted, as it’s almost time for Surrebuttal Testimony! To look at all the filings in the Grant County Solar docket GO HERE TO PSC DOCKET LOOK-UP and search for docket 9804-CE-100.

Grant County Intervenors Rebuttal Testimony:

NextEra Rebuttal Testimony:

Public Service Commission Staff Rebuttal Testimony – NONE!

Dept. of Natural Resources Rebuttal Testimony – NONE!

RENEW Wisconsin Rebuttal Testimony

Talon Metals is in the news…

Talon hits high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation at Tamarack Nickel

… and it’s something Minnesota needs to pay attention to. I got a heads up from a friend who lives nearby, at a time when they were expanding the area they were “exploring.” Their location in Tamarack seems, well, like something I’d expect of a company HQ in British Virgin Islands, though the article has them posing in front of a different building:

From the article above, “The early stage study estimated initial capex of US$83.33 million and an after-tax payback of 2.5 years. The PEA, which used a nickel concentrate price of US$2.67 per lb., forecast an after-tax net present value of US$291 million, at a 7% discount rate, and an internal rate of return of 36%.“

And this:

An updated preliminary economic assessment in March 2020 envisioned an underground mine producing 4.9 million tonnes of processed ore over eight years at all-in sustaining costs of US$3.57 per lb. of nickel concentrate.

Looking at these “maps” I’m thinking of knee surgery, hard to recognize as a map:

This is more like it:

This looks like their area, from google earth (how did we live without the internet?):

Check this inset map in lower right corner — huge file, doesn’t want to save, so here’s the link: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/lands_minerals/mpes_projects/mnmin2017_coppernickel.pdf

Legalectric post from a while ago:

Tamarack copper-nickel exploration?

And here’s their PR blurb:

Undoing the big mess that tRump left, and already, a big improvement. SCROLL DOWN FOR BIDEN EOs. See that big pile of folders in the photo? Biden signed a couple handfuls of Executive Orders undoing some of the horrible ones tRump emitted. AND, the Biden administration already has the White House website up, with the “Presidential Actions” link back — Executive Orders are no longer hidden. As with the White House phone line, the White House website started out functional, but then the website wasn’t, the “Presidential Actions” section disappeared and it was very hard to find Executive Orders. The good news was they had to be published in the Federal Register, otherwise, hard to find! GO HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO FEDERAL REGISTER DOCUMENTS AND PUBLIC INSPECTION.

In January, 2017, right out the gate, tRump started in on his “Muslim ban” series of Executive Orders, and for every obnoxious EO, it was up to “someone” to challenge it in court, and challenge they did, over and over and over and over. It was so disturbing to me that I put together a site to track his Executive Orders and those challenges, and by April, I had to give up, there was no way to keep up with the flurry of the awful Executive Orders and lawsuits.

How many Executive Orders? 211 of them, and many perverse beyond belief. Click these links to review:

Trump EOs in 2017

Trump EOs in 2018

Trump EOs in 2019

Trump EOs in 2020

Does anyone remember how he campaigned against use of Executive Orders, over and over slammed Obama for use of Executive Orders?!?!

Here are a few blog posts from those daze, what got my dander up:

UPDATE! Minnesota joins Washington State against tRump’s EO 13769

February 3rd, 2017

tRump’s EO 13769, Norway’s former Prime Minister detained

February 3rd, 2017

NY Federal Judge says NO! to tRump’s Executive Order

January 28th, 2017

tRump bans immigration from “certain” countries

January 28th, 2017

Here are the Biden Executive Orders posted so far — and the Muslim/travel bans, the issue most concerning to me, not that they’re ALL important — have been removed/reversed. Nothing’s come across in Federal Register for Public Inspection yet:

Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians

Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction

Executive Order on Ethic Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel

Modernizing Regulatory Review

Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation

Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis

Executive Order on Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census

Executive Order on Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation

Executive Order on Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation

Executive Order on Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security

Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing

Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States

Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government

Regulatory Freeze Pending Review

And some “statements” issued:

Pausing Federal Student Loan Payments

Paris Climate Agreement