Donate!!! Yes, you!! See that “PayPal” button up to the right? Join the challenge to transmission that they don’t need and we don’t want! Residents and Ratepayers Against Not-so-Great-Northern Transmission, an ad hoc advocacy association, has Intervened in the Certificate of Need, a public interest intervention focused on showing up to weigh in on the big picture issues (Important note, we’re aiding public participation, but not taking a position on route.).
It’s in the news — the Winnipeg Sun:
Hydro’s transmission line project heads back to court
And here’s the Metis’ press release, and the court orders:
Winnipeg, MB – The Federal Court of Appeal has granted the Manitoba Metis Federation’s (“MMF”) request to appeal the Canada Energy Regulator’s recent decision that concluded Manitoba Hydro was not required to uphold the Government of Canada’s (“Canada”) accommodation of Indigenous rights and interests included in federal license for the Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project (the “MMTP”).
“We are pleased that the Federal Court of Appeal has agreed to hear this important appeal. The license for the MMTP included commitments to all Indigenous peoples, including the Manitoba Métis community specifically. We are optimistic that the courts will not continue to allow Manitoba Hydro to ignore those obligations or the Canada Energy Regulator to turn a blind eye to the accommodations the federal Crown made,” said MMF President David Chartrand.
The MMTP is a new 213-km power line stretching from near Rosser to the Manitoba-United States border near Piney, where it connects with the Great Northern Transmission Line in Minnesota. The MMTP cuts through the heart of the Métis Nation Homeland, where the Métis – as a distinct Indigenous people – emerged and call their home today. The MMTP significantly impacts the constitutional rights of the Manitoba Métis Community.
As an international power line, Manitoba Hydro was required to get regulatory approval for the MMTP from Canada to construct and operate it. Prior to approving the MMTP, Canada engaged in Crown consultations with MMF and other Indigenous groups who stand to be adversely impacted by the Project. Following that process, Canada modified the Canada Energy Regulator’s proposed conditions for Manitoba Hydro’s license to address Métis rights, interests, and concerns.
In August 2020, the Canada Energy Regulator made a decision that effectively rendered Canada’s changes to the MMTP’s license meaningless in relation to protecting Métis rights and interests as well as the rights and interests of other Indigenous peoples. In effect, the Canada Energy Regulator concluded that Manitoba Hydro only has to do what it wants to do, not what Canada promised to Indigenous peoples flowing from Crown consultation.
President Chartrand added, “This case is about ensuring that accommodation measures put in place by the Crown cannot be cast aside by the Canada Energy Regulator who is charged with enforcing them. The Crown has a duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal peoples. When accommodations are made to us to secure our support for resource development projects, they must be honoured.”
A copy of the MMF’s leave to appeal application, as well as the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision, is available below.
Memorandum of Fact and Law (12 October 2020)Download – Document
20-A-35 – Order of Appeal – Download
Here’s the Canadian site for this project:
Manitoba Hydro – Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project
Filed under Uncategorized
The Great Northern Transmission Line has been energized, and RRANTing is over. Right on schedule, as above, Minnesota Power’s Great Northern Transmission Line is up and running, bringing Manitoba Hydro generated electricity to Minnesota, and likely beyond.
Here’s their press release, hot off the press from Minnesota Power, but I got sidetracked:
In Minnesota as proposed:
In Canada:
And in the air:
And the press lapped it up:
And it looks like a cut and paste of the MP press release in the Grand Rapids paper:
This was a LONG project, starting at the PUC in 2012, EIGHT YEARS AGO, with Minnesota Power’s planning starting long before that.
To look at the full Public Utilities Commission siting docket, go HERE and search for 14-21. The Certificate of Need docket is 12-1163.
There was also a DOE Presidential Permit, that’s where the DOE’s Environmental Impact Statement came in, a limited scope:
There were also three FERC dockets regarding Zonal Agreements, ER16-1107, ER16-110, an ER16-1116.
And then there’s Canada!
Open houses beginning in Canada for GNTL
Suffice it to say, this was a long and complicated haul. As well it should be, two countries involved, and multiple agencies here in the U.S. and Minnesota. So many road shows, and I sure couldn’t go on all of them.
There were some really cold meetings, I remember one in the ambulance hall, because I was handing out flyers, freezing… Here’s what I’d been handing out in attempt to let people know how to weigh in. They’re affected, they’re right there, and they know the situation on the ground.
I usually did that outside, but whew, but sometimes it was TOO COLD:
That’s the meeting where MP folks were not too happy that I brought up my Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line details of the capacity for that initially quad-bundled 500 kV line, MVA over 4,000. This line is pretty much the same, though now I can’t remember if this is quad or “just” tri-bundled. It’s absurd design for “250 MW” load, so we know there’s going to be more. Though with the energy market as it is, can’t see a need for more anytime soon, and with COVID shutdown, Minnesota Power demand is down 40% or so.
It was so cold that first year. Minnesota Power held its own PR meetings before it even formally applied, in International Falls circa 2012:
In Grand Rapids at the Sawmill:
Formal meetings were held later, also in Grand Rapids. And Burl Ives (yes, that’s his name, and he’s a County Commissioner, District 4, now) wasn’t thrilled that I was handing out flyers at his hotel, but we had a good chat and he got it, he saw that I was graciously greeting people and handing out info, not making them run the gauntlet:
And Taconite?
And 2013, another cold winter road show, THE COLDEST, this was in the ambulance garage, and I really did not have fun on this road show:
In 2014, we had meetings in warmth, all over, another road show, well attended, with good treats:
Note the Executive Order, E.O. 12038:
And some not so well attended…
And came 2015, the DOE’s EIS meetings, unbearably hot, unfunded so couldn’t get hotel, and we stayed in site 12 in Big Bog State Park in our “new” pop-up, the site had a dock, and was swarming with bugs, the worst I’ve ever experienced. NEVER AGAIN! We were picking out bug carcasses for years afterward (there were still bugs embedded in the screens when we sold it last fall!).
And then the rain, the Rainy River was overflowing the banks, one city’s municipal campground was flooded, standing water everywhere through torrential rainfall and super high winds:
Who knew there were honey bee colonies all over along Hwy 11??
And PUC hearings the following month, another series of road shows:
Then the PUC’s permit:
And now it’s up and running… sigh…
From the “Learn Something Every Day” category, and timely, it’s about corona!
Close, but no… here are corona rings on transmission lines at insulators:
Today a Minnesota Power Compliance Filing came over the wire:
And a part of that was a cool photo, above, of the corona rings installed at the “Iron Range Substation.” Corona Rings — rather relevant today! Ahem… but this was new to me, so the Wiki. I have not seen this before, haven’t noticed it in filings, so I’ve got some homework to do. But as corona was raised as an issue in at least one docket that I can think of, this way to limit corona and corona impacts should have come up. Did I miss it? Gotta take a look!
Digging in my files from way back, I have some studies about corona, the link between corona and childhood leukemia, and limitation of corona/prevention:
Corona Effect – circuitglobe.com
And this one, with the quote below, does indicate that corona rings are a “new” thing, so maybe I didn’t miss anything back then:
And this, near and dear to my heart, LINE LOSSES:
What I’m taking from this is that utilities are getting more serious about limiting line losses, and to do so, limiting corona! That’s a good thing, and I’d like to know the particulars!
And who cares? Well, an instance where it mattered, well, two cases, and what was learned:
Failures on 400 kV Lines Highlight Importance of Corona Rings
Filed under Uncategorized
Minnesota Power has filed its “Update” and the update is that the clearing, soil boring, and foundations are 100% complete. They’re working now on putting up the structures, and look at them, they’re those bizarre ones standing on a point with guy wires. You’d think they could just drop them from the helicopter and they’d implant themselves… naaah, nevermind…
Here’s the update:
Filed under Uncategorized
I know I’m the one, along with everyone else, who’s really paying for these things anyway.
He said he always opposed the transmission line, and still does.
Weiss isn’t too bothered that a cheque won’t be coming the municipality’s way, however.
Filed under Uncategorized
This, hot off the press in an email update — it’s not over, but it’s getting closer, the final decision is yet to be made by the Governor in Council – press is below:
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[emphasis added] Here’s their “Document Library” page.
And in the news, note both these headlines say “approves” but that’s not correct, it should be “recommends” and should note it takes further action:
NEB approves Manitoba-Minnesota power line; landowners could fight decision in court: lawyer
NEB approves Manitoba Hydro’s proposed link to Minnesota
Filed under Canada permitting, Media
Metis federation launches legal action against Manitoba government
Coalition lobbies for halt of Manitoba transmission line project
So the government rejects the “deal,” and I’ll bet their idea is to just go ahead and build it and screw over the Metis. ??? We shall see…
And getting interesting in Minnesota too:
Minnesota Power hopeful Canadian transmission line will stay on track
Some columns with background on the mess on the other side of the border:
BRODBECK: NDP’s reign of terror at Hydro will take a generation to overcome
Filed under Canada permitting, Hearings, Maps, Media, MP
RRANT, Residents and Ratepayers Against Not-so-Great-Northern Transmission have filed to be a “Commenter” in Canada’s National Energy Board proceeding for the “Manitoba-Minnesota” transmission line, the Canada portion of Great Northern Transmission Line. It’ll address both need and route, but particularly need.
This transmission project is HUGE, it’s a bundled 500 kV line with the capacity of Susquehanna-Roseland, over 4,000 MVA! And it is yet another transmission project that isn’t needed, and is designed 8+ times too large for the stated/claimed need and the Presidential Permit, particularly because one dam was admittedly not needed.
Hold yer horses, Conawapa…
And in Minnesota, it was weird… for routing, people did not get proper notice, and agency comments were being hidden off in the EIS and not incorporated into the hearing record, comments that were oh-so-relevant in routing, so I did have to raise a stink about that:
So on to Ccanada… Oh, Canadda!!! How will this go in Canada? Why the NEB process?
Here’s the HEARING ORDER: A88851-1 NEB – Letter – Manitoba Hydro – MMTP – Hearing Order EH-001-2017 – A5Y6X8
How to participate? GUIDANCE HERE!
Much is already online, and they have the filings up and will utilize what’s been filed thus far, and those intervenors in the earlier Canadian process are intervenors in this one.
The Minnesota part of this project required a lot of travel, and testing out the “new” camper in Big Bog State Park (never again, way too hot and humid, what a mosquito and fly hell hole!). The rain was so intense that the Rainy River was over its banks, water in all the ditches, covering roads. That was July 2014, and I’m still brushing and vacuuming fly carcases out of the recesses of screens!
We’ll see what Canada has to say about this! No, not high hopes…
Filed under Canada permitting, Hearings
Got this in the inbox yesterday, and this Canadian process WILL address “need” for this transmission line — in Canada it’s called the Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project (MMTP):
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From the NEB site:
17 January 2018 – NEB Hearing for Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project
Support for participants
Participant Funding
Participant funding is available. Refer to the Participant Funding Program page for information on deadlines, eligibility, how to apply for funding, and how to submit claims.
Process Advisor
The Process Advisor’s role is to support the public (e.g., landowners, concerned citizens, environmental non-governmental organizations) and Aboriginal groups if they have questions about the NEB’s assessment of the project.
Matt Groza
Process Advisor
National Energy Board
E-mail: MMTP.ProcessHelp@neb-one.gc.ca
Telephone: 403-614-4952
Telephone (toll free): 1-800-899-1265
Facsimile: 403-292-5503
Facsimile (toll free): 1-877-288-8803
TTY (Teletype): 1-800-632-1663
Filed under Canada permitting, Need
Public participation, getting the lay of the land — it’s messy, it’s time consuming, and it’s where it’s at in transmission siting proceeding, it is the essential guts of transmission line siting. Get ready for another round of meetings some time after January 17, 2018 up in Canada!
Last report was that Canada;s National Energy Board had suddenly decided that there was a need for a public hearing process that had somehow been left out of the mix! WHAT? More pubic process is always better, but a series of public hearings for this huge transmission project, both in length and capacity, isn’t too much to ask of Canada. It’s expected!
Well, Manitoba Hydro is now agreeing to the public hearings… mighty nice of them. Something tells me they had no choice. It’s still up in the air how soon that will happen, but mark you calendars, because on January 17, Manitoba Hydor will make the announcement of the hearing dates and locations!
Published in CBC news:
Despite delay, Crown corporation hopes $453M line will be complete by 2020
And an earlier article:
$453M Manitoba Hydro line to Minnesota could face delay after energy board recommendation
Filed under Canada permitting, Hearings, Meetings, Open Houses
