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“NATIONAL INTEREST ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR CLARIFICATION ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E256-E257 on Feb. 5, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL INTEREST ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR CLARIFICATION ACT
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HON. FRANK R. WOLF
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 5, 2007
Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I am introducing legislation today to clarify provisions in Section 1221 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 regarding the designation of National Interest Energy Transmission Corridors (NIETC).
As the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) begin implementation of Section 1221, concerns have arisen in my state and in other states about this section of the new law. Specifically, those concerns include how the designation of these corridors could work to usurp the state decisionmaking process, override merit-based decisions by state siting authorities, destroy protected lands, ignore alternative energy solutions, and fail to provide compensation for landowners adjacent to new transmission lines. My legislation attempts to clarify Section 1221 to ensure that the necessity of building interstate energy transmission lines is balanced with other important national interests.
Building transmission lines that use 200-feet rights-of-way and rise up to 270 feet into the air have a tremendous and permanent impact on the surrounding landscape and property values. Patterning the electric transmission line process after current gas line siting regulations does not take into consideration the far reaching visual impact of power lines. Above ground facilities for gas lines are generally a maximum of eight feet high, therefore the viewshed affected is minimal. But power lines towering over 100 feet can be seen for miles around. It is traditionally understood that local and state governments are best equipped to properly consider and evaluate land use needs for local communities. Federal siting processes for transmission lines must be carefully tailored to allow greater protections to both local landowners and to the state decisionmaking process.
Currently, Section 1221 provides that state regulatory authorities can have their jurisdiction to approve or disapprove an application for new transmission lines in the state usurped by the federal government after one year in the application process. Additionally, the FERC can simply override disapproval by the state regardless of how sound the rationale for disapproval might have been. This is unacceptable.
Under my legislation, if the state entity denies an application, any subsequent application to FERC would first have to prove that the state decision was arbitrary and capricious. Furthermore, if the state goes beyond a year to act, the applicant must show that the state had no valid reason for delaying action.
Additionally, in order to ensure that lands that have been protected by the federal or state governments through conservation easements, ownership and similar preservation initiatives will not be impacted, the legislation prohibits these lands from being included in a NIETC and requires that the Department of Energy consider the national interests in protecting these resources.
I fully support investment in alternative energy sources and conservation, yet current law requires no assessment of alternative energy solutions before action is taken to designate a NIETC. My legislation would require the Department of Energy to consider all energy use alternatives to building new transmission lines before designating a NIETC. Furthermore, the Department of Energy will be required to solicit public comments on the analysis.
Finally, under current law landowners are compensated only for the portion of their property actually taken for a NIETC right-of-way. There is no compensation for any reduction in the value of the remainder of a landowner's property or for adjacent landowners whose property is devalued. This legislation would allow all landowners who are able to prove a 10 percent diminution in property value because of the construction of the transmission lines a cause of action to recover those damages from the energy company. The fact is that transmission lines that tower 270 feet into the air have an impact far beyond the footprint required for construction and maintenance and this must be acknowledged.
Madam Speaker, I invite our colleagues to join with me in support of this legislation.
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