The Clean Line Blame Game

In the wake of the Missouri Public Service Commission's denial of Clean Line's Grain Belt Express project today, fingers were pointing everywhere.

Clean Line's Michael Skelly blamed the PSC.

“The PSC’s decision to deny approval of the project, despite the clear public benefits, sends a clear message that investors contemplating new infrastructure projects should not come to Missouri. Today’s ruling is inconsistent with good government and sound public policy and it is our hope that moving forward Missouri will work to remove barriers to building new critical infrastructure projects.”

The PSC blamed the courts.

Instead, the commission said it was bound by a court opinion rendered earlier this year on the Mark Twain Transmission Project. That case involved the issue of assent — or permission from counties to use right-of-ways to construct the project.

Screwball environmental fringe group Renew Missouri blamed the governor.

"...the decision on the Grain Belt Express today shows our new Governor’s administration isn’t serious about economic development and household budgets as promised. Just more talk with no action.”

Let's pause here and put on our thinking caps, shall we? 

What's the problem?

Grain Belt Express did not have necessary county assents.

Whose fault is that?

It's Clean Line's fault, of course!  None of this would have happened if Clean Line had produced county assents.

And why couldn't Clean Line produce county assents?

Because it treated county commissions and affected landowners like they didn't matter.  Instead of offering something landowners could accept, Clean Line thought it prudent to ignore landowner concerns and request eminent domain to take their property against their will.  If Clean Line had truly worked to find a way to get landowner support, the county commissions may have granted assent.

But Clean Line didn't. 

The denial of Grain Belt Express is only Clean Line's fault.