Thousands of citizens across the country gave the U.S. DOE their thoughts and opinions about the potential designation of multiple National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) across the country this week. And it seems like nobody thought it was a good idea, except a handful of clueless congress critters playing politics. I'm going to bet they didn't ask any of their constituents who would be impacted by NIETCs what they thought about it, and they suck up to the political teat at their own peril at the ballot box.
This is probably my favorite line from all the comments I managed to read before they got sucked down into DOE's black hole. This comment comes from the Inskeep family in Kansas.
This is probably my favorite line from all the comments I managed to read before they got sucked down into DOE's black hole. This comment comes from the Inskeep family in Kansas.
There hasn’t been a land grab and human expulsion to this degree since the Native Americans were slaughtered indiscriminately and herded off their land.
Congress, the U.S Department of Energy, and the DC political machine never considered the thousands of people impacted by their desire to turn rural America into energy slaves for their glistening cities, nor put it into the context of how it will be remembered by the history books.
The midwestern state farm bureaus submitted excellent comments, and the Missouri Farm Bureau wrote this opinion piece.
These are the Missouri Farm Bureau's comments.
The midwestern state farm bureaus submitted excellent comments, and the Missouri Farm Bureau wrote this opinion piece.
These are the Missouri Farm Bureau's comments.
| mofb_comments_doe_nietc_phase_2_-_final_062424.pdf |
And these comments came from the Illinois Farm Bureau and a collection of impacted landowners in that state.
| landowner_alliance_comments.pdf |
Further east, I submitted these comments on the designation of multiple NIETC segments in West Virginia for the purpose of shipping coal-fired power to Virginia's "data center alley" via new high-voltage extension cords.
Sacrificing West Virginia’s environment and imposing new costs on its struggling consumers for benefit of Virginia’s economy and the profits of the corporations who operate there is the epitome of environmental and economic injustice. Virginia ranks tenth in the list of average salaries by state, with an average annual salary of $65,590. West Virginia ranks 48th on the list, with an average annual salary of $49,170.13 West Virginia is never going to economically catch up with surrounding states if its citizens are forced to pay a significantly larger share of their income to support the economic development of surrounding states.
Read the whole thing here:
| nietc_phase_2_comments.pdf |
A citizen asked DOE where they could read all the comments that were submitted. DOE's response was
Thank you for your inquiry. DOE will not be making comments received regarding the preliminary list of potential NIETCs publicly available.
This is not a transparent process. DOE is most likely up to no good, but how can we know for sure when the public is shut out of a process that could take their land and destroy their economic well-being? What happened to "transparency" and "public participation"? It's out the window.
Nevertheless, you inserted yourself into a process where you were not welcome. It's the only thing you can do when your government is holed up with special interests and planning to take what's yours. The legal challenges will come later. Thank you to everyone who participated!
What's next? The DOE plans to issue its decision this fall with "draft" designation reports. You'll be allowed to comment on these reports, but DOE will have already made its decision and you'll be in the position of trying to change their mind. Where has democracy gone?
For each corridor that receives a draft designation, the DOE will have to undertake an Environmental Impact Study, which is a multi-year process where they are required to involve the public. But we already know what DOE thinks of public comment, right? They have made that plain. They are in a real big hurry to railroad this process forward before the election in November. Don't forget to vote!
Nevertheless, you inserted yourself into a process where you were not welcome. It's the only thing you can do when your government is holed up with special interests and planning to take what's yours. The legal challenges will come later. Thank you to everyone who participated!
What's next? The DOE plans to issue its decision this fall with "draft" designation reports. You'll be allowed to comment on these reports, but DOE will have already made its decision and you'll be in the position of trying to change their mind. Where has democracy gone?
For each corridor that receives a draft designation, the DOE will have to undertake an Environmental Impact Study, which is a multi-year process where they are required to involve the public. But we already know what DOE thinks of public comment, right? They have made that plain. They are in a real big hurry to railroad this process forward before the election in November. Don't forget to vote!
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