U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall as well as U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann and Ron Estes, all Kansas Republicans, introduced a bill aimed at shielding private property rights in the effort to expand the electric transmission network in the United States. They introduced in Congress legislation to block use of federal funding to condemn private property for a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. (Robert Zullo/States Newsroom)
TOPEKA — Four Republicans in the Kansas congressional delegation Friday offered support for legislation limiting federal authority to take control of private property for development of a national electric transmission corridor.
The bill backed by U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann and Ron Estes, who are seeking reelection in November, and U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall would ban use of federal funding to condemn private property for a proposed system of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. The bill would prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from overruling rejection of electric transmission projects by state regulators.
Joe Newland, president of Kansas Farm Bureau, said enactment of the legislation would level the playing field and compel good-faith negotiations with landowners for siting and building transmission lines. He said Farm Bureau policy supported access to reliable, low-cost electricity and expansion of transmission capacity to keep pace with demand.
“Without vital protections included in this legislation, landowners will continue to face unilateral ultimatums from transmission developers who are using taxpayer dollars to build infrastructure,” Newland said.
Moran said in August that he would introduce the legislation because the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law nearly three years ago by President Joe Biden granted FERC the authority to issue permits for transmission lines within a national corridor despite denial of applications by state officials.
A DOE map of potential sections of the corridor included a pathway stretching from southwest Kansas to the northeast corner of the state. Part of the corridor would track the high-capacity Grain Belt Express transmission line, a project that sparked opposition from farm groups and landowners because it would cut across private property in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Construction of the line could begin in 2025.
In May, the U.S. Department of Energy released the preliminary list of potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. The list represented the second phase of DOE’s process to designate NIETCs. NIETC designation would unlock federal financing and permitting tools to spur construction of transmission projects.
The DOE’s announcement opened a formal 45-day public comment period on creation of the national transmission corridor. That comment period closed June 24 and DOE’s analysis transitioned to phase three. Views on the proposed corridor could be forwarded by email to [email protected].
Mann, who serves the Kansas district through which much of the line could run, said DOE’s announcement on phase two of the NIETC proposal was “grossly underpublicized, overly vague and left landowners with no clarity regarding whether their lands would be impacted.”
“I am vehemently opposed to any effort by the federal government to seize private land,” Mann said. “We have heard Kansans loud and clear. They are not interested in the federal government grabbing their land. We introduced this legislation to protect the rights of Kansas landowners and prevent the federal government from treading on their liberties. Any land given to the federal government for this project should be voluntary, not mandated.”
Estes said respect for private property rights was “foundational to our way of life and this bill will help ensure that even the federal government has to respect the rights of Kansas landowners.”
Moran said the 45-day comment window was too short and the legislation introduced in Washington would “prohibit the Department of Energy from trampling on the rights of Kansas landowners or usurping the authority of state regulators in order to build a transmission line across Kansas.”
In addition, Marshall said bureaucrats in the Biden administration “should not have the unchecked authority to approve projects that could strip Kansans of their property rights.” He said decisions about use of land for transmission lines ought to be made by states.
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Publish date : 2024-09-13 06:14:00
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