In the interest of accuracy and full disclosure I wanted to make a few public comments about the proposed Wisconsin Power & Light transmission line. This line is a 16-mile transmission line proposed to link the Bent Tree Wind Farm to the Hayward substation.

As some are aware the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on May 5 approved an environmental report on the project. Within the report staff members included a letter from an independent consultant that reviewed the report and found it complete and factual. This letter did have one error. It stated that the certificate of need for the transmission line had been applied for and approved by the state. It has been applied for, but not yet approved. The timeline for possible final approval by the state would be July. The Freeborn County board will not make a possible final decision until after that certificate is signed by the state.

Beginning back on March 2 the public has been notified and been able to participate in four Freeborn County Planning Commission meetings concerning the transmission line. This office always accepts comments in writing and in person and forwards those items to the Planning Commission members. The first two meetings had unlimited comment time for the public. The third and fourth meetings had a chairman impose a three-minute time period per person due to the length of the agenda. Staff went to great lengths to hold meetings that would ensure absolute compliance with state statute and rules. The Planning Commission receives a lot of good public input, and I know they appreciate it.

The environmental report was released by staff on May 1 and comments are accepted concerning it until May 28, four weeks of comment time after the report was completed. The May 5 board action does not deny comments to be continued to be accepted.

I apologize for any confusion on any public newspaper legal notices. A notice that states an “item is to be considered” would typically mean discussed, considered and possible action taken. Future notices will be modified to be clearer to the lay person.

An interesting and important point is that state statue allows a local governing unit like Freeborn County to simply pass this entire issue on to the the State Public Utilities Commission for the permit.

This would have been an easy way out for our staff and the board to avoid controversy. However, I firmly believe a locally issued permit will have more detail and more personal consideration than the state process would ever have. Staff is accumulating a host of conditions and items that the company would need to adhere to if a permit is approved. In each of the five possible routes staff is examining every foot of each route and recommending modifications to the applicant to insure no individual citizen is unduly affected.

Any questions can be directed to Freeborn County Environmental Services.

Wayne Sorensen

administrator

Freeborn County

Planning and Zoning

Albert Lea