“Senate Panel To Hold Oversight Hearing On Transmission Corridors” (Energy Washington Week)
This was passed on to us by one of our friends in River Ridge. There is not date on it.
Energy Washington Week
“Senate Panel To Hold Oversight Hearing On Transmission Corridors”
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has indicated it plans to hold an oversight hearing on the DOE’s implementation of the transmission corridor program, which permits the federal government to overrule state concerns in siting transmission lines in certain circumstances. The hearings are being prompted by a bipartisan coalition of 14 senators who say DOE has exceeded its authority in establishing high-priority transmission areas and has infringed on state rights.
DOE received widespread condemnation after issuing a final rule last October that designated large swaths of land in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest as corridors. Environmentalist and state officials charged DOE with ignoring state concerns and flouting environmental protection obligations. The corridor designations are an early step in a process that may lead to the federal government siting transmission lines, a program supported by utilities due to needed transmission infrastructure upgrades in the nation’s most populous regions.
Speaking at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) winter meeting Feb. 19 in Washington, Leon Lowery, who is on the committee’s Democratic staff, said that the committee needs to have a variety of hearings on past pieces of legislation, one of which is the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) program authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
“There are a number of areas that we feel that we need [to have] hearings” on, he said. “There’s the siting authority we need to look at it and see how it’s working.”
Lowery also referenced a letter that 14 senators sent to Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Ranking Member Pete Domenici (R-NM), requesting that the committee hold oversight hearings on DOE’s implementation of the program. The comments appeared to come in response to the letter, which requested the hearing to “bring all pertinent information to bear on the broad implications of the NIETC.” The legislation directed DOE to determine the areas of the country with a high level of electricity congestion and to designate those areas as “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.” Once designated, transmission line applications in those corridors that languish at the state level or are rejected can be appealed to FERC for siting authority. The program has been very controversial, leading to multiple lawsuits against DOE and numerous outcries by affected law makers.
NARUC had opposed the legislation in 2005, hoping to keep the siting control at the state level.
Lawmakers opposed to the DOE designations have sought to change or obstruct the policy numerous times over the past year. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) threatened to hold the re-nomination of FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher over the program, and also offered an amendment to the farm bill, which would have blocked some of the legislation. The amendment was defeated.
Environmentalists have sued DOE over the program, alleging that the department violated National Environmental Policy Act and other statutory obligations for failing to conduct an environmental impact statement and failing to adequately consult with states.
The groups also plan on filing for a preliminary injunction which would delay applicants’ time line for appealing to FERC. As it stands now, applications filed before Oct. 5, 2007 can be appealed to FERC on Oct. 5, 2008. Criteria for appealing to FERC includes the application pending at the state level for over one year.
Lowery also said that the committee plans on having an oversight hearing on RTO electricity markets, focusing on “accountability” to discern whether customers are “getting what they pay for.” — Will Harrington