Kansans raise concerns over government’s proposed transmission line corridor

LARNED, Kan. (KSNW) — A proposed electric transmission corridor that could run through Kansas is prompting questions from Kansans.

The Pawnee County community met at the Larned Community Center Thursday evening to ask those questions, share their stories, and share their concerns.

“I’m really concerned because this is our house. This is our home,” said one resident who spoke during the meeting. “How long have you known about this going to happen? When did we find out? A lot of did this week. We didn’t even understand or know anything about this. It hit us in the face. This has been in process. Why didn’t we get to be part of that process? Even if it was thought of in the future, our land is our future. So why weren’t we considered in the future?”

The potential pathway

Part of the project centers on the Grain Belt Express, a high-capacity transmission line set to go through parts of Kansas. Parts of that project are already approved. Pawnee County Attorney Douglass McNett says it is a private venture, and the company worked with landowners to purchase easements for the project. He says the new concern is a federal energy corridor on either side of the transmission line that could use eminent domain.

“I think where the confusion has arisen between the Grain Belt and the Department of Energy’s proposed energy corridor is it looks like the Department of Energy simply used the schematics or the drawing that Grain Belt has established privately as their basis and just said ok we’ll go 2.5 miles either side of that grain belt transmission line,” said McNett. He says Pawnee County does not have concerns with the transmission line itself.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a preliminary list on its website of 10 potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) it says to “accelerate the development of transmission projects in areas that present an urgent need for expanded transmission.” The Midwest-Plains corridor would run through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. It would be approximately five miles wide and 780 miles long.

“The Federal Power Act authorizes the Secretary of Energy to designate any geographic area as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) if the Secretary finds that consumers are harmed by a lack of transmission in the area and that the development of new transmission would advance important national interests in that area, such as increased reliability and reduced consumer costs,” reads the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.

The government website lists other potential NIETC geographic areas it is considering:

The U.S. Department of Energy lists the below reasons for moving forward with the project:

• Maintain and improve reliability and resilience. Potential electricity shortfalls leave the region vulnerable during extreme weather. Electricity demand growth, generator retirements, and increased intermittent generation contribute to reliability risks in the region.
• Alleviate congestion and reduce consumer costs. Congestion between the Midwest and Plains regions prevents cost-effective generation from being delivered to where it is needed, when it is needed.
• Meet future generation and demand growth. There is a significant need for additional transfer capacity between the Midwest and Plains regions to meet various power sector scenarios. Analysis finds a 175% increase is needed by 2035 under moderate load and high clean energy growth scenarios (median need relative to the 2020 system), in line with current market and policy conditions.
• Increase clean energy integration. Increased access to more diverse, clean energy generation resources is necessary to lower power sector greenhouse gas emissions.

The process

There are four phases in the NIETC designation process listed on Energy.gov:

• Phase 1 – “Information Gathering” began on Dec. 19, 2023, and was open for 45 days for the public to submit information and recommendations on NIETC designation.
• Phase 2 – “Preliminary List and Comments” began on May 8, 2024, when the Grid Deployment Office released a preliminary list of potential NIETCs. Public comment was open for 45 days.
• Phase 3 – “Public Engagement” will include refining the boundaries of potential NIETCs, initiating environmental reviews, preparing a draft report, and conducting community engagement.
• Phase 4 -” NIETC Designations” will include issuing the final preliminary list of boundaries of potential destination reports and any required environmental reviews.

Based on the published timeline, the Department of Energy is in Phase 3 of its proposal.

“They’re already to step three, so we’re a little far into the process to now just be included in that conversation, but clearly, the public does have a chance to voice,” said McNett. “I think we’re still early enough in the process we’ll be able to have a voice in it and, if not stop it entirely, definitely narrow it.”

McNett says residents are concerned that eminent domain, acquiring property for public use by paying fair market value, would be used to take the land for the energy corridor.

“It’s the proposed energy corridor that would, in theory, give the federal government the authority to use eminent domain to take a five-mile swath for potential future needs,” he said.

Sen. Marshall’s concerns

Senator Roger Marshall’s office released a statement about the proposal.

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to federalize the approval process for future transmission lines, including the use of eminent domain, if needed, is wrong. I have stood firm in my opposition to giving the federal government the ability to overrule states on local projects and will continue to push back on this Administration’s overreach of power. We must let Kansans be the ones who approve new projects for their communities, not Washington DC bureaucrats,” said Sen. Marshall in a statement.

McNett said members of Marshall’s staff were at the meeting in Larned to bring residents’ concerns back to Washington.

Another meeting

Another meeting will be held in Barton County on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 6 p.m. in Courtroom A on the third floor of the Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main St. , in Great Bend.

Resources

• General NIETC information
• Frequently asked questions
• NIETC Phase 2 Preliminary List Public Release Document
• NIETC Final Guidance Document
• NIETC Guidance Document Fact Sheet
• NIETC Designation Process Graphic
• How Consumers Are Harmed by the Lack of Transmission

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