[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 21 (Monday, February 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E256-E257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NATIONAL INTEREST ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR CLARIFICATION ACT

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 5, 2007

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I am introducing legislation today to 
clarify provisions in Section 1221 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
regarding the designation of National Interest Energy Transmission 
Corridors (NIETC).
  As the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) begin implementation of Section 1221, concerns have 
arisen in my state and in other states about this section of the new 
law. Specifically, those concerns include how the designation of these 
corridors could work to usurp the state decisionmaking process, 
override merit-based decisions by state siting authorities, destroy 
protected lands, ignore alternative energy solutions, and fail to 
provide compensation for landowners adjacent to new transmission lines. 
My legislation attempts to clarify Section 1221 to ensure that the 
necessity of building interstate energy transmission lines is balanced 
with other important national interests.
  Building transmission lines that use 200-feet rights-of-way and rise 
up to 270 feet into the air have a tremendous and permanent impact on 
the surrounding landscape and property values. Patterning the electric 
transmission line process after current gas line siting regulations 
does not take into consideration the far reaching visual impact of 
power lines. Above ground facilities for gas lines are generally a 
maximum of eight feet high, therefore the viewshed affected is minimal. 
But power lines

[[Page E257]]

towering over 100 feet can be seen for miles around. It is 
traditionally understood that local and state governments are best 
equipped to properly consider and evaluate land use needs for local 
communities. Federal siting processes for transmission lines must be 
carefully tailored to allow greater protections to both local 
landowners and to the state decisionmaking process.
  Currently, Section 1221 provides that state regulatory authorities 
can have their jurisdiction to approve or disapprove an application for 
new transmission lines in the state usurped by the federal government 
after one year in the application process. Additionally, the FERC can 
simply override disapproval by the state regardless of how sound the 
rationale for disapproval might have been. This is unacceptable.
  Under my legislation, if the state entity denies an application, any 
subsequent application to FERC would first have to prove that the state 
decision was arbitrary and capricious. Furthermore, if the state goes 
beyond a year to act, the applicant must show that the state had no 
valid reason for delaying action.
  Additionally, in order to ensure that lands that have been protected 
by the federal or state governments through conservation easements, 
ownership and similar preservation initiatives will not be impacted, 
the legislation prohibits these lands from being included in a NIETC 
and requires that the Department of Energy consider the national 
interests in protecting these resources.
  I fully support investment in alternative energy sources and 
conservation, yet current law requires no assessment of alternative 
energy solutions before action is taken to designate a NIETC. My 
legislation would require the Department of Energy to consider all 
energy use alternatives to building new transmission lines before 
designating a NIETC. Furthermore, the Department of Energy will be 
required to solicit public comments on the analysis.
  Finally, under current law landowners are compensated only for the 
portion of their property actually taken for a NIETC right-of-way. 
There is no compensation for any reduction in the value of the 
remainder of a landowner's property or for adjacent landowners whose 
property is devalued. This legislation would allow all landowners who 
are able to prove a 10 percent diminution in property value because of 
the construction of the transmission lines a cause of action to recover 
those damages from the energy company. The fact is that transmission 
lines that tower 270 feet into the air have an impact far beyond the 
footprint required for construction and maintenance and this must be 
acknowledged.
  Madam Speaker, I invite our colleagues to join with me in support of 
this legislation.

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