ACTION ALERT:

Comments Due

by TOMORROW (8/11) 4 p.m.!

 

Rules to Take Land (Eminent Domain) for transmission lines -- BEFORE they have all necessary permits!

Electric utilities are about to get a free pass to take your land or your neighbors’ land in condemnation proceedings! The Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) is going to allow utilities to take your land before the utility has all the permits required to do so. The main reason:  "it takes too long" according to the utilities. 
 

READ this  Letter to the Editor with more info. 

WRITE TODAY: 
    To: puc.filingcenter@puc.oregon.gov

    Subject:  AR 626 – Certificate of Public Convince and Necessity

    Talking Points:  (mix & match; pick 1 or 2, and make a quick email or letter)

• Taking of Land through Eminent Domain must be the last resort--the last step in any development project.
• Oregonians should not be faced with extensive legal fees to defend their land and homes, when monopoly utilities have endless resources (often paid by rate-payers).
• Decisions must consider the economic burdens that will be forced on unwilling and (in many cases) unknowing persons. 
• Decisions must consider environmental justice impacts to communities at risk, including: rural, minority, low-income, elderly.
• Decisions must consider cumulative impacts on communities, including but not limited to: economic development constraints such as negative effects on tourism, loss of tax revenue due to lower property values, and other health, safety and environmental impacts.  
• Decisions must consider the degradation to a person, family and communities' quality of life -- forever altered.
• There is no valid reason to abandon or override existing regulations governing eminent domain.  If so, this decision belongs in the legislature -- not in an agency's rulemaking authority!

 

Don’t Wait -- Take Action today!
An (awesome sample) Letter

Hours ago we received the instruction from the Dept of Justice and Counsel to the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC), Jesse Ratcliff, regarding the agenda and procedures for the upcoming meeting and appeals at the end of the month--Aug 29-31--in La Grande (see last week's news). 

Here is the link to the full memo from Ratcliff: Link.  Already, we anticipate Stop B2H will be objecting to parts of the agenda, for example, they will not be hearing procedural matters, or appeals about alternative routes (a big Union Co issue). 

Once we digest all of this and consult with our legal volunteers and experts, we will post again.*  One thing is for sure, the Stop B2H Outreach Team is planning Direct Actions for this meeting.  Our next meeting is the 16th on Zoom.  Please contact us at: info@stopb2h.org if you'd like an invite.

 

*It's been a busy summer with more alerts and postings than usual. Our apologies for the volume--but as you can see, things are heating up!