September 2024
http://www.liberato.us/property-rights-report-2409.html
Green Energy Transmission Corridors - Huge Land Grabs and Eminent Domain Fights Ahead
by Nathan Descheemaeker
The Department of Energy (DOE) finished their triannual National Transmission Needs Study in October of 2023. DOE is now finished with phase 2 of the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC) Designation Process establishing a preliminary list of potential NIETCs issued pursuant to section 216(a) of the Federal Power Act. As noted by the 9th circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in 2011,
“. . . NIETCs . . . create new federal rights which includes the power of eminent domain that are intended to, and do, curtail rights traditionally held by the states and local governments.[1]
The Midwest-Plains potential NIETC is an approximately 5-mile-wide, 780-mile-long east-west geographic area that includes parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, and portions of an existing 345 kV transmission facility. The Northern Plains potential NIETC is comprised of multiple sections, each from 10 to 50 miles wide and up to 400 miles from north to south and 300 miles from east to west, located in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.[2]
It is important to note that there are no active designations of National Corridors at present. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy designated two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors, where energy companies were granted unprecedented access to federal eminent domain authority to streamline siting of transmission lines. These NIETC designations were successfully challenged and vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit.
The projected grid congestion and constraints are caused by short-sighted government policy focused on electrification (electric appliances, vehicles, etc.) renewable energy infrastructure,[3] and the development of Artificial Intelligence data centers which consume massive amounts of energy.[4] Running an internet search using AI consumes more than ten times as much energy as a traditional Google search. Constraints on the grid are not caused by consumers and household demand. Federal Agencies failed to consider the cumulative impacts on the people within these states and the nation at large as a result of the subsidized buildout of wind and solar farms and the use of AI as an arbiter of virtually all human activities and information.
[1] Calif. Wilderness Coalition v. U.S. Department of Energy, No. 08-71074 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2011)
[2] U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office Initiation of Phase 2 of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) Designation Process: Preliminary List of Potential NIETCs Issued Pursuant to Section 216(a) of the Federal Power Act May 8, 2024
[3] Stranded Assets and Renewables: How the energy transition affects the value of energy reserves, buildings and capital stock - a REmap working paper (irena.org
[4] In January, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that global data center electricity demand will more than double from 2022 to 2026, with AI playing a major role in that increase. How AI Is Fueling a Boom in Data Centers and Energy Demand | TIME
Zinke Brings Forward Bipartisan Wildlife Corridor Bill Sponsored by Multi-National NGOs (excerpts)
by Nathan Descheemaeker
- Originally published here
The Biden Harris White House has issued guidance through the Council on Environmental Quality to facilitate wildlife corridors in order to accomplish international biodiversity objectives including the 30x30 agenda. Currently most of this is being promulgated via executive edict without clear and express Congressional authorization. Zinke’s wildlife corridor bill will endorse these activities and add to the already millions of dollars allocated for land acquisition and biodiversity objectives through the National Wildlife Refuge System and other federal programs.
Much of this is predicated on a narrative driven by the environmental community that undeveloped land and wildlife are disappearing. This narrative is used to justify programs that expand government land ownership and the regulation of natural resources.
In spite of the claims that there is a significant loss of prairie grasslands and habitat to farming, the Natural Resources Conservation Service data show a large decline in crop and pasture land, from 552 million acres in 1982 to 489 million acres in 2017. Zinke’s political maneuvering with this legislation is out of touch with the bulk of his constituency, and fails to address real issues Montanans face. This legislation is sponsored by a long list of Environmental NGOs including Yukon to Yellowstone Conservation Initiative. This bill will simply endorse and keep sole-purpose agencies and their partner special interest groups in the driver’s seat regarding land use planning and policy development. It would be good to contact Zinke's office and state your opposition to wildlife corridor legislation.
The National Monument Scam - Follow the Money
by Howard Hutchinson
Environmental organizations depend on generating crises to advance their agendas and fundraising. Emotional campaigns aimed at an uneducated public generate tens of millions of dollars in donations and tens of millions in government and private grants. These are 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization providing thousands of political foot solders for their supporters in elected offices. Below are a few articles and postings using monument designations for fundraising:
Representative Ruiz, California Desert Advocates Support Monumental Proposal
Sierra Club
https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2023/12/sierra-club-wrapped-23-wins-planet-people-2023#victories
See Environmental Movement Victories
Audubon Society
https://ca.audubon.org/es/news/chuckwalla-national-monument-faq
New Mexico Wildlife Federation
The Wilderness Society
The Founders: Thumbs Down on the Federal Land Empire
Mark Finchem (former Arizona state representative now running for state senate) wrote last month that, while the federal government has the power to dispose of land, it does not have the power to hold on to land indefinitely. If constitutional first principles were followed, the 30x30 federal land grab would be invalid, as would all previous federal land acquisitions and designations. As for the outrageousness of 30x30, Finchem writes: “Imagine the feds rolling into Massachusetts, New York, or Virginia and telling the locals, “[w]e are seizing your local and state parks to protect them —from you— to “conserve, connect, and restore our lands....” As for property rights and first principles, “if the United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution, and if the Court is not permitted to add to the powers delegated to the United States or Congress under the Constitution, and if the Constitution is written to assure that the limits of those delegated powers not be mistaken or forgotten, and if the delegated “power to dispose” cannot be obviated..., then the federal government cannot “’ reserve’ or ‘appropriate’ federal territorial or public lands for federal purposes, either temporarily or, most particularly, indefinitely.” Pesky things, constitutional provisions and property rights.
The Founders: Thumbs Up on Overturning the Chevron Doctrine
Karen Budd-Falen has produced an Op/Ed concerning the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1984 Chevron vs. Natural Resources Council case. The Chevron doctrine mandated deference to federal agency decisions and interpretation for federal statutes. Reversal of the doctrine has implications for federal land use regulation.
Karen writes “Loper Bright Enterprises has leveled the playing field for petitioners challenging an agency’s interpretation of the law and has given power back to the courts and the people.”
“After 20 years of agency power, the power has been returned to its rightful place. Given the Madison and Jefferson view won the day during the founding of this nation, I think the founders would be proud.”
Karen Budd-Falen is a senior partner with Budd-Falen Law Offices, LLC and can be reached by visiting buddfalen.com
