|
Save Scenic Jefferson Valley Coalition |
|
Sensitive habitats and pristine rangeland are threatened |
|
Supreme Court Arguments Tue., August 2, 9:30 am, State Capitol |
|
Concerned citizens have formed Save Scenic Jefferson Valley Coalition with the goal of protecting the scenic Jefferson Valley from the adverse and permanent impacts of the proposed Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) and other proposed export/merchant transmission lines (such as TransCanada’s Chinook) upon our irreplaceable land and landscape. If you would like to help protect greater Whitehall and the Jefferson Valley, please join us.
|
|
PO Box 977 Whitehall, MT 59759 Phone: 406-565-2142 E-mail: stop500kv@SaveScenicJV.org |
|
To contact us: |
|
For a map of MSTI in greater Whitehall, Jefferson and Boulder Valleys, click here: MAP |
|
Citizens question Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar about ratepayer impacts of MSTI at SSJVC’s March 31, 2010 meeting. |
|
MSTI has found its target: US! Now we know that Montana DEQ and BLM have reacted to justified outrage in Butte by flipping the “preferred route” of MSTI over from Butte and I-15 to the Jefferson Valley. This choice by DEQ and BLM, with the apparent consent of Governor Schweitzer, not only attempts to justify MSTI in Whitehall, but doubles MSTI’s footprint in our community. Now greater Whitehall would be surrounded on two sides with some 250 fourteen-story towers. And their decision, in effect, creates the energy corridor that additional 500kV lines, in various planning stages, are expected to follow (e.g., TransCanada’s proposed Chinook). Thank you, Jefferson County Commissioners Wortman, Lythgoe, and Kirsch, and County Attorney Mathew J. Johnson for invoking the county’s right to consult with Montana DEQ and BLM in planning for MSTI, resulting in the Fifth District Court ruling that has delayed release of the DEIS. We need your strong county leadership, and you are making a difference!
|
|
Concerned Citizens Montana Link to CCM website. Save Scenic Jefferson Valley Coalition has joined with citizens’ groups state-wide that are concerned about energy policy and proposed private high voltage merchant/export transmission lines to form Concerned Citizens Montana (CCM).
Concerned Citizens Montana is organizing thousands of Montanans with facts about the costs of high voltage export/merchant transmission. Please review this summary of MSTI facts about rates, jobs, and rights: Facts on Rates, Jobs, and Rights.
Legal Battles Update Montana Fifth District Court has ruled (Sept. 8, 2010) that Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) must consult with Jefferson County in planning stage of MSTI. Unfortunately, DEQ chose to appeal rather than comply with this ruling. Arguments in the case before the Montana Supreme Court are Aug. 2, 2011. Link to update PDF on JeffCo Ruling. Montana Ninth District Court has ruled (Dec. 12, 2010) that the private merchant/export line Montana Alberta Tie Line (MATL) does not have the power of eminent domain. MATL lobbied the Montana legislature and obtained retroactive single purpose legislation (House Bill 198) to expand eminent domain powers to unregulated private entities like MATL, MSTI, and others. The Montana Supreme Court sent the case back to the district court for reconsideration in light of House Bill 198. Property owners have challenged the constitutionality of House Bill 198. Link to update PDF on MATL Ruling.
|
|
*It is critical to speak out NOW. A government decision to site MSTI and other merchant/export lines to follow in greater Whitehall and Jefferson Valley is likely to be irreversible through the Environmental Impact Statement process once a Draft EIS has been issued with that decision. BLM and DEQ plan to release their DEIS as soon as they can work around recent legal rulings. |
|
The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the appeal by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) of the Fifth District Court’s December 22, 2010 order granting summary judgment and injunction in favor of Jefferson County regarding the requirement for local government consultation on the proposed Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI). Link to update PDF on Supreme Court arguments. A bus is available for citizens who wish to attend the Supreme Court arguments. The bus will depart from Whitehall School’s west parking lot at 7:45 am. To reserve a place, call 287-5408. |
|
Get Signatures for IR-125! Petition seeks to put HB198 (corporate eminent domain abuse) on the 2012 ballot |
|
VoteFor125 is working to put House Bill 198 on the 2012 ballot for the people to decide. Sign the petition! Get signatures! This site has everything you need:
Link to email: mtfairlanduse@gmail.com, PO Box 1564, Belgrade, MT 59714. Phone: 406-600-7462.
Link to state-wide ad on putting House Bill 198 on the ballot. |
