Governor Beebe:
I am writing you as a concerned landowner who could potentially be adversely impacted by the Plains and Eastern Clean Line project. I am writing you specifically because of a letter I recently discovered from the "Governor's Wind Coalition" in which the governors of South Dakota and Washington urged the Department of Energy to utilize Section 1222 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Your spokesman, Mr. DeCample, said the following when asked about the letter:
But a spokesman for the Democratic governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe, said he hasn’t signed off on the letter. “While Arkansas is a member of the coalition, we are not a signee on this letter; in fact, this is the first we’ve seen of it,” Matt DeCample, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email. “We’ve not been involved in the national discussion of this particular issue.”
I agree. Arkansans have NOT been allowed to be a part of the national discussion about this issue, and it seems as though we are being left out of the process. I ask you: How is this fair to us? How is it fair for the governors of two states that would not be impacted at all by the 1222 statute are speaking on the behalf of hundreds of landowners along the 300 mile path of destruction this would cause to natural beauty and private property owners in our state? If we don't have a say the fate of our own property in this case, why on earth are we a member of this "Governors Wind Coalition"?
Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC, is a privately held, venture capitalist funded (many who are involved heavily in investments in the oil industry, I might add), limited liability company that was rejected by the Arkansas Public Service Commission in 2011. They are now seeking federal siting authority over unwilling landowners. I feel like this is an absolute overreach into states rights, and would set an extremely dangerous precedent of allowing a private LLC to obtain federal authority of eminent domain for private financial gain.
There is significant and wide-ranging opposition to this project that continues to form in our state. Recently, our opposition group gathered and submitted approximately 350 signatures to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority urging the directors to deny Clean Line public utility status in that state. They can be found here:http://www.state.tn.us/tra/dockets/1400036.htm Signature gathering on this front is ongoing. Our group is also coordinating an opposition campaign to Secretary Moniz of the Department of Energy urging him not to allow the DoE to partner with Clean Line Energy under the authority of the Southwestern Power Administration.
Our group recently held a local meeting in the town of Dover attended by about 100 people, many of whom could potentially be affected by this. When asked who in the audience had only recently found out about this project, approximately 75% of them raised their hand. When asked how many had been contacted by Clean Line, approximately five raised their hand. It is our sincere belief that Clean Line has been utterly incompetent in its outreach efforts to the very people who would be most impacted by this highly speculative project. This project has been in development since 2009.
So, after all of this has been said, we are asking for your help. You have been a great steward in this state throughout your governorship. Arkansans need to be allowed to have a voice on this issue, and there are literally hundreds of people who do not feel as though they have been given this opportunity. If you'd like to know more about the opposition to this project, you can find us at the following locations:
blockcleanlinepope@gmail.com
blockcleanlinepope.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/groups/blockcleanlinepope
tinyurl.com/ACACLE
blockcleanlinepope.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/groups/blockcleanlinepope
tinyurl.com/ACACLE
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