Call to Action

© Copyright 2015

**CALL TO ACTION: HELP PROTECT YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS**

Wind power has a significant place in the new energy economy. Advances in turbine and offshore technology mean that it will soon be possible to harness greater power from wind closer to East Coast, Southeast, and load centers.

The Department of Energy is determining whether to enter into a partnership with Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC, which would enable the Southwest Power Administration to condemn the property of individual citizens on behalf of Clean Line using federal eminent domain. This, in spite of the fact that Clean Line was denied public utility status by the State of Arkansas.

We need good, permanent jobs in our state, not temporary jobs that come at the expense of our neighbors' rights. We need your help to protect your friends and ensure that projects proposed to “benefit” our state don't hurt the people who make it great.

Tell your Arkansas representatives and the Department of Energy that eminent domain for private gain is not appropriate for our country! 

Here are a couple things you can do right now to help:

1. Make a public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that begins with “I oppose this project because…”
You can submit your comment here (make sure to check the box to receive email confirmation):

http://www.plainsandeasterneis.com/contact-us/comment-form.html

2. Contact your Congressmen and Senators and tell them that Arkansans deserve to have a say in what happens to the land they’ve worked for and that eminent domain for private gain is WRONG! You can find their contact information here:

http://votesmart.org/officials/AR/C/arkansas-congressional#.VMUhQEc7uSo

3. Sign and share our petition:

https://www.change.org/p/dr-ernest-moniz-protect-private-landowners-from-federal-eminent-domain-abuse-by-clean-line-energy-partners-llc

You can do even more! Just last week we met a couple landowners who still didn't know they were on the route. Please like and share this post with your friends and ask them to share as well. No one should find out they're on the route after it's too late to make their feelings on this matter heard by their government! The deadline for submitting comments and letters of opposition is currently April 20, 2015.

Thank you for taking a stand for your fellow Arkansans. We are always here to listen to your stories and offer community among other affected landowners and members of the public.

Like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arkansas-Citizens-Against-Plains-and-Eastern-Clean-Line/1397073527241617

Or join a BLOCK group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/blockcleanlinepope/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlockPECLOK/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/642766385769035/

Points to Remember:

• Arkansas needs new sources of clean energy that are locally and responsibly generated, utilize the newest technology, do not forcibly take land from Arkansans, do not involve clear-cutting 8,000 acres, and are capable of supporting local, permanent jobs.

• The proposed delivery station in central Arkansas is not a done deal. It is an “alternative” proposed in the draft EIS by the Department of Energy, not by Clean Line. Clean Line is under no obligation to build it at this time.

• New investment in Arkansas is important. However, it is wrong to imply that such investment is only possible at the expense of private property rights.

• This project has already received tax abatement in two Tennessee counties for eleven years. A sister project, the Grain Belt Express, has also received a ten year abatement in Kansas. Furthermore, two Oklahoma legislators filed a bill to change tax incentives for wind farms in that state due to the burgeoning burden developments have placed on the state budget. Billionaire investor Warren Buffet has said, “…on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit."

• Both the siting and development of the route and Draft Environmental Impact Statement were conducted without adequate landowner input as evidenced by recent quorum court resolutions against the line, as well as a resolution by the Tribal Council of the Cherokee Nation. In fact, the length of the comment period itself was recently challenged as being insufficient by the entire Arkansas Congressional Delegation along with Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

• Clean Line was rejected as a public utility by the State of Arkansas. The proposed partnership with the Department of Energy using an untested law in defiance of that decision is an example of federal overreach that will undermine years of careful planning by RTO’s for wind and renewables integration.

• It is absolutely inappropriate for the federal government to condemn taxpayers’ property on behalf of a private, merchant transmission company with no history of successful development or contractually obligated end users.

• Forcing landowners to accept fair market payments for a perpetual easement on a risky project is unconscionable. Clean Line should have to negotiate all easements without the advantage of eminent domain.

A schedule for public hearings can be found here:
http://www.plainsandeasterneis.com/nepa-process/public-involvement.html

The Draft EIS can be found here:
http://www.plainsandeasterneis.com/draft-eis.html

An interactive map of the proposed and alternate routes can be found here: 
http://www.plainsandeasterneis.com/interactive-map.html