Issued: April 7th, 2025
In the Matter of the Application of Dairyland Power Cooperative for a Route Permit for the Beaver Creek 161-kV Transmission Line in Fillmore County, Minnesota
PUC Docket Number: ET3/TL-24-95
OAH Docket Number: 23-2500-40403
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) will hold public hearings on Dairyland Power Cooperative’s (Dairyland) application for a route permit for the Beaver Creek Transmission Line Project.
The proposed project will be new construction of an approximately 3.5-mile 161 kilovolt (kV) high voltage transmission line and associated facilities. The applicant is requesting a 500-footwide proposed route, with some portions consisting of a 1,320-foot-wide route to accommodate existing buildings and features. The right of way will be 100-110 ft (50-55ft on either side of the centerline) depending on the road right of way it is paralleling.
The proposed project will start at the intersection of the existing 161 kV LQ8A Harmony to Beaver Creek transmission line and 171st Avenue in York Township in Fillmore County, Minnesota, travel south and cross the Minnesota-Iowa border at the southern border of York Township, continue westerly and southerly through Howard County, Iowa and terminate at a new proposed 161 kV switchyard to be constructed in Chester Township, Howard County, Iowa. The Minnesota portion of the proposed project will be approximately 3.5 miles long and will be located entirely in York Township in Fillmore County, Minnesota.
Dairyland will use single-pole steel structures, with pole heights ranging from 75 to 140 feet above ground and spans between structures from 300 to 1,000 feet. The proposed project is colocated with other road or utility rights-of-way for the entirety of its length. MiEnergy, a distribution cooperative serving members in the area, has existing overhead distribution lines within the proposed route. Dairyland plans to coordinate with MiEnergy about burying these lines where they are overtaken by the proposed project, rather than under build them on the new 161 kV structures.
Online Hearing via WebEx
Date: April 22, 2025
Time: Noon – 3:00 PM
Join by WebEx (Webinar) Link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m3ec5f888205c285eeb88045232086870
Webinar Number: 2493 312 9099
Webinar Password: MnPUC! (667820 when dialing from a phone or video system)
Join by Phone: 1-855-282-6330 Toll Free Access Code: 2493 312 9099
If you are joining the meeting via WebEx and want to ask a question or offer a comment during the meeting, use the chat or raised-hand functions to send a message to the meeting moderator. If you are joining the meeting by phone, press *3 on your phone. When it is your turn to speak, your line will be unmuted, and you will be able to ask questions and provide comments.
Additional information and instructions are available at: https://mn.gov/puc/activities/meetings/webex/
In-Person Hearing
Date: April 23, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: LeRoy Community Center
204 West Main Street
LeRoy, MN 55951
If any reasonable accommodation is needed to enable you to fully participate in these hearings, please contact the Commission at 651-296-0406 or 1-800-657-3782 at least one week in advance of the meeting. To find out if a hearing is canceled due to bad weather call 1-855-731-6208 or visit mn.gov/puc.
Public Hearing Information
The public hearings will be presided over by the Honorable Suzanne Todnem, an administrative law judge from the Office of Administrative Hearings, who will provide the Commission with findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommendation.
The purpose of public hearings is to obtain public input on the proposed project and compile the record for Commission consideration in making a final decision on the route permit application. Specifically, interested persons will have an opportunity to: (1) ask questions of state staff and the applicant; (2) offer oral and written comments on the merits of the project and on the environmental assessment; and (3) suggest possible conditions to be considered for inclusion in the route permit.
- Comments received at the hearings and during the comment period will be used to inform the record and help the Commission
make its final decision.
- The information presented will be the same at all in-person and online hearings.
- The hearings will end when all attendees have had the opportunity to comment and all other business has been concluded, or the
scheduled end time of the hearing, whichever occurs first.
- Members of the public may participate without the necessity of intervening as a party; representation by legal counsel is permitted
but not required.
Comment Period
Written comments will be accepted through May 13, 2025, by 4:30 p.m. Please include the docket number (24-95) in all communications. Comments received after the close of the comment period may or may not be considered by the Commission.
Topics for Comment
- Should the Commission grant a route permit for the proposed project?
- If granted, what additional conditions or requirements, if any, should be included in the route permit?
Submit Comments
Online https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/public-comments
Email consumer.puc@state.mn.us
U.S. Mail Consumer Affairs Office
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
121 7th Place East, Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55101
Comments will be made available to the public via the Commission’s website, except in limited circumstances consistent with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The Commission does not edit or delete personal identifying information from submissions.
Environmental Assessment
On April 11, 2025, the Minnesota Department of Commerce (Department) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) for the project. The purpose of the EA is to provide information on potential human and environmental impacts of the project, possible mitigations for identified impacts, and evaluation of any alternatives contained in the scoping decision. The EA is available on the Department’s website
(https://apps.commerce.state.mn.us/web/project/15707) and on eDockets (see below). Copies of the EA are also available at: Spring Valley Public Library, 121 W. Jefferson St., Spring Valley, MN 55975. Print copies of the EA are available from the Department upon request; please contact Larry Hartman at larry.hartman@state.mn.us or 612-210-4810.
Additional Information
Minnesota Statutes and Rules. This project is being reviewed under 216E and Minnesota Rules Chapter 7850. The rules and statutes are available for review at: www.revisor.mn.gov
Review Process. Information on the review processes for certificates of need and site and route permits for large electric power facilities is available on the Commission’s website at: https://mn.gov/puc/activities/energy-facilities/
Filing Requirements. Utilities, telecommunications carriers, official parties, and state agencies are required to file documents using the Commission’s electronic filing system (eFiling). All parties, participants, and interested persons are also encouraged to use eFiling: mn.gov/puc/edockets, select Go to eDockets and follow the prompts.
Full Case Record. See all documents filed in this matter via the Commission’s website at mn.gov/puc/edockets, select Go to eDockets, enter the docket (24-95) and select Search.
Subscribe to the Docket. To receive email notification when new documents are filed in this matter visit: https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/EFiling, select Subscribe to Dockets.
Project Mailing List. Sign up to receive notices about project milestones and opportunities to participate or change your mailing preference. Email eservice.admin@state.mn.us or call 651-201-2246 with the docket number (24-95), your name, mailing address, and email address.
Questions about these dockets or Commission process and procedure? Contact Commission staff, Craig Janezich at craig.janezich@state.mn.us or 651-201-2203
To request this document in another format such as large print or audio, call 651-296-0406 (voice). Persons with a hearing or speech impairment may call using their preferred Telecommunications Relay Service or email consumer.puc@state.mn.us for assistance.
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