Landowners Comment on Great Northern Transmission Line Project

A meeting regarding the Great Northern Transmission Line has left landowners in Northern Minnesota aggravated and asking more questions. Minnesota Power is hoping the Public Utilities Commission will approve the proposed route for the power line that stretches from Winnepeg to Blackberry, Minnesota. Today’s meeting in Grand Rapids allowed the public to share their thoughts so that an environmental impact statement about the proposed route can be made.

Most landowners think the Great Northern Transmission Line is actually not so great. Landowner Ron Gustafson said, “My concerns are for the general respect for the lands that are in the area. For instance one of the existing lines has an osprey nest, and there are some wetlands in that area that must be preserved.”

Minnesota Power says the transmission line will diversify resources and that placing the line with little disruption is a high priority. Senior Attorney David Moeller said, “We try to mitigate and eliminate as much as possible the environmental impacts, and that’s part of what this process is today.”

Today’s meeting in Grand Rapids was the final meeting for this phase of the project. Once the environmental impact study is released, the public will have more opportunities for comment in front of an administrative law judge in the Spring.