The Battle for Property Rights Still Electrifying the Prairie

The small savings offered to municipalities cannot overcome the tremendous burden to Missouri landowners that would come with the Grain Belt Express, says Block Grain Belt Express-Missouri, in the wake of last week’s evidentiary hearing before the Missouri Public Service Commission.

“A majority of the Commissioners denied the project in 2015 because the burden on affected agricultural businesses and landowners was so great,” said spokesperson Jennifer Gatrel. “Nothing has changed.”

Claimed savings for municipalities were concocted with irrelevant and speculative studies which supposedly showed the savings from the Grain Belt line. The actual savings were much less than claimed when examined at the hearing.

Missouri Landowners Alliance (MLA) provided unquestioned expert testimony from agricultural experts and business owners demonstrating the huge financial burden GBE would place on citizens across northern Missouri. MLA expert Don Lowenstein testified that local tax benefits claimed by GBE could not be accurately predicted beyond the first year and that actual tax benefits to localities are likely to be much less than promised by GBE and its witness. Expert appraiser Kurt Kielisch provided testimony demonstrating property value decline and other impacts to agricultural and rural residential property that would be caused by GBE. A Ralls County Commissioner also provided testimony refuting GBE’s claims of local benefit, and declaring his staunch opposition to the project.

The Missouri Public Service Commission Staff, who acts as an advisory party in the public interest, continues to maintain their position that GBE must receive approval to cross county roads from the commission of each county where the line is proposed before the PSC can approve GBE’s application. Today, the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals issued a decision on county consent related to the recent Ameren transmission case, finding that the PSC cannot issue a permit until after all the consents of the county commissions are obtained. The Court vacated the PSC’s decision in the Ameren case, where a conditional permit was issued before county consents were obtained. Grain Belt Express does not have county consent. (https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=111179).

“At the hearing, I learned that GBE hugely discounted its service in its offer to Missouri municipalities in order to gain a toehold in the state, and that the normal price of GBE’s transmission service is five times the number offered to the municipalities. There are currently no takers for service to Missouri at the regular price. If GBE cannot find customers willing to absorb the loss created by the offer to the municipalities and make the project profitable, is there any guarantee that GBE will even build the station in Missouri proposed to serve municipalities?,” asked group President Russ Piscotta after watching the hearings.

“We are nearly four years into this fight” stated Jennifer Gatrel. Property rights are the backbone of farming and ranching. We keep on winning because we can't afford to lose. Somehow, someway we will always find a way to protect what we hold dear. It has been the most amazing journey of my life seeing so many diverse people come together from across the country to fight a common wrong.

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Background: Grain Belt Express is a $2.7B, 700-mile high-voltage direct current transmission line purposed to move electricity from Western Kansas to Indiana and eastern markets. The speculative venture seeks profit for its investors from electricity market price differentials