FORT MADISON – Officials with ITC Midwest met with Lee County property owners Tuesday afternoon regarding a large transmission line that is being planned to run through a good chunk of the county.
Construction on the 345 kilovolt transmission line is set to begin in late 2028, but the group needed to meet with property owners for an informational meeting that was overseen by the Iowa Utilities Commission at Quality Inn and Suites in Fort Madison Tuesday.
The line will run from the company’s new Deeds substation being constructed near Denmark all the way through Lee County to the southeast and then across the Mississippi River to the Ameren Ipava substation in Illinois.
ITC can begin talking with landowners about possible easements now that the public hearing has been held, however they cannot petition the IUC for a franchise for 30 days. The franchise is required by the IUC for authority to build, operate, and maintain the transmission lines.
ITC officials said that all their previous transmission lines have been met with 99% volunteer easement agreements, however eminent domain could be in play if there is significant opposition to the project. However, at this time, the company does not have the right of eminent domain. Easements for the work could be as large as 200 feet.
Fort Madison City Councilman and Lee County property owner Rick Thiele asked the panel from ITC whether easements acquired for the project could be transferred.
“We’ve been hearing that some easements can be transferrable. For example, we sign an easement agreement with you and then it gets transferred to a carbon pipeline company,” Thiele said.
The panel told him he would be signing an easement for an electrical transmission line and it wouldn’t be able to be transferred to anyone else.
Other questions focused around environmental issues and who would be generating the power. ITC does not generate power but provides infrastructure for other power companies to move power from point A to point B.
Lee County resident Mitch Doherty asked how the company was planning to go across the Mississippi when the poles are typically 1,200 feet apart. A panelist said they could build taller poles to extend the distance between them. Doherty said that could impact migratory bird patterns on the river, but was told the company is part of environmental groups and works hand-in-hand to make sure those issues are taken into consideration.
Landowners with concerns about the project can file a statement or objection with the IUC but not later than 20 days after the date of the last publication of the petition notice, which needs to be done in papers of record in Lee County. That notice needs to be published for two consecutive weeks and, if no objection is filed within the 20 days following the second publication, a franchise may be granted without a hearing.
If an objection is filed, or if eminent domain is requested by the company, a hearing must be held and notice of that hearing would need to be published. Landowners of eminent domain parcels and objectors would be notified of the hearing by certified mail.
To file a written comment, landowners can go to iuc.iowa.gov and select “File a Comment or Objection in an Open Docket” from the quick links menu on the home page. Or you can send written comments to IUC, 1375 E Court Ave, Des Moines, IA 50319. The docket number for the petition is E-22564.
The hearing also outlined damages the company will pay for crops damage or damage to pastures, timber, property, livestock, and equipment damaged as a direct result of construction activities. The damages are prorated based on the number of years past the date of construction completion. Damages are paid in one lump sum.
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