LEE COUNTY – A transmission line project that runs about 15 miles in Lee County from Denmark to the eastern limits of Fort Madison has run into some snags from a few property owners.
ITC Midwest has planned an expansion of its current 161 kilovolt line to a 345 kV line to allow for more energy resiliency and load production 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.
The company held a public hearing in May in Fort Madison to discuss the processes for the new transmission line with landowners and public officials.
The construction project will require 200-feet easements along the line of construction and several landowners are pushing back on negotiations, citing a failure on the part of ITC to negotiate in good faith.
However, one property owner, Rick Thele, has filed a complaint in the project docket with the Iowa Utilities Commission, writing ITC’s contracted land agents have failed to negotiate with him on issues he has with the proposed project, including not offering fair market value, declining to install a culvert as requested, and declining to move a current 161kV H-frame tower 100 feet to allow for better use of the ag land.
Thele said he was told in his third offer from ITC that the offer would be the final offer before eminent domain proceedings began. That offer was received on March 3, but as of March 16th, no eminent domain requests had been filed in the IUC docket. Thele said the final letter said he had seven days to agree to the easement fees offered.
“Throughout this process, I have acted in good faith, maintained open lines of communication, and granted survey access. However, ITC Midwest and its agent, JCG Land Services, have failed to reciprocate with meaningful negotiations, instead issuing a "take-it-or-leave-it" ultimatum,” Thele wrote in his opposition record.
Thele outlined a timeline of communication with JCG from May 2025 through March 3 where he’s met with a JCG representative at least twice to discuss land values, project easements, and special circumstances.
“On March 3, 2026, I received in my post office box a third proposal that was the same as the second proposal, along with a letter stating that, in seven days, ITC would be going to the Iowa Utility Commission to begin the process of eminent domain if I did not sign the easement,” Thele wrote in a second opposition statement.
“On March 10, 2026, Joel Keeny called me to inquire if I had received the final offer that I received on March 3, 2026. I told him that I did and that, just as I said on August 20, 2025, I don't believe their offer is high enough.”
ITC spokesperson Rod Pritchard, manager of Marketing and Communications, said the company typically doesn’t discuss easement proceedings while still in negotiations, but said the company uses analysis from Iowa State University to generate a fair market value for acreage it needs for project easements.
“ITC Midwest is continuing to negotiate with landowners to seek voluntary easements for this proposed project. Landowners are encouraged to continue to work through the process with the ITC Midwest representatives who are negotiating for the voluntary easements,” Pritchard said.
“For values of farmland in Iowa, ITC Midwest uses the data from the annual Iowa State University Land Value Survey. When ITC Midwest held its public information meeting for the Deeds-Ipava project in May 2025, the latest data available was from the 2024 ISU survey, which showed the average value of farmland in Lee County was $10,271 per acre.”
Officials at the May meeting said over all the ITC transmission line projects, 99% of easements are secured through voluntary agreements. Pritchard said since the easement negotiations are still ongoing, they cannot comment on the number of voluntary agreements secured to date for the Lee County project. Pen City Current didn’t request the names of those who had signed voluntary agreements, but just the number of voluntary agreements, to which ITC declined to comment.
“ITC Midwest doesn’t release information on the percentage of property owners who have signed voluntary easement agreements on its proposed transmission line projects while negotiations are ongoing with landowners,” he said.
Pritchard said landowners are compensated for permitting ITC Midwest to secure an easement on their property.
“There are many factors involved in the negotiation for easements above and beyond the compensation offer, including siting of the line on individual parcels. ITC Midwest representatives strive to be consistent, ethical, and straightforward in their approach when working with landowners. Making a good faith effort means that ITC Midwest understands and appreciates the impact that line construction has on landowners and pledges to treat all landowners with the utmost respect during this important process.”
Thele said a seven-day warning is not treating landowners with respect.
“Providing an identical proposal with a seven-day ultimatum of eminent domain is not a negotiation; it is a refusal to discuss terms,” Thele wrote.
Several other property owners who are still negotiating with the ITC agents declined to comment on the record for this story.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here