PRINTER'S NO. 1663
No. 297 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY DeWEESE, SOLOBAY, MUNDY, EACHUS, BELFANTI, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CASORIO, FABRIZIO, GIBBONS, HARHAI, KORTZ, LEVDANSKY, LONGIETTI, MAHONEY, OLIVER, SAYLOR, SHAPIRO, SHIMKUS, SIPTROTH, DALEY, WANSACZ, J. WHITE, YUDICHAK, KIRKLAND, YEWCIC, SCAVELLO, READSHAW, WOJNAROSKI, GALLOWAY, GEORGE, FREEMAN, DALLY, JOSEPHS, YOUNGBLOOD, PASHINSKI AND HORNAMAN, MAY 24, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, MAY 24, 2007
A RESOLUTION 1 Opposing the designation of national interest electric 2 transmission corridors and memorializing the Congress of the 3 United States to repeal or modify certain provisions of the 4 Energy Policy Act of 2005. 5 WHEREAS, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPact) was passed by 6 the Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law on August 8, 7 2005; and 8 WHEREAS, The EPact was promoted as a comprehensive approach 9 to growing energy needs and designed to guarantee development of 10 domestic fuel production and energy supply, thereby ending 11 United States dependence on foreign oil; and 12 WHEREAS, Provisions of the omnibus legislation touch on 13 nearly every segment of energy production and use, including 14 nuclear power, electricity, natural gas, fossil fuels, renewable 15 energy and competitive generation; and 16 WHEREAS, A provision of Title XII of the EPact, Electricity,
1 however, preempts what have long been fundamental powers of 2 state and local governments; and 3 WHEREAS, Section 1221, for example, transfers the authority 4 to approve the siting of certain transmission lines from state 5 governments and their political subdivisions to agencies of the 6 Federal Government; and 7 WHEREAS, Section 1221(a) of EPact directs the United States 8 Secretary of Energy to, in consultation with states, conduct 9 periodic nationwide studies of electric transmission congestion; 10 and 11 WHEREAS, The Secretary of Energy released its initial 12 National Electric Transmission Congestion study in August 2006; 13 and 14 WHEREAS, Based upon the findings of any congestion study, the 15 Secretary of Energy may designate "any geographical area 16 experiencing electric energy transmission capacity constraints 17 or congestion that adversely affects customers" as a "national 18 interest electric transmission corridor" or national corridor; 19 and 20 WHEREAS, Section 1221(b) further conveys to the Federal 21 Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to issue 22 permits for construction or modification of electric 23 transmission facilities situated or proposed to be situated in 24 any Department of Energy designated national interest electric 25 transmission corridor; and 26 WHEREAS, The FERC would be able to override the authority of 27 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to issue a 28 certificate of public convenience to approve and locate a 29 transmission line in a Department of Energy designated national 30 interest electric transmission corridor if: 20070H0297R1663 - 2 -
1 (1) the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission had no 2 authority to approve a specified transmission line proposal 3 or would fail to consider interstate benefits of the proposed 4 transmission line; 5 (2) the applicant would not qualify for a certificate of 6 public convenience issued by the Pennsylvania Public Utility 7 Commission because it does not serve end-use customers in the 8 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; 9 (3) the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission would fail 10 to act on an application for approval to locate and construct 11 the new transmission line within one year of the filing of an 12 application or one year after designation as a national 13 interest electric transmission corridor, whichever is later; 14 or 15 (4) the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission would 16 condition its approval in such a manner that the proposed 17 construction or modification would not significantly reduce 18 transmission congestion or would not be economically 19 feasible; 20 and 21 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and its 22 predecessor, the Public Service Commission, have had 23 jurisdictional and regulatory authority over public utilities 24 and public utility service, including the review and approval of 25 applications for the location and construction of transmission 26 lines in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1913, or for 94 27 years; and 28 WHEREAS, The designation of national interest electric 29 transmission corridors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 30 coupled with FERC "backstop" authority to issue permits to site 20070H0297R1663 - 3 -
1 a transmission line and thereby override the recommendations of 2 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, would give electric 3 utilities access to Federal eminent domain authority; and 4 WHEREAS, If FERC would institute its "backstop" authority, 5 the holder of a FERC-issued permit would be empowered to 6 exercise the right of eminent domain to condemn and acquire 7 private property to locate and construct the transmission line; 8 and 9 WHEREAS, On March 6, 2006, Allegheny Power and the PJM 10 Interconnection, the Regional Transmission Organization that 11 coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or 12 parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, including the 13 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, filed for early designation as a 14 national interest electric transmission corridor a 240-mile, 500 15 kV transmission line which would extend from southwestern 16 Pennsylvania, traverse West Virginia and terminate in northern 17 Virginia; and 18 WHEREAS, On October 10, 2006, the PJM Interconnection 19 submitted another request to the Department of Energy for early 20 designation of three additional national interest electric 21 transmission corridors that will encompass nearly all of the 22 Mid-Atlantic region; and 23 WHEREAS, The early request filed with the United States 24 Department of Energy by Allegheny Power and the PJM 25 Interconnection, if granted, will include significant acreage of 26 land in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and 27 WHEREAS, On April 26, 2007, the United States Department of 28 Energy released drafts of two national interest electric 29 transmission corridor designations, including the Mid-Atlantic 30 Area National Corridor; and 20070H0297R1663 - 4 -
1 WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor designation 2 includes counties in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New 3 York, Maryland, Virginia and includes all of New Jersey, 4 Delaware and the District of Columbia; and 5 WHEREAS, Fifty of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's 67 6 counties, or 75% of the land within the Commonwealth's 7 geographic borders, are included in the Mid-Atlantic Area 8 National Corridor designation; and 9 WHEREAS, In its release announcing the draft national 10 interest electric transmission corridor designations, the 11 Department of Energy revealed that it would convene three public 12 meetings during a 60-day comment period; and 13 WHEREAS, In its April 26, 2007, announcement, the Department 14 of Energy revealed that public meetings would be held in New 15 York, Virginia and California during the 60-day comment period; 16 and 17 WHEREAS, Some local governments, citizens and preservation 18 groups that would be directly impacted by the designation of 19 national interest electric transmission corridors in the 20 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and some other affected states 21 contacted the Department of Energy to express their 22 disappointment and concern that no public meetings were planned 23 for Pennsylvania and other affected states during the 60-day 24 comment period; and 25 WHEREAS, On May 8, 2007, the Department of Energy announced 26 that it would hold four additional meetings during the 60-day 27 public comment period in some states, including the Commonwealth 28 of Pennsylvania, that would be impacted by the national interest 29 electric transmission corridor designations; and 30 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania public meeting will be convened in 20070H0297R1663 - 5 -
1 the month of June in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and 2 WHEREAS, The 60-day comment period for the Mid-Atlantic Area 3 National Corridor designations is scheduled to end on July 6, 4 2007; and 5 WHEREAS, It is alleged that the transmission lines proposed 6 to be located and constructed in the Mid-Atlantic Area National 7 Corridor would be used to relieve energy congestion and 8 constraints and improve electric reliability in population 9 centers of the East Coast; and 10 WHEREAS, Designation of national interest electric 11 transmission corridors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could 12 diminish or eliminate the role of the Pennsylvania Public 13 Utility Commission, the administrative agency of the 14 Commonwealth that has regulatory authority over the approval of 15 applications for the location and construction of transmission 16 lines; and 17 WHEREAS, Designation of national interest electric 18 transmission corridors would also adversely limit or completely 19 eliminate the roles of the Office of Consumer Advocate and the 20 Office of Small Business Advocate; and 21 WHEREAS, The Office of Consumer Advocate and the Office of 22 Small Business Advocate are administrative agencies of the 23 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that were expressly established by 24 Pennsylvania statute to represent the interests of consumers and 25 small businesses, respectively, in proceedings before the 26 Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, including certain 27 matters related to the location and construction of transmission 28 lines; and 29 WHEREAS, Designation of national interest electric 30 transmission corridors and FERC's accompanying "backstop" 20070H0297R1663 - 6 -
1 authority could diminish or even eliminate the roles of other 2 administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that 3 were established for the express purpose of protecting 4 Pennsylvania's economic, natural, historical, cultural and 5 recreational resources, including the Departments of 6 Environmental Protection, Conservation and Natural Resources, 7 Agriculture and Transportation as well as the Game Commission 8 and the Historical and Museum Commission; and 9 WHEREAS, Designation of national interest electric 10 transmission corridors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would 11 undermine and in some cases eliminate the Commonwealth's ability 12 to determine, manage and control land use policies, including 13 land use policies on its agricultural lands, forest reserves, 14 recreational areas, game lands and other natural and 15 environmentally sensitive areas; therefore be it 16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 17 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognize fully the energy and 18 environmental challenges facing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 19 in general and the United States in particular; and be it 20 further 21 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives believe that 22 demand for energy continues to be a concern nationwide, 23 especially in major population centers, and that an effective 24 national energy policy must include increased emphasis on 25 conservation, renewable energy, energy-efficient alternatives, 26 demand-side management, innovations and new technologies while 27 simultaneously providing incentives to increase domestic 28 production and supply; and be it further 29 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize that an 30 effective energy policy must be addressed nationally but should 20070H0297R1663 - 7 -
1 reflect traditional state and local authority over environmental 2 and energy matters; and be it further 3 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives oppose the 4 provisions of EPact which preempt the authority of the 5 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its political subdivisions to 6 determine land use policies and which usurp the traditional and 7 fundamental authority of the Pennsylvania Public Utility 8 Commission to review and approve applications for the location 9 and construction of transmission lines in the Commonwealth of 10 Pennsylvania; and be it further 11 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the members 12 of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation to support 13 legislation to repeal section 1221 of EPact and thereby preserve 14 the fundamental rights of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and 15 its people to determine the future of land use policies; and be 16 it further 17 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 18 the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each 19 member of Congress from Pennsylvania. E10L82SFL/20070H0297R1663 - 8 -