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Background
States have historically regulated the construction and siting of transmission lines through state utility regulators. State statutes provide the legal parameters that both support and restrict a State utility commission’s actions when considering interstate transmission siting. Language governing interstate transmission siting varies throughout the country.
In 2005, the Energy Policy Act (EPAct 2005) gave the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unprecedented authority in electric transmission siting through the establishment of "National Interest" Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) and the use of Federal backstop siting authority. With the designation of NIETCs, the federal government was given the unprecedented ability to usurp state regulatory powers in transmission siting, and condemn lands for transmission projects.
Proposed power lines within an NIETC are subject to federal environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and any federal or state laws governing the siting of energy structures or related statutes. However, the designation of the NIETC itself is exempt from the scrutiny of NEPA, other federal environmental laws, and local or statewide land use regulations.
Policy Issues
While the NIETCs are still on the books, legislative and policy trends represent new challenges ahead for those working to protect our land and water, wildlife and cherished historic sites from the insturusive expansion of transmission. (Read more)
