"Energy companies shouldn't get special protection in federal law to put power lines wherever they want and run roughshod over property owners, community groups, environmental advocates, and state and local governments. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Congress let them do in 2005. These bills will give citizens, state and local governments much more say in what gets built in their own backyard, which is how such decisions are supposed to be made."

Congressman John Hall  (D-NY), announcing two bills to amend the Energy Policy Act, February 2007

“I am gravely concerned about the adverse quality-of-life and economic impact that may result from this project. I am also concerned about the long-term effect NIETC designations will have on the powers of states to develop, supervise and manage land use policies and other activities within their individuals borders,”

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, letter Senators Specter and Casey and Congressman Murtha, April 2007.

The “Department should not consider any application for or make any designation of NIETCs that does not clearly identify the national interests sought to be protected and make findings of fact regarding how those interests are best served by a NIETC designation, rather than by approaches that are less intrusive into state laws and policies.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, letter to DOE, October 10, 2006

“The designation of defined corridors as NIETCs would have the effect of short-cutting the approval of individual projects aimed at resolving transmission congestion by side-stepping state, local, and federal laws.  It Is clear that NIETC designation allows for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to step in and permit transmission facilities, notwithstanding any other federal, state, or local review procedures.  For example corridor designation sets severe time-limits for moving projects forward – a time-frame that allows FERC to take over for a state regulatory process if approval has not been issued within one year after filing an application.  Most worrisome, when FERC has assumed control over the permitting process for an area designated as an NIETC, the Act authorized the broad use of federal ‘eminent domain’ to advance transmission projects.  Given these extraordinary legal consequences of designating an NIETC, it can be assumed that once an NIETC is designated, individual projects within the corridor will be pushed through with or without the state, local, or federal laws that have been established to guide the permitting of transmission projects and to ensure that environmental impacts are reviewed.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, letter to DOE, October 10, 2006.

 “Section 1221(j)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 specifically acknowledged that NEPA requirements must be met stating, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any requirement of the environmental laws of the United States, including, but not limited to, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.”  NPCA is gravely concerned by the DOE’s apparent contention that the designation of major electricity corridors is not a major action. … We are also concerned by the lack of action taken by the DOE to meet the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). …These actions must take place early in the planning process so that developed alternatives avoid damaging America’s cultural and historic resources.  NPCA encourages Congress to examine why the DOE has decided to avoid these basic legal requirements that would ensure America’s “significant” and irreplaceable national treasures are protected from new electricity transmission lines before NIETCs are designated. “

National Parks Conservation Association,  letter to Congressional Committtee on Oversight and Reform,  April 15, 2007.

“The designation of specific National Corridors will have draconian results, including the potential effect of overriding or preempting reviews by state and local governments, and other federal agencies. Under Section 1221(a), a National Corridor designation by DOE allows FERC to step in and specifically authorize the construction of transmission facilities, notwithstanding any other federal, state, or local review procedures. … Since the legal consequences of National Corridor designation will likely lead to the approval of specific transmission projects within the corridors almost as a foregone conclusion, delaying the environmental review process until after the Corridor has been designated will almost certainly be too late for a meaningful consideration of alternatives. However, DOE has not complied, nor does it intend to comply, with the requirements of NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] and NHPA [National Historic Preservation Act] prior to designating National Corridors. We are gravely concerned by DOE’s interpretation, because we believe that Section 1221(a) does not grant DOE the authority to make these designations in the absence of NEPA review.”

Elizabeth Merritt, Deputy General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, testimony before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, April 25, 2007.

“In the 15 years that I have served as [New York] Energy Committee Chairman, few issues have given rise to the concern and sense of ‘disempowerment’ that the potential exercise of federal preemption regarding transmission line siting has created. At its core, this sense of loss of local power strikes directly to public fears that the voices of individual citizens will be lost to corporate interests; that profit motive will trump the rights of individuals to enjoy private property. There is little confidence, at this moment, that federal government officials – who are far removed from the physical and socio-economic location of local proposals – will be able to fully appreciate the environmental, economic and social impacts of long-range, high-voltage transmission lines in local communities. ”

Paul Tonko, New York State Assemblyman and Chair of NY Committee on Energy, testimony before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, April 25, 2007