Agenda - Council - 06/25/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Enterprise Park to Crooked Lake 115 kV Transmission Line March 2012 Environmental Assessment If an agreement cannot be reached regarding the acquisition of easement rights, the Applicant can exercise the right of eminent domain, also referred to as the condemnation process, under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 117. Under the condemnation process, the Applicant files a Petition in the district court where the property is located. The Petition would be served to all owners of the property. If granted by the courts, a three -person condemnation commission would be established to evaluate compensation for the easement. The three -person committee would be comprised of third -party individuals familiar with real estate issues, who would view the property in question. The commission would conduct a valuation hearing, at which the property owners would be allowed to testify regarding the fair market value or the easement. Following the hearing, the commission would make an award as to the value of the property, which would be filed with the court. Each party is given a 40-day window to appeal to the district court for a jury trial. After ROW is acquired, the ROW agent would contact all land owners to discuss the construction schedule. If personal property must be moved temporarily for the construction of the Project (e.g., property fences), the ROW agent would discuss this with the land owner. 4.2. Transmission Line Structures Single pole wood structures with horizontal post insulators will be the primary structure used for the Project. In some instances the topography may require longer spans beyond the capability of the horizontal post insulators, in which case a braced post design will be utilized to accommodate the increased loadings. Angles in the line will require guying (the use of anchors and support cables) or specialty structures. Where guying is not practicable, direct embedded laminated wood poles or steel poles on drilled concrete pillar foundations will be utilized. Single pole with underbuild design will be used in areas where the new transmission line overtakes one of the various distribution providers along the proposed route. This design uses less right-of-way than two separate parallel lines. However, these structures will be taller because the higher voltage circuit is stacked on top of the lower voltage circuit, resulting in a pole that averages 75 to 85 feet in height above ground. Span lengths will average 250 to 300 feet. There are several locations along the proposed route where the distribution may be buried underground due to physical constraints or for aesthetic reasons. H-Frame design structures may be used in areas where longer spans are required to avoid or minimize impacts to wetlands or waterways. Span lengths average 600 to 700 feet, with 1,000-foot spans possible with certain topography. H-Frame structure heights range from 60 to 80 feet with taller structures required for exceptionally long spans and in circumstances requiring additional vertical clearance exceeding National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) and other agency requirements. Figure 3 illustrates the various structure types that will be used for the Project. 17