SB 932

SENATE BILL NO. 932
A bill to amend 1995 PA 30, entitled
"Electric transmission line certification
act,"
by amending section 6 (MCL 460.566), as amended by 2004
PA 198.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 6. (1) Before applying for a certificate under
section 5, an electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent
transmission company shall schedule and hold a public meeting in each
municipality through which a proposed major transmission line for which a plan
has been submitted under section 4 would pass. A public meeting held in a
township satisfies the requirement that a public meeting be held in each
affected village located within in the township.
(2) In the 60 days
before a public meeting held under subsection (1), the electric utility,
affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company shall
offer in writing to meet with the chief elected official of each affected
municipality or his or her the chief elected official's designee to discuss the
utility's, affiliated transmission company's, or independent transmission
company's desire to build the major transmission line and to explore the routes
to be considered.
(3) At
least 15 days before a public meeting held under subsection (1), an electric
utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company shall
provide notice to all of the following:
(a) Each
municipality and landowner with property located along the proposed and
alternate routes identified for the proposed major transmission line.
(b) Each
municipality and landowner with property located within 1 mile of the
centerline of the proposed right of way for the proposed and alternate routes
identified for the proposed major transmission line.
(c) Each
municipality and landowner with property located within the geographic area
between the proposed and alternate routes identified for the proposed major
transmission line.
(4) The
notice required in subsection (3) must be by mail delivered to the taxpayer of
record of the affected property and include all of the following:
(a) The
date, time, and location of all public meetings scheduled for the proposed
major transmission line.
(b) The
case number of the docket established for the proposed major transmission line,
including instructions on how the person can sign up though the commission's
website to receive notifications about the docket.
(c) A
highlighted map of the proposed and alternate routes.
(d) If the
transmission line is more than 5 miles in length, a highlighted map of the
geographic area within a 1 mile radius of any proposed or alternate routes, as
well as the land between those routes.
(e) The
name, address, telephone number, and email address for a dedicated contact
person who has knowledge of the development of the proposed major transmission
line that is authorized to communicate on behalf of the electric utility,
affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company.
(f) Details
regarding the specific type of information the electric utility, affiliated
transmission company, or independent transmission company is seeking from the
landowners and municipalities, including all of the following:
(i) Particular characteristics about the landowner's
property.
(ii) Land use.
(iii) Features of historical or environmental significance.
(g) Rights
the electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent
transmission company is potentially seeking from the landowner.
(5) The electric
utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company is
encouraged to identify and review multiple alternate routes with landowners and
municipalities, developing a full understanding of land considerations and
landowner comments when refining the final proposed and alternate routes
included as part of the application submitted to the commission.
(6) An electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or
independent transmission company shall make meeting materials in
substantially final form available to commission staff 10 business days before
the applicant holds a public meeting under subsection (1).
(7) An electric
utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company shall
allow landowners attending a public meeting to identify geographic features of
their parcel or add comments, information regarding features of parcels or
potential minor route adjustments, and any other pertinent information
regarding the location of the proposed major transmission line. This
information must be translated into a geographic information system to be used
by the electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent
transmission company. An electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or
independent transmission company shall provide a similar map-based interface on
a website available to the public so that information and alternate routes may
be submitted by landowners that were unable to attend a public meeting in
person. The website must be available for at least 90 days after the last
public meeting held as required under subsection (1). The electric utility,
affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company shall
solicit route modifications, alternate segments, and alternate routes for the
proposed major transmission line during the public meetings and from the
map-based interface website. The evaluation factor data by route segment for
route segments studied in the routing study that derived the construction plan
must be made available during public meetings, as well as on the online
map-based interface. Interested parties must be able to submit comments and
feedback via a website available to the public before the electric utility,
affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company files the
application with the commission. All landowner comments and route adjustment
requests received by the applicant and all applicant responses to those
comments and requests must be thoroughly documented by the electric utility,
affiliated transmission company, or independent transmission company. Any
substantive landowner request that is not granted must include a description of
how the modification was considered and why it was not able to be reasonably
accommodated.
(8) During
all public meetings, the electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or
independent transmission company shall provide the following information:
(a)
Transmission line details that relate to public health, including any
post-construction testing or evaluation presented by a subject matter expert
who is available to discuss electromagnetic field regulations and how the
project is designed to meet or exceed those regulations.
(b) The
need for the line.
(c) An
estimated tax revenue due to the project, broken down by township.
(d) The
construction process and safety measures for the proposed major transmission
line.
(e)
Environmental impact mitigation.
(f) Rights
the applicant is seeking from landowners.
(g) A
high-level overview of the landowner compensation process.
(h)
Post-construction property restoration procedures and requirements.
(i) The
case number of the docket established for the proposed major transmission line,
including instructions on how the person can sign up though the commission's
website to receive notifications about the docket.