SE Kansas News

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), along with U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (R-Kan.), have introduced legislation aimed at preventing the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to seize private property for electric transmission lines.

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) proposal, which includes plans to build a transmission line across Kansas. Designating land as part of a NIETC would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) new authority to site electric transmission lines. The Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act permits FERC to issue permits for transmission lines in a corridor even if state regulators have denied an application.

“Kansans have made it clear to the federal government that their land is not for sale,” said Sen. Moran. “The NIETC proposal has been problematic from the start since the DOE permitted only 45 days for folks to submit their comments regarding the proposed transmission line. Sen. Marshall, Congressman Mann and I introduced legislation, the passage of which would prohibit the Department of Energy from trampling on the rights of Kansas landowners or usurping the authority of state regulators in order to build a transmission line across Kansas. These decisions should be left up to Kansans, not Washington.”

Senator Marshall added, “Bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., should not have unchecked authority to approve projects that could strip Kansans of their property rights. It’s as simple as this: decisions affecting local lands should always rest with the states.”

Representative Mann expressed strong opposition: “I am vehemently opposed to any effort by the federal government to seize private land,” he said. “The Department of Energy’s phase 2 announcement of the NIETC proposal was grossly under-publicized, overly vague, and left landowners with no clarity regarding whether their lands would be impacted. Senator Moran and I have heard Kansans loud and clear—they are not interested in the federal government grabbing their land."

The Kansas Farm Bureau also voiced support for this legislative effort: “Kansas Farm Bureau appreciates the leadership of Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and Rep. Tracey Mann in introducing legislation to level the playing field and encourage good faith negotiations for siting and building electric transmission lines,” stated a representative from the organization.

The proposed legislation aims to:

- Ban federal funds from being used to condemn private property for electric transmission lines.

- Prohibit FERC from overruling state regulators' rejection of an electric transmission project.

Sens. Moran, Marshall, and Rep. Mann secured an agreement from DOE allowing continued acceptance of comments regarding the NIETC proposal in Kansas.