Some of the points either verbalized by concerned Audrain County citizens and/or provided in press release format by Invenergy when it comes to its declaration of attempting to use eminent domain to add on to its current Grain Belt Expect project were presented at an open meeting Monday at the Audrain County Courthouse.

To meet the increased demand for local power delivery, enhancements to the Grain Belt Express project outlined by Invenergy Transmission will:

• Increase overall investment in the project to approximately $7 billion
• Increase the overall transmission capacity of the line by 25 percent to 5,000 megawatts.
• Once built, the project will provide the equivalent of roughly four new nuclear power plants in capacity to meet regional energy supply and reliability needs.
• Increase by fivefold the delivery capacity to Missouri, with an increase in the sizing of the line’s midpoint delivery converter station from 500 megawatts to 2,500 megawatts.
• Increase delivery capacity to MISO—maintaining the ability to deliver to 39 communities across Missouri—and establish a new Missouri interconnection, enhancing savings and reliability for consumers in rural areas, small towns and cities throughout Missouri, Illinois, and other states.
• Pursue a Phase I & II approach to the project that will enable construction to proceed sooner on Phase I, from Kansas to the Missouri interconnection point, delivering project benefits to energy consumers sooner.

All these points were outlined in the Invenergy press release.

Republican House representatives Mike Haffner (District 55) spoke with Mexico’s Kent Haden (District 43) spoke up in support of the peoples’ fight against the use of eminent domain in this case and many stated to be measured in their responses as to give Invenergy the proper time to respond without giving the company potential fodder for its own case.

“I want you guys to know: We got your backs,” Haffner said. “We have already got stuff in the works. The farm bureau has been very instrumental helping us with this. I can’t tell you that everything that has been discussed here tonight has been discussed with not only the agricultural leadership in the house, but also in the senate, the lieutenant governor and the governor’s staff.

“We are going to make sure that all the agricultural partners are together. Last year, we had 10 priorities for Missouri agriculture, nine of them got to the governor’s desk.”

Haffner said the creation of House Bill 2005, which he sponsored, should help even further against potential resistance in the future.

HB 2005 contains several provisions that modify state statute as it relates to the use of eminent domain by certain electrical utilities:

• Electrical corporations must have a substation or converter station in Missouri that provides an amount of energy proportional to the length of their transmission line within the state;
• Electrical corporations must secure necessary financial commitments within seven years of when an involuntary easement is obtained or the easement must be returned to the original title holder without repayment to the utility;
• The compensation rate for agricultural or horticultural land is increased to 150 percent of the fair market value, which is determined by the court; and
• In condemnation proceedings where disinterested commissioners are appointed, at least one member must be a local farmer who has operated in the county for at least 10 years.

“If we can’t handle this, we will handle it from a statutory standpoint,” Haffner said how the maintenance for the work would be handled in the presentation contradicts the narrative he is hearing.

Haffner also said he could get any push against these types of acts “tomorrow,” in the House but not in the Senate.

“If Grain Belt continues to do the things that they are doing, the roadblocks that we have in the senate are going to disappear,” Haffner said. “We are working on that now. We already have some working bills and commitments from both sides that they will put a priority on this.”

Invenergy’s statement also said: … increasing power delivery to Missouri will require limited changes to the Grain Belt Express transmission line project, also announced today. These include relocation of the line’s midpoint

converter station from Ralls County to Monroe County, Missouri, as well as the addition of a new, approximately 40-mile transmission delivery line, known as the Grain Belt Express Tiger Connector. These changes are necessary to reach the existing McCredie substation, where Missouri’s power grid is robust enough to handle large injections of power.

Grain Belt Express intends to seek all required regulatory approvals related to facility changes 

announced today. For the HVDC portion of the line, no changes to the route, right-of-way, or facility design are anticipated related to today’s announcement, and project development along the HVDC route will continue consistent with existing state regulatory approvals, as appropriate.

Later in July, Grain Belt Express will hold public open house meetings to introduce the Tiger Connector route alternatives and to engage landowners and seek their input. 

Invenergy’s statement added that Grain Belt Express is committed to building transmission infrastructure the right way–treating landowners with respect and fairness. The changes announced will bring the economic and energy benefits of Grain Belt Express to homes and businesses throughout Missouri, Illinois, and across the Midwest and meet critical needs for energy savings, reliability, and supply diversity.

Some key semantics

According to attorney Brent Haden at Monday night’s meeting when he spoke to those in attendance (see related story) this is what Invenergy’s offer for the Grain Belt project has been:

• 110 percent of appraised fair market value of the land: and
• A tower fee of $18,000 per structure: and
• 20 percent of fair market value paid upfront, the remainder of the land cost and tower fee paid at start of construction
• Compensation of all crops

The statutory definition of fair market value (Section 523.001 RSMo) states: The value of the property taken after considering comparable sales in the area, capitalization of income and replacement cost less depreciation, singualarly or in combination, as appropriate and additionally considering the value of the property based upon its highest and best use, using generally accepted appraisal practices. If less than the entire property is taken, fair market value shall mean the difference between the fair market value of the entire property immediately prior to the taking and the fair market value of the remaining burdened property immediately after the taking.

A number of items presented at the meeting regarding the rights of landowners included:

• If either party objects to the amount set forth by the commissioners, then they have the right to a jury trial where the fair market value will be decided by a panel of 12 jurors.
• To determine fair market value, the court appoints three disinterested commissioners who are residents of the county in which the real estate is located. Those commissioners will view the property and then report to the court setting out of the damages within 45 days. If no party files an exception to the commissioners’ award, then the utility shall pay the amount set forth by the commissioners to the landowner and the case is concluded.
• Any taking by an electrical corporation other than the electrical co-op of agricultural land shall be compensated at 150 percent of fair market value. This provision is in the new changes from 2022, and does not apply to projects permitted under an application filed prior to Aug. 28.
• Additionally, if the taking of the land is of a primary place of residence or the land within 300 feet or a primary place of residence, the electrical corporation must pay 125 percent of fair market value. If the taken land has been in one family for more than 50 years, the electrical corporation must be 150 percent of fair market value. The land must also be currently lived on.

Brent Haden also reminded people that surveyors are immune to trespass laws in Missouri (section 327.371, RSMo.), but liable for damages done to crops during their time on a property’s land.