Brief (1)
House Sub. for Sub. for Sub. for SB 257 would amend the Electric Transmission Siting Act which presently requires an electric utility to obtain a siting permit from the Kansas Corporation Commission prior to site preparation for or construction of electric transmission lines. Under existing law "electric transmission lines" are statutorily defined as lines which are at least five miles in length and are used for bulk transfer of 230 kilovolts or more of electricity. In order to obtain a siting permit, an electric utility must file an application with the Commission. The Commission must publish a notice of hearing and subsequently hold a hearing to determine the necessity for and reasonableness of the location of the proposed electric transmission line. The Commission must make a decision and either issue a permit (with conditions if deemed just and reasonable) or withhold the requested permit.
The bill modifies the Act with respect to: the circumstances under which a siting permit would be required; the information to be contained in the utility's siting application; the requirements governing the Commission's hearing on that application; and the notice of hearing.
Exemptions from the Siting Act. The bill would exempt from provisions of the Siting Act: (1) that portion of any electric transmission line to be constructed on an easement where there currently exists one or more transmission lines if the easement is not within a city; and (2) that portion of any electric transmission line to be constructed on property adjacent to right-of-way along a four-lane controlled access highway. An exemption in existing law would be retained for any electric utility that complies with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (i.e., any electric utility located on federal land). The bill would prohibit any city or county from exercising control over the siting or construction of any exempted electric transmission line. Moreover, the bill would specify that an environmental study need not be done for construction of an electric transmission line on right-of-way where one or more such lines are currently situated. Under existing law, the Commission does not require an environmental study for transmission siting applications.
Information Included in Siting Application. The bill would require the application filed by the utility with the Commission to specify the names and addresses of landowners located within 1,320 feet of the proposed location of the line. This requirement applies to any new transmission line construction within or outside of a city. Under existing law, the names and addresses of landowners need to be included in the application only if eminent domain is under consideration.
Public Hearings. The bill would extend to 90 days the time period allowed the Commission for setting the time for a public hearing on a utility's siting application. Under existing law, the Commission has no more than 60 days after an application filing to schedule the hearing. Moreover, the bill would require the hearing to be held in one of the counties through which the transmission line is proposed to traverse. Under existing law, the Commission may hold the hearing in an affected county but is not required to do so.
Evidentiary Hearings. The bill would authorize the Commission to conduct an evidentiary hearing on a siting application in addition to the required public hearing. (Evidentiary hearings are formal proceedings involving expert witnesses and attorneys of the parties, whereas public hearings are more informal proceedings which may be the only proceedings initiated in uncontested cases.) Existing law does not specifically authorize the Commission to conduct an evidentiary hearing on transmission siting applications. However, such hearing may be conducted if the Commission initiates an investigation or responds to a complaint. The bill would require the Commission to render a decision on the application within 120 days from the date the application was filed.
Notice of Hearing. The bill would authorize the Commission to order the utility to publish a notice of the public hearing on the siting application and submit an affidavit of publication. This is a current practice which the proposed language, if ultimately adopted, would codify.
The bill would take effect upon publication in the Kansas Register.
Background
The introduced version of SB 257 related to electric generation siting. Provisions of the introduced version are included in Sub. for SB 243, also recommended by the Senate Committee on Utilities and Senate Committee of the Whole. The Senate's version of the bill resulted from information received in 1999 by the Senate Committee on Utilities in its review of two bills pertaining to the Electric Generation Facility Siting Act. The Committee learned that construction of additional generation facilities will require the construction of additional or upgraded transmission lines. As with generation facility siting requirements, transmission siting requirements cause electric utilities to incur certain costs and can result in delay in their planned construction activity. There was no hearing in the Senate Committee on the original substitute version of the bill, although a conferee representing Western Resources specifically raised concerns with the transmission siting requirements in testimony on the generation siting bills and the Committee addressed this issue in its deliberations on those bills.
Sub. for SB 257 was subsequently re-referred to the Senate Committee on Utilities for additional deliberation. The Committee received testimony supporting the bill from the Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, Western Resources, and written testimony from the Senior Manager of External Affairs, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. There were no opponents. The Committee recommended a substitute for the re-referred bill which deleted certain technical amendments considered upon further review to be unnecessary. The Senate Committee of the Whole passed the bill on March 30, 1999. The Senate version of the bill would repeal most statutes comprising the Electric Transmission Siting Act. The Senate version would eliminate the existing statutory requirement that an electric utility obtain a siting permit from the Kansas Corporation Commission prior to site preparation for or construction of electric transmission lines. The Senate version also would no longer require a utility to obtain a siting permit for the exercise of eminent domain to acquire land for transmission line construction. However, the Senate version would retain the requirement in the Act that electric utilities which construct electric transmission lines restore the land to the condition which existed prior to construction. The definition of "electric transmission line" would be modified in the Senate version to remove references to length of line and voltage.
The House Committee on Utilities held hearings on Substitute for Substitute for SB 257 on February 1, 2000. The House Committee's version of the bill retained the Electric Transmission Siting Act but limited its application. Electric utilities that plan construction of transmission lines not located in cities or on property adjacent to right-of-way along a four-lane controlled access highway would no longer be required to apply for a siting permit. The bill would also amend provisions in the Act related to: the information to be contained in the utility's siting application; the requirements governing the Commission's hearing on that application; and the notice of hearing. Several provisions in the House Committee's version of the bill were incorporated from HB 2657, which was proposed by the Commission.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html