The developer of a $213 million transmission line being eagerly awaited by wind developers said construction is set to begin following the decision Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada to refuse to hear an appeal of the project's permit.

With the court's decision, all avenues for legal challenges have been exhausted and Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. will now be able to begin construction on both sides of the border by December, said Bob Williams of Calgary-based MATL, a subsidiary of Tonbrige Power Inc. of Toronto.
"It's full steam ahead," Williams said.

Permits for the project previously were approved in both Canada and the United States, but the company still needs to negotiate rights-of-way with dozens of landowners, with condemnation remaining an option if negotiations fail.

"The alternative is going to the Surface Rights Board in Alberta, and the condemnation process in Montana," Williams said.

The Surface Rights Board has the authority to issue a right of entry to private property for access to land and set the level of compensation.

Negotiating easements with every landowner is the aim of the company, which is committed to being a good neighbor and listening to landowners' concerns, Williams said, adding the company would offer fair compensation for the use of land.

A total of 113 Alberta landowners are in the line's route, as are 250 landowners in Montana.

So far, Tonbridge has reached agreements with 31 landowners in Alberta, Williams said. He did not know how many agreements had been struck with landowners in Montana.

"We've met with a number of landowners already, but our work is not done," he said.

While the route in Alberta has been set and a 500-foot corridor has been approved in Montana, the company is still finalizing the center line, Williams said.

Landowners in Montana have been cooperative in allowing the company access to land to conduct surveys of sage grouse leks, archaeological sites and wetlands, Williams said.

In Montana, the company also offered an immediate step of alternative dispute resolution, Williams said.

Construction of the 230-kilovolt line will begin with earth-moving work in December at a substation in Lethbridge, Williams said. He added that it has not yet been determined when work will start on setting poles. Mostly single poles will be put up in Montana after landowners, concerned about farming around larger H-frames, demanded them. Both single poles and H-frames are planned in Alberta.

On Thursday morning, the court made public its decision not to hear the appeal of Alberta landowners in Roy Swanson Farms. Ltd. vs. Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. The landowners, arguing the preferred line route would hurt their farm operations, challenged the chosen route.

The court also awarded costs to MATL and NaturEner, a wind developer that intervened in the case.

NaturEner is one of three wind developers that reserved space on the MATL line. It previously announced plans to construct a 309-megawatt, $800 million wind farm north of U.S. Highway 2 in Toole and Glacier counties once the MATL line gets under way. Tonbridge will receive up to $161 million in federal stimulus loans, via the Western Area Power Administration, to construct the line.