Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. was granted a permit from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board on Tuesday to construct the Canadian stretch of a 215-mile electrical transmission line between Great Falls and Lethbridge.

The line is expected to spur wind farm construction in northcentral Montana.

The EUB permit was the final OK needed for the Alberta portion, which makes up about 40 percent of the entire project, said Bob Curran, an EUB spokesman. Canada's National Energy Board previously approved the plan.

"It means they can construct and operate the line now," Curran said.

However, the $150 million, 230-kilovolt transmission line still needs approval from U.S. and Montana regulators.

And the Canadian section of the project faces an appeal before the Alberta Court of Appeals as well.

"MATL wouldn't be too bright to start putting poles in the ground until the appeal is done," said Lethbridge attorney Scott Stenbeck, who represents Alberta farmers who oppose the current route.

In July, Canadian landowners were granted permission to appeal the project, and Stenbeck said the case will be heard in January.

Bob Williams, vice president of MATL's regulatory division, said ideally construction would begin this winter, but the company won't know for sure until it receives the permits still needed from U.S. regulators.

"We have worked to develop a route and facilities that minimize the impacts on landowners, farming operations and the environment on both sides of the border," Williams said.

Invenergy, NaturEner and Wind Hunter, which have signed long-term shipping contracts with Calgary-based MATL, are planning to build wind farms in the shadow of the line, which would transport 300 megawatts of electricity both north and south. By MATL's own projection, the line and accompanying wind farms could lead to $1 billion in investment.

Elected officials in Montana communities along the route support the conduit and the spin-off wind farms, citing property tax benefits and jobs, but some residents who own land where the line would cross are objecting.

The EUB issued a conditional approval of MATL's application Jan. 31 with the caveat that the company establish a dispute resolution process with landowners.

In its decision Tuesday, the EUB said it was satisfied the company fulfilled the dispute resolution requirement.

MATL hired a company called Certus Strategies to assist in negotiations with landowners, Williams said. The negotiations center on easing the impact of the line and payments for easements, as well as impacts that can't be mitigated, Williams said.

The majority of the 125 landowners in MATL's preferred route in Alberta are either directly negotiating with the company or using a mediator, he said. James McCorquodale, MATL's land manager, said the company would be making formal offers to Alberta landowners throughout the summer.

Diane Sincennes, whose farm lies in the transmission corridor and who is one of the plaintiffs in the appeal, said she remains concerned about the potential health impacts of the line's electromagnetic field, as well as how the 80-foot poles will affect aerial spraying and on-the-ground irrigation systems.

"We had hoped that the EUB would have listened to our concerns," said Sincennes, whose family grows barley and wheat southeast of Lethbridge.

She also opposes a for-profit company using another person's private land for their project.

"It's all about property rights and landowner rights," she said.

There are about 195 landowners in MATL's preferred right-of-way in Montana, Williams said. MATL has negotiated several agreements with those landowners, but the company is waiting for the U.S. regulatory process to proceed further before approaching additional property owners, he said.

About 130 miles of 215-mile transmission line would be constructed in Montana.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Energy are scheduled to release an environmental impact statement to the public by late summer or early fall, the DEQ's Tom Ring said.

To build the line in the U.S., MATL needs a certificate of compliance under the Montana Major Facilities Siting Act and a presidential permit from the U.S. Department of Energy, Ring said. The presidential permit is necessary because the line would cross an international border, he said.

Decisions on whether to grant those permits will come several weeks after the release of the environmental impact statement, Ring said.

Most of the line crosses private land, but Ring said the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management also need to grant easements for the project.