Missouri Farm Bureau opposes eminent domain for Grain Belt Express

Missouri Farm Bureau's board of directors has voted to intervene in the Grain Belt Clean Line case which is presently before the Public Service Commission (PSC). Farm Bureau will oppose granting eminent domain to the company for the proposed electrical transmission line which it plans to build across northern Missouri. From western Missouri going east, the line would cross Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls counties.

The Grain Belt Express (GBE) "Clean Line" is a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line, approximately 750 miles long stretching from western Kansas eastward across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Electrical current carried through the lines will come from new wind turbine farms in Kansas.

"Missouri Farm Bureau has long been a defender of property rights whether it involved cases of eminent domain or regulatory abuse," said Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst. "Our board of directors consulted with county Farm Bureau leaders and has voted to oppose eminent domain authority for the GBE project. The benefits claimed by the developers absolutely do not justify the granting of eminent domain to the newly-formed company selling electricity to out-of-state customers."

Clean Line Energy is seeking public utility status from Missouri's PSC so the company can use eminent domain proceedings to acquire easements for the 150-foot-tall transmission towers.