Committee to Review Public Comments on Energy Issues
The Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee (ETIC) of the Montana Legislature will meet Sept. 24 in Helena to review public comments and hear expert testimony on a trio of energy issues.
The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. in Room 172 of the State Capitol. The three issues on the agenda are:
rebuilding and extending transmission lines,
integrating wind energy, and
maximizing the use of state land for energy generation.
The 2009 Legislature, with passage of Senate Bill 290, required the ETIC to review and potentially revise the current state energy policy. Members of the committee decided in August to seek the ideas and recommendations of the general public, as well as energy experts.
The committee received more than 50 public comments in the past month, many of them detailed and lengthy. It will solicit public comment on other energy issues over the next nine months. All comments, as well as a schedule of upcoming comment periods, are available on the committee's Web page at leg.mt.gov/etic.
At the Sept. 24 meeting, staff of the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation will discuss the use of state land for development of oil, gas, coal, biomass, and wind energy.
A panel discussion on transmission will include representatives of the state Department of Environmental Quality, the Energy Development Division of the Department of Commerce, Tonbridge Power, and Move MSTI, a group focused on seeing public utilities on public land.
A panel on wind energy will include representatives of Gaelelectric, Naturener, and small-wind developers.
The meeting will be audio-streamed on the legislative Web site at leg.mt.gov. It also will be broadcast over the state government television network, TVMT.
For more information, including a complete agenda, visit the committee Web page or contact Sonja Nowakowski, committee research analyst, at 406-444-3078 or snowakowski@mt.gov.
