The North Dakota Public Service Commission rejected a petition from landowners to reopen a case approving a high-voltage power line from Jamestown to Ellendale.
Commissioner Sheri Haugen-Hoffart said the petition came too late to challenge the November 2024 certificate of “public convenience and necessity” granted to MDU and Otter Tail Power for the 345kV transmission line.
In their petition, affected landowners and township residents argued the project was “unlawfully approved” under the wrong statute without proper notice, environmental review, or public input required for high-voltage lines. They claimed the Commission failed to make detailed findings required by law.
The landowners also argued the project is unnecessary and not in the public interest, saying their communities shouldn’t become “industrial corridors of transmission lines and wind towers just to serve out-of-state markets.” They asked the Commission to rescind the approval and stop the project from moving forward.
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