The North Dakota Public Service Commission has turned down a petition to re-open a case where MDU and Otter Tail Power were granted a certificate of “public convenience and necessity” for a high-voltage power line from Jamestown to Ellendale.
A group of landowners asked for the case to be re-opened. But Commissioner Sheri Haugen-Hoffart said that petition came too late.
"The Commission followed all the rules, regarding the notice of opportunity of hearing, which is the process to insure due process," Haugen-Hoffart said. "The petitioners were not denied due process. They missed their opportunity to exercise it in a timely manner, that is fair to all parties involved."
But Haugen-Hoffart said if the landowners still oppose the line, they will have another chance to raise their concerns, when the two utilities file for the corridor and route permit, if and when it is filed.
"The line may not be constructed without obtaining a certificate of corridor capability and route permit from the Commission," Haugen-Hoffart said. "Again, this has not been filed with us."
The project – dubbed “Jet-X” – is a 345 kilovolt line.