By Deb Gau
It doesn't count as a victory yet, but the outcome of a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission hearing on Wednesday means residents along Lyon County Road 7 might still be spared a power line in their front yards.
The PUC decided to open the route of an Xcel Energy power line between Lake Yankton and a Marshall Municipal Utilities substation near County Road 7 for a 90-day investigation, Myk Greenfield said Wednesday.
The current route for the power line selected by the state would pass less than 100 feet from Greenfield's house near County Road 7.
Myk Greenfield and his wife Shirley said the lines would pass 78 feet from their home.
Rep. Marty Seifert, who was advocating for the homeowners along the route, said Wednesday that the hearing felt "like David and Goliath."
"The question was if the commission was even going to consider our petition," said Charles Kaufman, who spoke on behalf of the residents.
Instead, the commissioners voted 5-0 to reconsider a mile of the route.
Five neighbors of the power line route along County Road 7, including Kaufman and Greenfield, were present at the hearing opposite representatives of Xcel Energy. Kaufman presented a petition the residents had written and signed, proposing that the lines go through property owned by Denny Wild and Joe Cauwels instead.
Wild and Cauwels had offered to have the power lines on their land.
Andy Gildea, a lawyer and Seifert's assistant, gave opening comments on the residents' behalf at the hearing, Seifert said.
"I feel very strongly that we are there to represent the constituents," Seifert said of his involvement on the power line issue.
The Greenfields and other neighbors of the power line route had expressed concern about health risks caused by the lines.
Surveys for the proposed alternate line route will start as soon as possible, Greenfield said, because Xcel needs to complete the project by spring. If conflicts are found with the homeowners' proposed route, the state will stick with its current plan.
"We're just holding our breath right now," Kaufman said.
Residents who went to the hearing said the utilities commissioners seemed to respond positively to their presence, and the group's unity.
"They said when the public appears, it means more," said Duane VanOverbeke.
"We're cautiously optimistic," Greenfield said of the PUC's decision.
A town meeting to discuss both the Xcel lines and the bigger CapX 2020 power project will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lyndwood Ballroom in Lynd. Seifert will be hosting the meeting, and representatives from Xcel and other energy companies will be there to provide information to homeowners.