Otter Tail Power Company, Minnesota Power, and Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. propose to construct and operate a 230 kV transmission line from the Wilton Substation, just west of Bemidji, Minnesota to the Boswell Substation in Cohasset, Minnesota, just northwest of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  The proposed routes for the transmission line cross sections of Beltrami, Hubbard, Cass and Itasca County.  The Office of Energy Security (OES) will be seeking comments during specific phases of the site permitting process. Relevant documents for the routing process and the CN process are included in this project docket (see "File Register" below).

The proposed project is a large energy facility and requires a route permit and a Certificate of Need (CN) from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The CN was issued July 14, 2009. 

The Project requires the approval of cooperating federal agencies including the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), the Forest Service, the Corps of Engineers, and the Leech Lake Reservation Band of Ojibwe.  

Three route alternatives and 20 segment alternatives are evaluated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) published on February 23, 2010.  Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement are being accepted through April 26, 2010.

The complete record for the route permit and the CN can be found on eDockets at: https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/EFiling/search.jsp.  For the site permit record, search on the year 07 and the number 1327.  For the CN record, search on the year 07 and the number 1222.