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North Dakota Public Service Commissioners postpone Stanley hearing on Basin Electric 345 kV line after public‑notice error
Summary
The Public Service Commissioners postponed a scheduled Stanley hearing for Basin Electric’s proposed 345 kV transmission line after a county newspaper failed to run a required second public notice; the commission rescheduled hearings in Underwood and Stanley and said public comments already on record remain part of the case.
The North Dakota Public Service Commissioners on March 5 announced that a planned public hearing in Stanley on Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s proposed 345 kilovolt transmission line has been postponed after a required second public notice failed to run in one county newspaper.
Commissioner Jill Kringstead, speaking at the commission’s regular meeting, said the failure to publish the second notice meant the agency had not met statutory notice requirements and that the Stanley hearing must be rescheduled and an additional hearing added in Underwood. "The hearing in Stanley has been postponed," Kringstead said, and she gave the new dates: Underwood on Monday, March 31 at 1 p.m., and Stanley on Friday, April 4 at 9 a.m.
The rescheduling follows a hearing in Underwood held last week; Kringstead said comments recorded at that Underwood session remain part of the official record and attendees who spoke there do not need to attend again. "The point of holding these hearings is to give folks the opportunity to hear about the proposed project and to bring to our attention any issues that they may have," Kringstead said. She added that the commission will send a member of staff to Stanley on the originally scheduled date so people who are there can provide comments and that alternate ways to submit comment will be available.
Commissioners and staff described substantial behind‑the‑scenes work to reassemble schedules for the commission, administrative law judge, company representatives, interveners and technical staff. "They make the process seem very effortless, but behind the scenes, they are trying to coordinate a lot of moving parts," Kringstead said, noting coordination among as many as 15 to 20 people when rescheduling.
The commission did not take any substantive action on the transmission project at the March 5 meeting; Kringstead said any decision in the case will be delayed by the required additional public notice and hearings. The commission also said it would formalize the new dates in its administrative meeting.
Commissioners reiterated other scheduling items at the meeting: the next regular PSC meeting is set for March 26 at 10 a.m., and a separate formal hearing on the Thunder Butte pipeline siting application is scheduled for April 2 at 10 a.m. in Parshall.
The commission made clear the postponement was procedural — tied to the statutory notice requirement — and not a change to the substantive record; members urged affected residents to note the new hearing dates and confirmed that earlier testimony already in the record will remain part of the docket.
