Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Invenergy CEO Michael Polsky, standing up for Missouri farmers and demanding the company make commitments to operate in good faith, as well as adequately compensate landowners affected by the Grain Belt Express construction campaign. Senator Hawley’s letter follows the Missouri Public Service Commission’s decision last month to approve the Tiger Connector amendment to the Grain Belt Express Line Project.
“Your company’s Grain Belt Express construction campaign has hurt Missouri’s farmers,” wrote Senator Hawley. “They have lost the use of arable land, seen their property values decline, and been forced to operate under a cloud of uncertainty as your company vacillates over the full scope of the project.”
He continued, “There is a clear remedy for these harms: as a gesture of goodwill, your company should commit to following all of the requirements passed in House Bill 2005 for the construction of the Tiger Connector Line. Additionally, your company should retroactively compensate landowners whose land was originally taken for the Grain Belt Express project at the new 150% rate. Your company should also commit to compensating farmers for any ongoing losses sustained as a result of your company’s construction and maintenance of both the Grain Belt Express and Tiger Connector.”
Read the full letter here or below.
November 15, 2023
Mr. Michael Polsky
Chief Executive Officer
Invenergy
One South Wacker Drive, Suite 1800
Chicago, Illinois 60646
Dear Mr. Polsky:
Your company’s Grain Belt Express construction campaign has hurt Missouri’s farmers. They have lost the use of arable land, seen their property values decline, and been forced to operate under a cloud of uncertainty as your company vacillates over the full scope of the project. To name just a few examples, since the Grain Belt Express was originally proposed, the completion timetable, the total capacity of the line, the ultimate corporate parent, the amount of power to be delivered, the location of the Missouri converter station, and the full range of connections required have all changed.
This is not an acceptable status quo. In fact, public backlash against your company’s actions was so severe that last year Missouri passed a new law to fix this. House Bill 2005 guarantees that landowners whose property is seized for future projects must be compensated at 150% of market value and requires that a proportional amount of power from the line is given to the State. Unfortunately, those new protections come too late for the farmers whose land has already been taken. And to add insult to injury, your company has now gained approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission to add the Tiger Connector line to the approved Grain Belt Express project, bypassing the requirements in House Bill 2005.
Given this track record, it is far from clear why any Missouri farmers should assume that your company is operating in good faith. There is a clear remedy for these harms: as a gesture of goodwill, your company should commit to following all of the requirements passed in House Bill 2005 for the construction of the Tiger Connector Line. Additionally, your company should retroactively compensate landowners whose land was originally taken for the Grain Belt Express project at the new 150% rate. Your company should also commit to compensating farmers for any ongoing losses sustained as a result of your company’s construction and maintenance of both the Grain Belt Express and Tiger Connector.
No doubt such commitments will prove costly to your company. But at this point, only concrete commitments will make up for the frustration and grief Missouri farmers have already suffered. You owe them that.
I await your response.
Sincerely,
Josh Hawley
United States Senator