Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
02-22-2019

The federal government approval of NPPD’s “R-Project” powerline is nearing a decision point. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project has been on the Federal Register since the 8th of February and is nearing the end of its 30 day waiting period. After which, a “final record of decision” is soon to follow. This gives NPPD the green-light to begin construction of the power-line.

The problem with all this is they have not and are not following the federal law (Endangered Species Act). In spite of the shiny new R-Project sales brochure handed out by NPPD at the capitol today, they continue to show a complete disregard for the countless concerns raised by the public. The route of the R-Project has not changed an inch.

If one drills down into this 837 page document, you will find Appendix E which concerns the Whooping Crane. The highly technical computations discussed in this appendix attempt to answer the question of “mortality.” Specifically, how many Whooping Cranes do the US Fish & Wildlife biologists think will be killed by collisions with this power line over the 50 year life of the project? Remember, only 505 of these animals remain.

The data used to answer this question is old and sparse, and the calculation method used was designed to deliberately skew the result to as near “zero” as was mathematically possible. A large amount of new, modern data was found in early 2018, but the chapter on “threatened and endangered species” was closed by that point and the new data was not considered in the EIS. This violates the Endangered Species Act which requires the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) use “the best available science.” As it is, they are deliberately ignoring it, and so is NPPD.

As a result of a Department of Interior Inspector General’s Complaint I filed, analysis of the new data was eventually forced to happen by the USFWS Scientific Integrity Officer, and is now part of the public record. In an effort, I believe, to deliberately discredit the data, the biologists in the Denver USFWS office wrote an incomplete rebuttal of the analysis and it is rife with errors. I’m shocked this actually made it into the public record. They did this, I believe, because an honest appraisal of the best data available shows a shocking Whooping Crane mortality rate.

The law provides a remedy for all of this called a “Supplemental Environmental Impact Study.” This new Whooping Crane data could be properly studied and a scientifically sound report, free of bias could be rendered. It’s the right thing to do. Sadly, NPPD steadfastly refuses to do this. On the advice of NPPD’s paid lobbyist in Denver, the US Fish & Wildlife Service also steadfastly refused to do this. Other members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation have joined me in this fight. We will soon see if the Department of Interior agrees with the corruption surrounding the R Project.

Please contact my office with any comments, questions or concerns. Email me at; tbrewer@leg.ne.gov. Mail a letter to; Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1423, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.