Rock Island Clean Line threatens the American dream

Growing up, we were taught if you worked hard, you could live the 'American dream” of owning your own place and make a good living. Over the past 20 years, we have worked hard and lived a modest lifestyle, all so we could realize the dream of owning our own farm.

A year and a half ago we were informed by registered letter that Texas and New York billionaires wanted access to our farm for their personal gain. The Rock Island Clean Line wants to build a high voltage transmission line smack dab through our farm.

Even if this proposed project were necessary, they could use already existing rights of ways, abandoned railroad lines or travel along highways. No, they want to traverse across some of the best farmland in the world.

Never mind that this group of investors has no experience building any transmission line, let alone one of this magnitude, or that they don't have any buyers or producers of the energy. Never mind that this is a speculative venture that could very well get sold to a foreign investment company or go belly-up before completion leaving landowners and taxpayers holding the bag. Never mind that this group of investors is hiding under a long list of LLC's (limited liability). And finally, never mind that well over 1,000 landowners will be forced to sell an easement if RICL is granted the franchise status which gives them the authority from the Iowa Utilities Board to use eminent domain.

Some will say this is progress. What progress? Iowa's energy consumers would not receive one electron of energy from this line nor does the project upgrade Iowa's infrastructure since it's not connecting to the Midwest grid system. The manpower to build the line would be temporary, specialized, imported labor with just a handful of jobs to maintain the line after it's built.

We have asked Governor Terry Branstad, legislators, commodity groups and the Farm Bureau for help and they tell us, there is a process, let the process work. Those words don't offer much consolation or reassurance when our property and livelihood is at stake.

We have already spent thousands of dollars to buy our farm, now we have to hire attorneys and expert witnesses for a trial just to keep someone else from 'stealing” an easement through it. Then everything comes down to the Iowa Utilities Board process to decide our fate.

We have already anguished for over a year and a half at the thought of 'what if” the Iowa Utilities Board grants RICL a franchise. Unless you have been in this position yourself, you don't realize what a stressful situation this is. It's anybody's guess how much longer this case will drag on.

Why are Iowa's lawmakers letting this group of investors destroy Iowa's natural resources just so these investors can reap huge profits for themselves? When are Iowa's lawmakers going to take notice that this is an unjustified, rampant abuse by private, for-profit enterprise condemning others' hard-earned private property?

So much for the American dream.

' Kim Junker and her husband farm in Grundy County. Comments: (319) 346 2587.