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Missouri farmers oppose power line construction

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Farmers in southeast Missouri are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over flooding in 2011.

A group of Missouri farmers says they will oppose construction of a power line cutting through the state. The Missouri Farm Bureau says they don’t want the company Grain Belt Express using their land for electrical lines. 

The 750-mile long electrical line would start in Kansas and run east through Missouri. It would cut through eight Missouri counties as well as parts of three other states. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst said Missouri farmers don’t want to give Grain Belt Express access because they believe it will interfere with daily farmer operations. He said that he and affected Missouri farmers do not see any resolution with the power line involved.

“We have just really almost unanimous opposition in the counties where this thing is going through," Hurst said. "People do not want this power line going through their county. ”

The line would carry electrical current from wind turbines in Kansas to Indiana. Grain Belt Express officials call it the “Clean Line.” Grain Belt Express Director of Development Paul Lawlor said the line will provide cost-efficient energy to Missouri residents. He said the company will work to reach agreements with groups opposing the project.

“It is very much about communication, getting the facts and the information out there, and that’s what we’ve been focused on," Lawlor said. "So it’s very much done on an individual, face to face basis.”

The Missouri Public Service Commission will decide on the case concerning eminent domain. 

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