The Department of Energy has decided to cancel a proposed 18-mile-wide electric transmission corridor in Oklahoma. This decision comes just one day after Attorney General Gentner Drummond and incoming state Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert voiced their opposition to the project. Both officials cited discussions with senior department officials as the basis for the cancellation.
Attorney General Drummond expressed his approval of the decision and commended Speaker-elect Hilbert for his role in addressing the issue. "I am very thankful that countless Oklahoma landowners no longer live under the tyrannical threat of federal eminent domain," Drummond stated. He further praised Hilbert's leadership, noting its impact on property owners along the proposed corridor.
Drummond had sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm expressing his strong opposition to the plan. In his letter, he emphasized concerns about potential negative effects on property owners' livelihoods and described the threat of federal eminent domain as "classic Federal overreach." He vowed to protect private property rights for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers by all lawful means.
The Delta-Plains National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor was one among several proposed corridors across the United States aimed at expanding the nation's power grid. The proposed corridor would have extended from Oklahoma's western panhandle through to its border with Arkansas, spanning up to 18 miles in width.