Giving up the NextEra fight

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Attorney David Collins, who has been representing the Jefferson County Commission in its attempted negotiations with NextEra – the parent company of Gulf Power, the entity behind the proposed high-voltage transmission line – is apparently giving up the fight.
Collins emailed county officials on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to inform them that after long consideration, he had decided that the county would be better served with another attorney in its “struggle with big power.” His experience, Collins said in the email, had taught him to be well-prepared, tenacious and swift when 'casting his stones at a Goliath.'
“I believe an iron fist is preferable to a velvet glove when dealing with big power and their ilk,” Collins' emailed statement reads. “I believe transparency and honesty in public service are more important than backroom negotiations with purported insiders who are 'connected.' It is apparent that my approach is disagreeable to some who believe otherwise. Unfortunately, I am incapable of being less confrontational and nice when dealing with the shameful acts of NextEra. That I should not 'upset' the power companies and Tallahassee politicians is an approach I am also incapable of. So be it.”
Collins concluded his email by thanking the commission for giving him the chance to represent Jefferson County and expressing regret that he had been unable to “unify folks and convince them that if they would have faith in me, 'We the people' could prevail.”
“To that end, I have failed,” Collins said in the email.
He did not identify whom he had displeased with his confrontational approach, nor if these same individuals had used whatever their clout or wherewithal to cause him to abandon his representation.
Collins' unexpected departure puts in question the fate of the ordinance that the Planning Commission has been drafting in conjunction with him in expectation of litigation from NextEra. The expected litigation, of course, arises from the fact that the ordinance's aim is to regulate transmission lines at the local level for safety reasons, a move that goes counter to state preemption law, which exempts transmission lines from local control.
Collins' rationale for the ordinance rested on a calculated challenge of the state law in the hope of getting the case heard in federal court, which he believed would be more sympathetic to the prerogative of local governments to regulate in the interest of their citizens' safety.
Collins' resignation comes a little more than a week after he reported to the commission what he characterized as positive news on the North Florida Resiliency Connection, as the transmission line project is officially called, notwithstanding his stalled negotiations with NextEra.
Collins' comments to the commissions on Thursday, Jan. 16, focused on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) not permitting the siting of the transmission line in December as had been expected. Instead, the FDEP found the permit application to be incomplete and asked for additional information, giving the utility company until mid March to comply.
“I said at the beginning that we couldn't stop them, but that maybe we could slow them down,” Collins told the commission. “And I think we've done it.”
He characterized the delay as not boding well for the company's timeline of completing the project by year's end, as it was sure to concern the company's stockholders.
Collins further noted that the utility company had so far acquired only about 50 percent of the easement that it needed for the 176-mile transmission line, and he encouraged landowners to continue to resist selling the company easement. The longer that the project was delayed, the better the property owners' negotiating positions; and possibly, the more in jeopardy the project, he said.
“NextEra promised its stockholders that the project would be completed this year and now it's very doubtful that it will be done this year,” Collins said. “So, landowners being stubborn is slowing down the project. Our advice to landowners is hold on.”
The Jefferson County Commission hired Collins last August in the hope that he could convince the energy company to reroute the power line across Jefferson County.
As it stands now, the line would enter the county via I-10 on the east, travel west alongside I-10 to the Waukeenah Highway, follow this two-lane rural road to the Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) pipe easement south of Tram Road and then go west into Leon County.
The county's preference is that the line follow US 19 south instead of the Waukeenah Road, then follow US 27 west to just past Cody Church Road, cut across the St. Marks Park, and go south onto the FGT easement and west into Leon County.
The power line's 176-mile route is intended to tie a power station in Lake City on the east with a power station in Marianna on the west, for the stated purpose of increasing reliability and resiliency for the two areas, one of which is serviced by Florida Power and Light, the other by Georgia Power, both subsidiaries of NextEra.