U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton have introduced legislation that would give states the right to veto electricity transmission lines before the feds could assert eminent domain.

Contradiction alert: Boozman and Cotton have been staunch proponents of building the Keystone XL pipeline, despite strong opposition at the state level, particularly in Nebraska. Nebraska residents fear the line carrying tar sands from Canada to Texas refineries poses an environmental risk through spills in the sensitive water aquifer underlying the Great Plains. Electricity transmission lines are unsightly but carry less environmental concern.

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The news item about Cotton and Boozman doesn’t mention it, but a major interstate project that includes Arkansas would transfer energy generated by wind in Oklahoma to points east. Cotton and Boozman earlier had expressed a desire for delay of approval of the so-called Clean Energy Line.

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