The role of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission must grant two major approvals before a transmission line can be constructed: a Certificate of Need and a Route Permit specifying the line's route. An environmental report is prepared by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Office of Energy Security during the need process and an environmental impact statement is written during routing.

Certificate of Need
A Certificate of Need application for the Bemidji-Grand Rapids 230 kV transmission line project was filed on March 17, 2008 with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. It was granted on July 9, 2009

Minnesota Route Permit
A Route Permit application for the Bemidji-Grand Rapids 230-kV transmission line project was filed on June 4, 2008 with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Detailed route maps can be found in Appendix A.

Federal process
Minnkota Electric Cooperative, a CapX2020 partner, is seeking financing from Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for its portion of the investment in the 230-kV line. RUS, a federal financing agency that provides funding assistance to cooperatives for installation and modernization of rural electric systems, conducts a federal environmental review of the project. The agency hosted public meetings along the project study corridor in summer 2009 to gather information to be included in the project's federal environmental impact statement.