Environmental groups sue government agencies that approved high-voltage power line in southwestern Wisconsin
Laura Schulte
Conservation groups are pushing back against a controversial high-voltage power line in southwest Wisconsin, filing a lawsuit against the agency responsible for the $500 million project.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Rural Utilities Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the Cardinal-Hickory Creek power line, according to a release from the Environmental Law & Policy Center, which will represent the groups.
The organizations allege the Rural Utilities Service, a program overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture, failed to consider alternatives to the high-voltage line, and that the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act by approving the power line, which will run through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
They argue that the organizations could have explored clean energy alternatives, less costly line upgrades and potential routes north or south of the approved route, which would avoid the refuge.
The refuge contains one of the largest blocks of floodplain habitat in the lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and is bordered by steep bluffs and offers not only scenic beauty, but a fish and wildlife habitat. The area has also been designated as a Wetland of International Importance and a Globally Important Bird Area.
“This lawsuit is not just about one wildlife refuge. It is really an effort to preserve our public conservation lands from encroachment from massive transmission lines and pipelines,” said Scott Strand, an attorney with the ELPC. “For big ‘right-of-way projects’ like high-voltage transmission lines, crossing public lands has too often been the ‘first resort,’ because getting permission from the government has too often been easier than dealing with private landowners.”
The Cardinal-Hickory Creek high-voltage power line will be operated by the Pewaukee-based American Transmission Co. and its partners: Dairyland Power Cooperative and ITC Midwest . The project was approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in 2019, after years of pushback from residents of the areas the line will impact, 125 miles from Middleton to Dubuque County, Iowa.
The project will largely run along existing utility and interstate or U.S. highway corridors, and is expected to go online in the next several years. The line would be part of a larger power transmission system — the Midcontinent Independent System Operator — and would be paid for by customers across the middle of the country.
About $67 million of the project's costs would be allocated to Wisconsin ratepayers.
ATC, a private company, is owned by utilities, municipalities, municipal electric companies and electric cooperatives in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies, owns about 60% of ATC.
ATC said the power line will help to carry clean energy to Wisconsin from areas in Iowa and southern Minnesota, helping the Badger state meet its goals of cutting emissions and decreasing reliance on coal in the coming decades.
Opponents of the power line say that the line is unnecessary in a time when the demand for electricity hasn't increased much, and solar energy and power storage is becoming more accessible. Those against the line have also argued that the line will ruin the picturesque landscape of Wisconsin's Driftless Area, known for its rolling hills and steep valleys. In some areas, the project could reach heights of more than 15 stories along the route.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.