Citizen Groups File Law Suit Challenging PSC Decision on Transmission Line

From: "robert ringstad" <hhw@ladysmith.net>
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 17:04:56 -0600

News Release

For Immediate Release November 29, 2001

For More Information Contact:

Keith Reopelle at (608) 251-7020
Pam McGillivray at (608) 256-1003 or (608) 225-4310 (cell)
Frank Jablonski (attorney) (608) 258-8511

Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, SOUL and CUB, held a press conference today in Wausau to file petitions challenging the Public Service Commission s decision to allow utilities to construct a 200 mile, high voltage (345 kV) transmission line from Duluth to Weston.

The Commission has been biased in favor of the Arrowhead-Weston line since day one. Its decision is tainted by that bias. 

"No impartial decision-maker would have approved the Arrowhead-Weston line without considering less costly and less environmentally destructive alternatives to serve Wisconsin s reliability needs," said Pam McGillivray, attorney for SOUL. 

"The Commission used a flawed process to arrive at a very bad decision for Northern Wisconsin," said Keith Reopelle, Program Director for Wisconsin s Environmental Decade. "When presented with an alternative that costs less, creates more jobs and is kinder to the environment, the Commission ignored it." 

Wisconsin's Environmental Decade provided testimony to the Commission stating that an even greater electric demand, than that addressed by the line, could be met through a combination of energy conservation, renewable energy sources, existing transmission upgrades and relatively clean power plants located near the demand. The power plants, the Decade pointed out, are highly likely to be built in any event.

"The legislature has set priorities which dictate that the Commission must meet our electric demand through options with cause less environmental damage when those options cost the same as, or less than, options favored by utilities," said Reopelle.

The state's Energy Priorities Law requires that the Commission meet electric energy demand through priorities that make energy conservation the first choice and coal generation the last.  The Duluth-Weston line would be most likely to bring coal generated power to Wisconsin because that is the only unused capacity to the west. 

"This Commission pays lip service to environmental and human health impacts at best," said Reopelle. "The Commission's own analysis shows this line has the greatest environmental impact of all the alternatives they reviewed, and a higher cost than some, yet they chose this line because it was the one the utilities want to build."