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CONSERVATIONISTS CHALLENGE MOST RECENT DNR DECISIONS ON ARROWHEAD-WESTON POWERLINE PROJECT
On Thursday, January 20, 2005, two of Wisconsin's largest grass-roots conservation organizations, Save Our Unique Lands, Inc. ("SOUL") and Clean Wisconsin, Inc. ("CW") along with seven individual citizens, challenged the most recent decisions of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources  ("DNR") the proposed 210-mile Arrowhead-Weston High Voltage Transmission Line Project ("Arrowhead-Weston Project"). The seven individual citizens filing the request include: Thomas and Margaret Kreager of Marathon County, Sandy Lyon and Nick Vander Puy of County, Mark Liebaert of Douglas County, and Ward and Kay Brown of Sawyer County.The challenge was filed with the DNR and requests a contested case hearing and stay of the DNR's December 22, 2004, Chapter 30 and Wetland Water Quality Certification decisions relating to the proposed Arrowhead-Weston Project.
"If this request is granted, the Arrowhead-Weston Project cannot be built as planned until a final decision is made by an administrative law judge appointed to hear the case. That would stop the project in its tracks and protect the environment from significant adverse and irreversible harm until a final decision is made," said Attorney Glenn Stoddard, who represents the groups and individuals requesting the hearing and stay.
According to Stoddard, "The DNR has simply failed to protect our water resources and wetlands in this case and has not been willing to regulate the big utilities behind the Arrowhead-Weston Project. Frankly, it looks like the DNR and the Doyle Administration simply rolled out the red carpet for the utilities, and they rolled it right over our public waters and wetlands."
In November of last year, SOUL and CW challenged a related preliminary decision of the DNR in court, when the agency indicated it would not conduct a thorough environmental review of the Arrowhead-Weston Project. That challenge became moot and was voluntarily dismissed by SOUL and CW without prejudice after the DNR issued its final decisions on the Chapter 30 permit and Wetland Water Quality Certification in late December. As a result, Stoddard said his clients decided to request a contested case hearing and stay of the final DNR decisions.
"This action alleges that DNR illegally granted a Chapter 30 permit and Wetland Water Quality Certification to the American Transmission Company  and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation ("WPSC") and illegally refused to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Arrowhead-Weston Project. The request alleges that the decisions would allow construction activities that would cause significant adverse and irreversible impacts to fragile wetlands, publicly-owned rivers, streams and other public water bodies, as well as to associated public and private lands, and important wildlife habitat areas in northwestern Wisconsin," said Stoddard.
The Chapter 30 permit and Wetland Water Quality Certifications are being sought for the Arrowhead-Weston Project by ATC and WPSC. Both utilities are expected to make huge profits from the Arrowhead-Weston Project if it is ever built because they would be able to use it to wheel power through Wisconsin from other states and from Manitoba, Canada.
The DNR decisions that are at issue would allow the utilities to construct temporary bridges and structures in or near publicly owned navigable waters, conduct dredging in or near such waters, and allow filling and grading of wetlands associated with public waterways and associated private lands.
Stoddard said such activities would "be highly destructive to wetlands and waterways, and to the plants and animals that live there."
The request filed by the conservation groups and individuals alleges that the DNR has a legal duty under state law to prohibit such destructive activities and to prepare a comprehensive environmental assessment or environmental impact statement on the proposed Arrowhead-Weston Project.
The same two conservation groups have also challenged the decision of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which initially approved the A-W Project. That case is currently pending in Dane County Circuit Court before Judge C. William Faust.