Judge Halts Construction On Part Of Badger-Coulee Transmission Line

A La Crosse County judge has halted work on a section of the Badger-Coulee Transmission Line.

In a decision filed this week, La Crosse County Judge Todd Bjerke found the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin did not provide a rational basis for the placement Badger-Coulee power line.

The new line would run along Highway 53 through the Town of Holland. Another recently completed transmission line, the CapX2020 project, sits on one side of the highway. But the Badger-Coulee project proposed a new set of utility poles on the opposite side, instead of using the infrastructure for the CapX line.

The judge has ordered the commission to re-evaluate this decision, halting any work on the seven-mile stretch of the power line that would stretch from the La Crosse area to the Madison area.

The Town of Holland filed a lawsuit against the PSC in 2015 over the approval of the project.

“We’re a little disappointed that the whole issue of the need (for the line) wasn’t revisited, but we’re happy that at least there is an injunction and that the town’s voice is being heard,” said Marilyn Pedretti, the Town of Holland clerk.

American Transmission Company, an owner of the Badger-Coulee line, said it’s too early to tell how the decision could impact the project’s timeline.

“It is seven miles out of about 180 miles, so it is a smaller portion of the project,” said Kaya Freiman, spokeswoman for ATC. “We will continue to monitor the progress and discuss any impacts to the project when we have the best information.”

Freiman said most of the project’s active work is on the other end of the line near Dane County.

In the ruling, Bjerke also criticized the PSC for not providing all of the records used in their decision to approve the Badger-Coulee project.

“Perhaps counsel had the hope that the court would likewise be so remiss in its duties and just ‘rubber stamp’ the final decision of the PSCW,” Bjerke wrote in his decision. “That, coupled with the disdain for Holland that first came out of the mouth of the attorney for the PSCW … leads this court to believe that the interests of the public was not truly in the forefront of the PSCW as they approved this project.”

A representative from PSC declined a request for comment, saying the commission is still reviewing the decision.

Editor’s Note: American Transmission Company is an underwriter of Wisconsin Public Radio.