Environmental groups ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear challenge over Superior gas plant

Environmental groups are asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear a case challenging approval of a planned $1 billion gas-fired power plant in Superior.

Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club filed a petition for the court to review their lawsuit on Thursday. The groups are fighting a 2020 decision by the Public Service Commission that approved construction of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center, or NTEC.

Several utilities are seeking to build the 625-megawatt natural gas plant as part of plans to shift away from coal and invest in renewable energy. They include La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative, Minnesota Power in Duluth and Basin Electric Power Cooperative in North Dakota.

The environmental groups argue the Public Service Commission greenlit the project without adequately considering whether it met environmental standards. They highlight that the plant would produce nearly 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, as well as pollution from nitrogen oxide and other sources.

While opponents of the plan are highlighting its potential greenhouse gas emissions, the federal Rural Utilities Service has said the plant would also reduce emissions in the region by about 800,000 tons each year by displacing coal plants.

The environmental groups also argue there wasn’t enough evidence for utility regulators to approve construction of NTEC based on concerns about its location along the Nemadji River, as well as wetlands that would be impacted and potential for flooding from extreme storms.

“The Legislature set clear legal parameters that govern whether and where power plants can be built. Wisconsin law protects our natural resources, yet all too often, utility plans are approved without proof that these standards are met,” Clean Wisconsin attorney Brett Korte said in a statement.

“We believe the Supreme Court should take our case and affirm that environmental protections in the law are not optional and the evidence of environmental impacts needs to be critically evaluated when the PSC makes its decisions,” Korte continued.

A spokesperson for Dairyland Power said the project’s partners are reviewing the filing.

The commission’s decision was upheld by a Dane County judge. Groups appealed that ruling to a state appeals court. In October, an appeals panel rejected environmental groups’ stance, saying state utility regulators followed the law. Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club argue the appeals court erred in its decision.

Environmental and Indigenous groups have filed legal challenges in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, seeking to halt the project. The plant has also faced pushback from some community members, city leaders and Lake Superior tribes.

City officials, including Superior Mayor Jim Paine, have argued that Dairyland’s power supply is enough to meet energy demands without NTEC. Earlier this year, the city council denied local approvals for the project.

The Fond du Lac and Red Cliff Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa have also raised concerns about impacts to their treaty rights, as well as the project’s proximity to a mass grave. Around 200 ancestors of the Fond du Lac tribe were buried at a cemetery next to the plant’s proposed site.

The plant’s supporters have touted utilities’ claims that the project will support 350 construction jobs and about $1 million in local tax revenues each year.