Residents flock to public meeting on proposed Middleton-Dubuque transmission line
By Judy Newman | Wisconsin State Journal
A proposal to build another high-voltage transmission line from the Madison area through southwest Wisconsin drew scores of curious residents to a public meeting at Marriott Madison West, in Middleton, on Thursday evening.
About 150 people peered at maps and peppered utility representatives with questions in one-on-one discussions about plans for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project.
The 345-kilovolt line would carry power across about 125 miles from the Cardinal substation in the town of Middleton to a proposed Hickory Creek substation in the Dubuque area.
It would cost an estimated $450 million. American Transmission Co., Pewaukee, and ITC Midwest, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, would own the line, which they hope will be in service in 2020, if approved by state and federal regulators.
The utilities are considering a wide swath of land in Dane, Iowa, Lafayette and Grant counties for the possible routes, ATC spokeswoman Kaya Freiman said.
Freiman said the high-voltage line would connect with others and become part of the "backbone of the transmission system for the state, and extending out into the region." She said large lines move large amounts of power efficiently, and give access to lower-cost and renewable power in other parts of the region.
Harold Crabb, who farms in the town of Springdale, said it's too early to form an opinion about the proposal.
"We don't have enough information," Crabb said. "They don't have any routes proposed."
Crabb's daughter, Jennifer Stoddard, had her guard up, though. "We've been down this road before," she said.
The Crabb farm was in the area considered for the high-voltage line across Dane County, from the town of Middleton, east to Christiana. Ultimately, a route that follows the Beltline was chosen instead and went into service in February 2013.
"I have no doubt, in the long run, we need power and we need power transmission lines, and they're going to go somewhere," said Don McKay, general manager of Tyrol Basin Ski and Snowboard Area.
"Nothing here is very negotiable," said McKay, who also is a Vermont town supervisor.
Robert and Danuta Pyzalski said it was too preliminary to get answers about their town of Middleton home, in the study area.
"My concern is how close the lines would be to residential areas," Robert Pyzalski said. "To say there would be no danger would be naive."
At the driveway to the hotel's parking lot, several transmission line opponents handed out leaflets and held up a poster that read, "Stray voltage, we're all at risk. Stop ATC."
Dennis Franke, vice president of the Black Earth Creek Conservation Organization, said his group wants the utilities to exclude the Black Earth Creek corridor.
"It's a recreational corridor," Franke said. "Trout fishermen are coming here from all over the Midwest. They don't want to see those towers over them."
Karen Upper, of Save Our Unique Lands, said her group favors alternatives to new transmission lines.
"First of all, do we need it? Because electricity usage is going down," Upper said. "Secondly, if we need it, is there a better way to do it?"
ATC's Freiman said it will be 2016 before ATC and ITC settle on specific route options and file an application with state regulators to build the line.