A 100-mile transmission line running from Dane County in Wisconsin to Dubuque County in Iowa went online in late September, despite continuing legal battles over the project’s path through the national Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge.
Conservation groups, including the Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC) and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WIWF), tried to block the project through a series of legal challenges, arguing that the electric utilities involved violated multiple laws surrounding a land swap and approvals for the project without sufficient public input.
In March, conservation groups sued to block the land exchange and halt construction. The request was granted by a federal judge, but the utilities appealed and the decision was overturned by a lower court order. The groups that filed the federal lawsuit are still waiting for a decision.
“We are proud to have worked with so many in our community and other committed organizations to oppose construction of this unnecessary transmission line,” Filipiak said in a statement.
Read more in this article from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Photo courtesy of ATC and ITC Midwest.
