Save Our Unique Lands (SOUL) http://www.wakeupwisconsin.com

Mosinee, WI. January 3, 2003---The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) issued notice that they will reexamine the 240-mile transmission line across northern Wisconsin now that its cost estimate has nearly tripled to $400 million. The PSC is calling for public comments on whether the PSC should reconsider the entire project, including a review of alternative lines, renewable, conservation, and new generation that may make this highly contested project obsolete. Public comments must be received by noon, Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, or if filing by fax one day earlier. The words "05-CE-113 Comments Regarding Revised Project Costs" must be clearly indicated on the first page of each filing. The public should address comments to:
Lynda L. Dorr, Secretary to the Commission
Public Service Commission
PO Box 7854
Madison, WI 53707-7854
FAX:608-266-3957

Tom Kreager, president of SOUL, a group of citizens who formed in opposition to this project seeking an integrated energy policy for Wisconsin, said that he welcomes a reopening of the Arrowhead-Weston docket, "During the initial comment period over 10,000 public comments were made in opposition to this project. We encourage the public to comment again, and hope that they will be listened to this time."

"When the project was approved in 2001, the PSC Commission and the utilities said there were no other alternatives to meeting the state's increasing energy needs. For the past four years, SOUL along with counties, towns and numerous other groups have been working to stop the line in favor of alternatives that are economically and environmentally sound," Kreager added.

The American Transmission Company (ATC) has taken over the job of getting the line approved and constructed - originally proposed by two other utilities.

PSC regulators will examine two additional issues besides the serious budget overages:

The ATC has asked the PSC to reconsider its request to hang fiber optic cable on the 345,000 volt transmission line. The PSC originally rejected the fiber because landowners feared ATC would use the line to generate private revenue through joint projects with cable or phone companies. In 2001, the PSC ruled that ATC cannot use its power of eminent domain to condemn land for the purpose of renting tower space to fiber optic cable companies. Now, ATC is asking for 12 strands "for utility purposes" rather than the original requested 48 strands. "Optical fiber has skyrocketed in its capacity over the past few years - today just one strand can carry the communication equivalent of the world's internet traffic. SOUL believes this is yet another attempt by the utilities to use eminent domain to take private land so that they hang fiber and lease excess capacity to third-party providers in the future - without just landowner compensation."

The ATC is also asking the PSC to overlook the law by requesting the right to purchase easements and condemn private land through eminent domain, prior to securing all necessary Wisconsin DNR permits for construction. The PSC, following state law, declared in 2001 that the project would not be validated (issued a CPCN) until the Wisconsin DNR "has issued all necessary permits and approvals that are required." The Wisconsin DNR says that it cannot issue permits to ATC because the utility does not have a property interest in the private land it wants permits for. Because the ATC needs a CPCN to condemn land and get the DNR permits -- without DNR permits, it has no effective CPCN and cannot condemn land.

"All of the issues that SOUL has said will come to pass have finally been brought to light." Kreager said.

 

Attention News Room Personnel:

This press release was prepared by SOUL to inform the public along the same lines as a Public Service Announcement. This item needs to be addressed in a timely fashion, as comments are due 27-28 days from the date of this announcement.

Language in the “Notice of Request for Comments”, mailed from the Public Service Commission December 17, 2002 states:

(pp. 3) “Any party who desires to file comments should submit an original and ten copies, as indicated on page one. Members of the public need only file an original.

This comment period on this re-opened controversial project would go unnoticed by the public without announcements such as your media resources response could bring. We thank you in advance for letting the public know that they still have a voice in this project, a voice that will be heard by a new Public Service Commission Chairperson.

If you have any questions please contact:

Tom Kreager---715-693-3143
Linda Ceylor----715-474-2271
Jim Lipinski-----608-266-0478

We thank you in advance for your notice to the public on this matter.

Please do this TODAY.

Contacts: Claire Schmidt Frank Jablonski, Attorney
Local Issues Coordinator Porter,
Jablonski & Associates Wisconsin's Environmental Decade (608) 258-8511
(608) 251-7020/442-0121 frankj@mailbag.com schmidtc@chorus.net

Wisconsin's Environmental Decade today asked two Public Service Commissioners and several utility executives to 'immediately and fully disclose' any communications and records of private discussions concerning the controversial Arrowhead-Weston transmission project.

The demand came as Decade released information secured from the PSC under the Open Records Law showing that Public Service Commissioners Bie and Garvin met privately with representatives of the American Transmission Company (ATC) and other advocates for the transmission project while the case was designated as an 'active' court type proceeding by the PSC.

In "Type I" contested cases, the Commissioners sit as judges.

Sign in records from the PSC show Commissioner Bie met with ATC executives Jeff Rauh and Julie Voeck on September 12, 2001. The Commission was then considering the form of its final order on the Project.

Frank Jablonski, attorney for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, said "It looks like the Commissioners are breaking the rules set up to make the process fair. We cannot see how fair minded Commissioners could meet with one side to a case where they are sitting as judges. The utilities already have hundreds of times as many resources as the citizens opposing the line. Separate meetings with utilities makes a lopsided situation even worse."

Additional meetings occurred after rumors surfaced in 2002 that the Arrowhead  Weston project, still designated as an "active" case before the PSC, would cost about $231 million more than the PSC had approved for recovery. On August 12, 2002, Rauh, Dale Landgren, ATC Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer and three other ATC executives signed in for a three hour meeting with "Garvin et al."

Rumors of massive cost overruns were confirmed by ATC in late October of 2002. (Milw. Jrnl.-Sntnl. October 21, 2002).

ATC's Vice President Mark Williamson, who had been hired specifically to "manage the Arrowhead-Weston transmission line project," (ATC Press Release, May 29, 2002, "Williamson joins American Transmission Company"), Rauh, and Daniel Doyle, ATC's Chief Financial Officer, signed in for a meeting with Commissioner Garvin and former Commissioner Mettner on September 30th, 2002.

Meetings involving more than one Commissioner at a time may violate Wisconsin's Open Meetings law, which requires advance notice and open access when a quorum of the Commission (two Commissioners) meets and conducts any government business. The PSC has only three Commissioners.

PSC records show Doyle and Rauh also met with Commissioner Bie the following afternoon, on October 1, 2002. A political appointee from the Department of Administration, John Marx, joined the meeting with Bie, according to the sign-in records. The Arrowhead- Weston Transmission line had been touted as part of former Governor McCallum's energy plan.

Claire Schmidt, local issues coordinator for Environmental Decade had the following comments:

"Commissioners Bie and Garvin and the utilities should immediately and fully disclose all private dealings that they have had with each other over this issue."

"When utilities first proposed this environmental disaster, people from Northwest Wisconsin openly wondered if they could get a fair shake from this Commission. Their fears were justified. Any decision coming from this process is now suspect."