An appeal of the state Public Service Commission's decision favoring construction of  the Arrowhead-Weston Transmission Line has been filed by SOUL (Save Our Unique Lands).  The matter was taken into Circuit Court during the last week of November.

The appeal is based upon the complete 10,000 page transcript and over 300 exhibits created during both the public and technical hearings on the line before the Public Service Commission.

Linda Ceylor, of SOUL, says the organization continues to believe that the ongoing construction of new electrical power generation in the area of need (eastern Wisconsin) has eliminated the rationale for wheeling electricity across the state with a huge 345,000 volt transmission line.

Since the summer of 1997's energy crunch, more than 10,000 megawatts of electrical power generation have been proposed for eastern Wisconsin.  Some of the new power plants are already online and generating electricity while others are in the planning and permitting stages.  Should all of the plants be built, it would double the power generation capacity that existed in eastern Wisconsin when the line was proposed.

It was the issue of need that weighed heaviest before the PSC's three Commissioners during the transmission line hearings.  It is SOUL's intent, says Ceylor, to again demonstrate that the line is not needed.

It wasn't only SOUL that said the line wasn't needed during the public hearings.  Testimony given by the PSC's own staff, DNR staff, and that of the National Parks System questioned the need for the line.  And 1200 members of the public submitted comments to the PSC saying the line wasn't needed.

Ceylor hopes these views will be respected by the Circuit Court during the appeal.

SOUL's second legal battle is being fought before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  SOUL is challenging the legitimacy of the American Transmission Company - the new entity that would operate the 345,000 volt transmission line.

This case challenges how the American Transmission Company (ATC) came into being.  The private company was created from a section contained in the 2000 Wisconsin State Budget Bill.  SOUL's lawyers believe that this was done illegally and violates the state constitution.

The Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (based in Green Bay) originally applied for the transmission line's construction permit.  Now the company has sold all of its transmission line assets to ATC.  Other state utilities have done the same with their transmission assets.

During the PSC's transmission line hearings, ATC's status and role at the hearings was murky.  The company asked for and was granted the status of full party to the proceedings.  But when the technical hearings ended (this was the portion of the hearings where experts argued the need for the line and alternatives to it), ATC suddenly requested that they be declared the applicant for the line's construction permit.

This sneaky maneuver meant that ATC was shielded from scrutiny and cross-examination during the hearings, especially on the need for the proposed transmission line.

The Supreme Court has asked Wisconsin Public Service to respond to the contents of SOUL's legal filing.  After this response is made, SOUL will have a better understanding of the status of its appeal.