A federal appeals court clears the way for power companies to complete construction of high-voltage power lines across the Mississippi River Refuge.
American Transmission Company, ITC Midwest, and Dairyland Power Cooperative are in the final stages of constructing a 102-mile transmission line connecting Dubuque County, Iowa, to Dane County, Wisconsin. Approximately one mile of the line would cross the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge near Cassville, Wisconsin.
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A coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit in March seeking to block the crossing. The groups claim the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the crossing in February without adequate public comment. They also claim that the agency and the utility improperly reached an agreement requiring the utility to transfer land to the shelter in exchange for land within the shelter for power lines.
A federal appeals court has approved a controversial power line installed to cross the Mississippi River from Iowa to Wisconsin.
U.S. District Judge William Conley issued a preliminary injunction blocking the land swap while he considers the merits of the case. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the injunction Thursday. The commission ruled that Conley did not believe the conservationists had a good chance of winning their case, a decision essential to winning a preliminary injunction.
Online court records show Conley has extended his argument schedule on the merits of the case until late July, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 8.
It’s unclear when the power company will sign a land contract and begin construction. Dairyland Power and ITC Midwest officials issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they are satisfied with the Seventh Circuit’s decision and are now free to complete the land swap. The statement did not say when the utility would sign a contract and begin construction. ITC Midwest spokesman Rod Pritchard said in response to a follow-up email from The Associated Press that the closure would happen “soon,” but a construction schedule has not yet been developed.
Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Tina Shaw declined to comment because the case is still pending in Conley’s court.
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A spokeswoman for Howard Lerner, an attorney representing the conservationists, said he would schedule a meeting with him.
