June 22, 2018 at 11:25 a.m.
ATC Line: No benefit to WI
Last week my husband and I took a short trip to Superior, WI. We missed a turn in Reedsburg and ended up joining the freeway at Lake Delton. Imagine our horror when we immediately started seeing signs of the ATC lines coming south from LaCrosse being installed along the freeway. The towers are huge! And the clear cutting of trees was heart breaking. Farms that were obviously originally infringed upon by the freeway now have power poles literally in their front yards. And for what? We know that additional power is not necessary in Wisconsin, as we sell our unneeded power to other companies. The proposed line from Middleton to Dubuque will not benefit people in the Driftless Area. Tourism will be impacted as the towers will run through naturally beautiful landscapes. Wisconsin has a reliable grid, so that argument doesn't fly. Smaller grids and alternative sources of energy are being developed right now. This is about a huge company attempting to provide investors a large dividend at the expense of the citizens who live in the beautiful Driftless Area. I urge everyone, and this will impact everyone who reads this, to contact their representatives, the Governor and the Public Service Commission to let them know we are not in favor of this unneeded power line. It's now more important than ever to make our voices heard.
Jane Batha
Mineral Point