LETTER: Candidates should pledge to limit power-line intrusions

To Ozaukee Press:

Wisconsin’s next governor will help decide whether the farmland, woodlands and cultural and historical landscapes of Ozaukee County remain intact for the next generation — or whether they are sacrificed to make way for new, unnecessary transmission corridors.

As many readers know, American Transmission Company’s proposal for a new 345 kV line through our county has already run into serious trouble, with the Public Service Commission recently revoking its determination that ATC’s application was even complete.

But this fight is not over and is bigger than one application. It is about whether Wisconsin will honor its own law, which directs that new transmission infrastructure be routed along existing utility corridors whenever a reasonable alternative exists, rather than cutting new paths through greenfield land.

That is why the citizen coalition known as Responsible Energy Alliance has asked both candidates for governor, Tom Tiffany and David Crowley, to make a clear public commitment: as governor, they will not permit greenfield transmission routing in our county, or anywhere in Wisconsin, when viable alternatives along existing corridors are available.

This should not be a partisan issue. It is about protecting the Milwaukee River watershed, farmland, wetlands, rare and threatened species habitat and irreplaceable historic and cultural sites — the kind of places, once destroyed, that can never be restored.

It is also about respecting the families and communities that have stewarded this land for generations. We also feel that the use of eminent domain power to “take” private land for private end-users like the mega AI data center in Port Washington is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment.

We believe our next governor should stand on the side of Wisconsin residents, not on the side of routing convenience for utilities or their multi-billion dollar out-of-state corporate clients. We are asking both candidates to say so, publicly and unambiguously, before Election Day.

We encourage our neighbors to ask the same of both campaigns, and to make clear that protecting our greenfield areas is a priority at the ballot box.

Collins Whitfield

Fredonia

Responsible Energy Alliance