Representatives of Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC), and their environmental management firm Stantec returned to the meeting of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board for the third time on May 14. Their purpose was seeking a permit for new designs for their 69 kilovolt (kV) transmission line crossing of the Lower Wisconsin River near Boydtown.

The power line comes south through Crawford County from the Bell Center substation, crosses the Lower Wisconsin River near Boydtown and Woodman Lake, and continues on to Lancaster in Grant County. The project will involve replacing wood poles and ‘reconductoring,’ meaning replacement of the wires with more modern, efficient wires.

At the crossing of the Lower Wisconsin River, wooden poles on the north and south sides of the river will be replaced with much taller steel poles, and the pole on the peninsula separating the river’s main channel from Woodman Lake will be removed. The easement on the peninsula will be moved slightly to the east, and the area will be revegetated, with some low-growing shrubs to reduce any impacts on the aesthetic beauty of the Riverway.

At the LWSRB meeting in March, the board asked the developers to provide visuals showing how the taller steel towers would look from upstream of Boydtown, at the crossing location, and from downstream. They also asked the developers to pursue a variance to the tall-masted ships code requirement, as those types of ships really cannot be sailed on the Lower Wisconsin River. As one Riverway Board member also had pointed out at the March meeting, a tall-masted vessel would not be able to fit under all the bridges over the river either.

“I will get right into the visual simulations we have provided for you,” Stantec’s Sarah LeMoine told the board. “The three locations requested for visual simulations include the far eastern point, the central point, and then the third one is on the west end of the river overview, and that's the one that's going to be closest to the Structure 114 location on the south side of Woodman Lake.”

LeMoine showed the board that from upstream, just the very tip of the tower would be visible above the tree line. From the central location near Boydtown a little bit of the taller steel structure shows on the north side of the river, structure 113 on the peninsula is removed, and you can see structure 114 to the south of the river poking up above the tree line.

“So then that takes us to the actual discussion of the National Electrical Safety Code that governs all of Dairyland's electrical projects because they receive federal funding through the Rural Utility Service,” LeMoine told the board. “That funding source requires compliance with that code, and within the laws and regulations, there actually is not a variance request avenue.”

Dairyland Power’s project manager Staci Pieper told the board that their legal counsel had written a letter setting out the requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code. LWSRB’s Randy Poelma asked if he could review a copy of that letter, and LWSRB Executive Director Mark Cupp offered to read the brief, three-paragraph letter to the board. That letter read as follows:

“I represent Dairyland Power Cooperative, and I understand that the Riverway Board has inquired about whether Dairyland must follow National Electric Safety Code rules regarding line clearances over the Wisconsin River. I have assisted Dairyland regarding the permitting and operation of its transmission lines for over a decade. I've also specifically consulted with Dairyland's engineers about the design and location of the N6 transmission line over the river. Unfortunately, I concur with Dairyland's engineers that applicable law requires Dairyland to comply with the NESC's rules, generally including the NESC's clearance requirements, including clearances related to the navigation over the river, in particular, because Dairyland is a borrower of USDA Rural Utility Service. I also note that multiple Wisconsin laws require compliance with NESC across the state. None of the aforesaid laws or regulations expressly allow for any variance.”

“I think they have provided the visual imaging, and it looks like all reasonable effort to meet the standard has been met,” Cupp told the board. “The request for the lack of a variance option has been provided, and as long as the board finds that all reasonable effort to meet standards has been made, it would be appropriate to move forward with issuance of the permit with the conditions indicated on number of decision items.”

The board voted unanimously to approve the permit.

In other business

In other business, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board:

• approved three timber stand improvement project permits for activities in Grant and Richland counties as presented by WDNR’s Juli Van Cleve
• heard that for the MariBell section of Dairyland’s proposed 765 kV transmission line in Vernon and Crawford counties, a lawsuit had been filed in Vernon County Circuit Court
• heard that for the BECI section of the 765 kV transmission line, running between Bell Center and the Columbia Substation near Portage, land under the board’s jurisdiction could be impacted near Lone Rock and Spring Green. Cupp reported that board member Dan Hillberry does not think this will be the case, and that the line will be run due east from Bell Center to Portage
• Cupp reported there had been record flows on the Wisconsin River for certain days in April, but those flows had not exceeded all-time record flows set in 1993 at the Muscoda bridge of 10.34 feet. He said that flows this year had peaked at 9.83 feet, which equates to 60,000 cubic-feet-per-second
• heard from Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway President Timm Zumm that he appreciated assistance from the youth of the Muscoda Leo Club in sorting and labeling all life vests use in FLOW’s ‘Kids Don’t Float’ loaner life vest program, and that all kiosks along the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway are not stocked
• heard that FLOW’s Dave Krueger, the volunteer that drives the weekly route to stock the kiosks, reports that donations of infant life vests are needed