For Spacious Skies... An Alternative Lyn Mosurinjohn The issue of how to generate power has landed squarely in the lap of Central Wisconsin; heart of America's Dairyland. The controversy was sparked by notice to property owners from New London to Stevens Point of one of the largest bulk transmission line projects ever to be proposed in the state. It could cut 80-100 foot swatches through some of Wisconsin's most beautiful terrain: wooded hillsides, diverse wetlands, and picturesque farmland. Industry representatives assert that the need for high voltage upgrades has already been established. Increased loads, coupled with dilapidated lines in Central Wisconsin, threaten reliability to local service. While landowners, many of whom are fresh from hosting the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in August of this year, are asking if this isn't the time to seriously explore Energy Conservation and Renewable Technologies. A citizens group for Promoting Options for Wise Energy Regulation- POWER, has taken the position that how to meet forecast needs has not been responsibly examined. Cobwebs Also at play is the issue of west to east transfer capabilities, to which Central Wisconsin is key. Growing demand on the heavily populated eastern half of the state has raised the dilemma of whether and how to transfer available power from the western portions. The Wisconsin-Upper Michigan systems are heavily dependent upon coal fired and nuclear power plants that are coming under increasing scrutiny for emissions associated with acid rain and global warming, and for safety and waste disposal considerations. Both may be facing tougher operating restrictions as clean air compliance and global warming trends come under legislative investigation. Power transfers from Hydro-Quebec have been in consideration for some time now as possible solution to diversification. But inherent in that solution is a whole new Pandora's box of risks to the environment. Acid rain is already reeking havoc on Wisconsin's lakes. The citizens of Shawano and Waupaca Counties have already been brushed by the threat of a nuclear waste disposal site in their backyards. And the state's "beautiful, for spacious skies" are becoming cobwebbed with overhead transmission and distribution wires. POWER is saying enough!". Stewardship Stewardship of the land is not a new concept to the people affected by this project. Many are third and fourth generation farmers. "Newcomers" are attracted to the sheer beauty, rich wildlife habitat, folk culture, and strong community values. Central Wisconsin is a rewarding place to put down roots, build a home, and raise a family. Ironically, many of the people building in this part of the state power their homes with wind or solar technologies. Dissecting their properties with a mesh of high voltage wires seems a strange reward for efforts toward ecological consciousness. Pulling Together Affected property owner, Tom Pease, called friends and neighbors together at his home within days of receiving his notice, two days after the close of the Energy Fair. Forty-eight people attended that impromptu, word-of-mouth gathering. The objective was clear. "The utilities have the right, by law, to propose all these alternate routes," recalls Pease. "Call it what you may, but it's sure to their advantage... divide and conquer. The people of this community are quite diverse. But first and foremost, we are a community. I for one, or the group I belong to (POWER), will not say, "Don't put it here, put it in my neighbors yard." We say, don't do it. You haven't exhausted your conservation options. You have not looked seriously at renewables." Beyond refusing to make route endorsements which cancel out each other's concerns, POWER asserts that the need for the voltage upgrades must be clearly proven. That if health effects (with particular attention to electromagnetic field exposure) and environmental damage are potential by-products, that conservation and renewables must be explored first. Encouragement With the encouragement and steerage of members of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Environmental Decade, Wisconsin's Citizens Utility Board, and others, POWER has incorporated and hired legal representation. The Wisconsin regulatory process requires a public hearing as part of the utility project review. Citizens may participate as full parties in that contested case hearing. POWER's attorneys have already filed the groups letter-of-intent to do so. Key Issues The membership has identified several key issues to research and make recommendations on for the presentation at the upcoming hearing. Among them; environmental impacts, health effects, need assessment, and conservation/renewables. The work ahead is to develop policies regarding each of those concerns and to gather data and expert testimony to support them. Despite insinuations that one 138 KV transmission line and its supporting substations is "peanuts", POWER sees the task ahead as enormous. One hundred plus miles of line will impact untold acres of highly diversified habitat, much of it heretofore undisturbed. In view of changes to global climate and threats to biological diversity, POWER believes we have spent all the trees we can afford to spend, have compromised all the wetlands and watersheds, have sacrificed all the resources we dare to. Not the least of which is our own genetic pool. The issue of the potential health effects of electromagnetic field exposure is explosive. It is not enough, say POWER's members to say that transmission is only a small part of the EMF problem. We have to start setting limits on the risks we are prepared to take to our health and that of the environment. For POWER, this is the line. "Maybe this is the time", notes POWER's secretary, Lyn Mosurinjohn, "when least-cost is no longer equated in mere dollar value. There is more to factor into the cost of our power addiction than monetary expenses. We are paying the price with our health and our environmental quality. We are paying dearly. Maybe the time is ripe to set new standards. To move toward conservation. To clear the cobwebs from the sky." Access Promoting Options for Wise Energy Regulation (POWER) Lyn Mosurinjohn, Secretary POB 194 Amherst, WI 54406 715-824-2877