Officials in Grant County say the county will not be party to any appeals of a Wisconsin regulatory agency’s decision to sign off on the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line project. Grant County supervisors voted 12-5 on Tuesday to reject a motion to sign on to any appeals that will be filed in response to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s decision to approve the Cardinal-Hickory Creek line project. The Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line would stretch from Dane County through Southwest Wisconsin to Dubuque County, crossing the Mississippi River near Cassville. Work on the 100-mile, 345,000-kilovolt line likely will begin in 2021. The $500 million project is being undertaken by American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative. Much of the cost of the project would be passed onto ratepayers, causing several residents and officials to question whether the transmission line really is needed.
