A state board in Iowa has denied a request to halt construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line. In a release, the Iowa Utilities Board said a series of motions did not clearly show legal grounds for state regulators to be able to pause the construction. The board had approved the work in 2020. The roughly $500-million dollar transmission line is set to run from Dubuque to Dane County with it crossing the Mississippi River near Cassville. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Rural Utilities Service failed to comply with federal law. The judge said those agencies did not fully examine alternatives when issuing permits to let the line cross the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. Utility groups American Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative have filed an appeal to stay a court order delaying the work. That litigation is ongoing.
