Description: Challenges to a 101-mile high-voltage transmission line running from Iowa to a substation in Wisconsin.
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Driftless Area Land Conservancy v. Rural Utilities Service
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/31/2022 Response Download Response and reply brief filed by American Transmission Co. et al. 08/25/2022 Statement Download Amended jurisdictional statement filed by American Transmission Co. et al. 08/08/2022 Reply Download Federal defendants-appellants filed combined reply brief on appeal and responsive brief on cross-appeal. 08/08/2022 Statement Download Amended jurisdictional statement filed. 07/13/2022 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by Iowa and Dane County as amici curiae in support of plaintiffs-appellees/cross-appellants Driftless Area Land Conservancy et al. 07/08/2022 Brief Download Response/opening brief filed by plaintiffs-appellees/cross-appellants National Wildlife Refuge Association et al. 06/08/2022 Brief Download Opening brief filed by federal defendants-appellants. 05/25/2022 Order Download Motion for injunctive relief denied without prejudice to renewal after presentation to the district court. 05/18/2022 Motion Download Motion filed by cross-appellants National Wildlife Refuge Association et al. for an injunction temporarily stopping transmission line construction while the transmission companies' appeal is pending. 04/27/2022 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by American Clean Power Association and the Clean Grid Alliance as amici curiae in support of intervenor-defendant-appellants. 04/27/2022 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by Edison Electric Institute and Energy and Wildlife Action Coalition in support of intervenor-defendant-appellants and reversal. 04/27/2022 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by amicus curiae Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. supporting intervenor-defendant-appellants' petition seeking reversal. 04/27/2022 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by amicus curiae National Rural Electric Cooperative Association supporting defendants-appellants. 04/13/2022 Brief Download Initial brief filed by intervenor-defendant-appellants American Transmission Company LLC et al. 03/30/2022 Response Download Response filed by conservation group appellees in opposition to appellants' motion for a stay pending appeal and appellees' motion for affirmative relief. -
Driftless Area Land Conservancy v. American Transmission Co.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/09/2022 Order Download Appeal dismissed. 03/08/2022 Motion Download Motion for voluntary dismissal filed by appellants. 12/27/2021 Brief Download Initial brief filed by intervenor-defendant-appellees American Transmission Company LLC et al. -
National Wildlife Refuge Association v. Rural Utilities Service
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 01/14/2022 Opinion and Order Download Court declared that compatibility determination precluded transmission line from crossing refuge. Wisconsin Federal Court Said Authorizations for Transmission Line Violated NEPA and Refuge Act. The federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that federal defendants acted arbitrarily and capriciously when they approved a right of way or land transfer through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge to allow construction of a transmission line. The court said the transmission line could not be deemed compatible with the refuge under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. The court also found that the federal defendants failed to comply with NEPA because the stated purpose for the project had been stated too narrowly so that it eliminated, for example, non-wire alternatives such as regional and local renewable electricity generation, energy storage, and energy efficiency. The court’s decision did not discuss the plaintiffs’ allegations that the federal defendants failed to adequately consider the project’s greenhouse gas emissions and potential climate impacts. 11/12/2021 Notice of Appeal Download Joint notice of appeal filed by intervenor-defendants. 11/01/2021 Opinion and Order Download "Narrowly tailored" motion for preliminary injunction granted. Wisconsin Federal Court Barred Work on Transmission Line. The federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued a “narrowly tailored” preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging a 101-mile transmission line extending from Iowa to Wisconsin. The plaintiffs allege, among other things, that the Rural Utilities Service did not adequately consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts in its environmental impact statement (EIS). The court found that the plaintiffs established at least some likelihood of success on the merits of their arguments that the Utility Regional General Permit (URGP)—the only contested permit under which construction could currently proceed—was invalid, that the EIS defined the project’s purpose and need too narrowly and therefore excluded alternatives such as solar energy and battery storage that would reduce the need for increased transfer capability, and that the consideration of cumulative impacts was inadequate. The court also found that the plaintiffs established “real and irreparable impacts,” that there would not be an adequate legal remedy to rectify those harms, and that the balance of equities favored an injunction. The court enjoined activities requiring permission under the URGP. 11/01/2021 Reply Download Reply brief filed by plaintiffs in support of motion for summary judgment. 10/08/2021 Motion Download Memorandum filed by plaintiffs in support of motion for preliminary injunction. 04/07/2021 Motion to Intervene Download Memorandum filed by American Transmission Company LLC et al. in support of motion to intervene as defendants. 02/10/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Conservation Groups Challenged Environmental Review for Midwest Transmission Line. Four conservation organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin challenging a 101-mile high-voltage transmission line running from Iowa to a substation in Wisconsin. The plaintiffs contended that the environmental impact statement approved by the Rural Utilities Service did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, including because it “did not adequately consider greenhouse gas emissions and potential climate impacts from the project and the fossil fuel-generated electricity that it would carry.” The plaintiffs also asserted that the transmission line’s approval violated the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. -
National Wildlife Refuge Association v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/05/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Conservation Groups Challenged Corps of Engineers’ Approvals for Midwest Transmission Line. National Wildlife Refuge Association and three other conservation groups filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin challenging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers actions in connection with approvals for a 101-mile high-voltage transmission line running from Iowa to a substation in Wisconsin. The Corps used general permits rather than individual permits for the project. The conservation groups asserted claims under NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Under NEPA, the plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the final EIS for transmission line did not adequately analyze additional greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts that would be attributable to the line’s construction and the electricity it would carry.