CapX2020 power line compensation plan unveiled

Wisconsin municipalities along the CapX2020 high-voltage transmission line route now know how much they’ll be compensated for housing the project.

Local governments will receive two types of payments: first is a onetime environmental impact fee, which is determined by how much land is used in each municipality and the total cost of the project. That figure is split between the county and municipality. Western Wisconsin will get almost $9 million. Buffalo County will receive the largest portion of that, more than $2.3 million dollars.

CapX2020 Senior Project Manager Grant Stevenson says one-time payments have a specific purpose, “The statute describes that the one-time payment must be used for parks, conservancy, or other environmental-type project, unless otherwise approved by the commission.”

The second payment is an annual impact fee, which is only given to municipalities and can be used for anything. Fourteen local governments will receive yearly payments totaling $540,000.

Marilyn Pedretti is the town of Holland clerk and a La Crosse County board supervisor. She says she’s not sure if the money will outweigh the affects the power lines will have on the area, “Will this affect tourism? I think it can still affect tourism. I think it’s going to affect property values. Will the money make up for that? Could be, I don’t know.”

Pedretti and other local officials say it’s too early to tell how they’ll use the money.

State law requires utility companies that build 345 kV power lines to pay municipalities and counties. The amounts still need approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.