Case Summary -- St. Croix Riverway

St. Croix Falls, a City in Northwestern Wisconsin along the Wild and Scenic St. Croix Riverway turned to Frank Jablonski and his law firm for critical help on environmental and energy questions.  Utility companies had been authorized to condemn local land and install huge new overhead electric transmission lines through the City’s downtown, and over the St. Croix River.  The Public Service Commission decision to give the utilities permission to build the power lines this way directly threatened not only the City’s treasured natural resource, the Wild and Scenic River, but also its plan to revitalize the historic downtown bordering the scenic river.  

Bringing to bear many years of experience and strategic skill, Frank did far more than just take the City’s case to Polk Count circuit court.  His experience in administrative agencies in Madison made him aware that utility executives were signing in quite often for direct private meetings with the Commissioners who were supposed to be regulating their companies through carefully controlled and open administrative law cases- - like the one involving the power line decision.  Using Wisconsin’s Open Records Law, he unearthed documents showing that within weeks of filing for permission to build the power lines, executives with one of the sponsoring utilities’ presidents had met privately with the Commissioners  - - to discuss “transmission.”  The careful investigation eventually led to a federal civil rights lawsuit the City boldly brought directly against the utility executives.   Eventually, all matters were settled through an agreement that provided for the proposed power lines to be placed underground in the viewshed of the St Croix River, which includes the City’s downtown.  The utility further agreed to reduce the number of power lines crossing the river, remove power lines from a nearby State Park, abandon power line easements it had long retained within the wild and scenic riverway and to make available up to $400,000 for riverside improvements.

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