Landowners relieved after ATC moves proposed power lines for Port Washington data center
Landowners in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, are relieved after the American Transmission Company (ATC) proposed a new route for power lines intended for a Port Washington data center. The original plan would have traversed private property, prompting a landowner to threaten legal action. The new route avoids the towns of Sockville and Trenton.
A longtime landowner in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, Tom Uttech, is experiencing relief after learning that the American Transmission Company (ATC) has proposed a new route for transmission lines intended to power the Port Washington data center project. Uttech, who had spent nearly 40 years transforming his farmland into woods and prairies in the town of Sockville, had threatened legal action against ATC when their initial plan proposed building power lines directly through his property, arguing it would destroy the landscape he created.
Uttech never received a formal offer for his land from ATC, but worried about the possibility of eminent domain. Last fall, he collaborated with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative law firm, which subsequently threatened to sue ATC on his behalf. On Wednesday, ATC filed new documents with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, outlining a revised application that includes a new route for the power lines. This new route no longer passes through the towns of Sockville or Trenton.
Uttech expressed his pleasure and a sense of reward for the significant effort he and others invested in convincing ATC to alter the route. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin had previously deemed ATC's initial proposal incomplete. If the commission determines the new application is complete, the next step would be a period for public comment.