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A federal appeals court has put a hold on court proceedings in a lawsuit over a contested power line through southwest Wisconsin. The stay issued last week by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals means plaintiffs in the case will not be able to question regulators or utility executives about potential conflicts of interest while the appeals panel reviews a lower court order allowing the case to move forward. The Public Service Commission and a group of utilities appealed a ruling issued late last month by Judge William Conley, who found the Driftless Area Land Conservancy and Wisconsin Wildlife Federation have standing to argue their constitutional due process rights were violated when the PSC authorized construction of the $492 million project known as Cardinal-Hickory Creek project. The groups sued to block construction of the line between Dubuque and Middleton, claiming PSC Chair Rebecca Valcq and former Commissioner Mike Huebsch had perceived conflicts of interest that taint the commission’s decision to grant a permit for the line, giving the utilities the right to take private property through eminent domain.
