March 7, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA Wis. – Vernon County officials are preparing a multi-pronged legal and political defense against a massive new power line proposed to cut through the Driftless region.
During a March 4 meeting of the General Government Committee, supervisors reviewed multiple resolutions aimed at stopping, or heavily scrutinizing the MariBell transmission project. The committee ultimately voted to draft two separate resolutions that will later be sent to the Vernon County Board of Supervisors for consideration.
The MariBell project is a proposed 765 kilovolt transmission line that would run approximately 140 miles from Marion Minnesota to Bell Center Wisconsin. The project is a joint venture between Dairyland Power Cooperative and GridLiance Heartland, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy. It was assigned by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator known as MISO to address regional power reliability and support a shift toward renewable energy across the Midwest.
The steel lattice towers would stand between 150 and 200 feet tall and require a 250 foot wide right of way. Dairyland plans to submit its application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin later this year with construction slated to begin in 2031.
The proposal has sparked intense backlash from local residents and officials who fear the massive infrastructure will destroy the scenic beauty of the region damage fragile karst geology and harm local agriculture and tourism. Citizen groups have organized opposition meetings and packed recent government hearings to demand action.
The push for formal county resolutions follows a contentious February 19 Vernon County Board meeting where representatives from Dairyland Power presented the project details. Supervisors and residents peppered the developers with questions and criticisms.
“I am opposed to your power lines on the basis of we have a very fragile landscape around here that is a big economic impact to our area,” said Supervisor Mary Henry during the February meeting. “We are a pass through. Use the interstate. It is already ugly. You have got your 300 foot clear cut go down the interstate.”
Dairyland representative Luke Fuller explained to the board that the utility does not make the final decision on the route.
“We do not decide the route,” said Fuller. “We do not decide if the line is built. The Public Service Commission does.”
The preferred route would be to follow the existing 161kw line that already is in place, since it needs to be rebuilt anyway, and include that exiting line on the 765 structures. But the utility is required to propose alternate routes, and that has caused a lot of speculation about what those routes might be. Dairyland has not confirmed those alternatives as of yet, but they are expected to in the near future.
The second portion of the transmission line that continues from the Bell Center substation (just south of Gays Mills) is referred to as the BECI project. Unlike the MariBell segment, this continuation of the line will be proposed, built, and managed by a different developer, Transource LLC, which is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
While a final, confirmed route has not yet been established by Transource for that second section, there are some potential routes that it could follow. One option is from Bell Center up past the Kickapoo Valley Reserve and continue on to Hillsboro. From the Hillsboro area, the line will continue east to the Columbia Substation near Portage, Wis. After reaching Portage, the line is planned to turn south and run approximately 200 miles to the Wisconsin/Illinois state line, terminating at a new substation called Sugar Creek.
Following that county board presentation in Feb., supervisors directed the General Government Committee to explore what legal authority the county has to fight the project.
During the March 4 committee meeting Corporate Counsel Nikki Swayne outlined the county options for engaging with the Public Service Commission. Swayne explained that the PSC evaluates projects based on public need environmental impact land use interference and overall public interest.
“What can local government do?” asked Swayne. “They can weigh in on all those issues within these proceedings to try to influence or impact the commission findings as related to those four criteria.”
Swayne broke down three potential avenues for the county to fight the project. She noted that filing public comments is the easiest but probably the least impactful option though she still recommended submitting them before Dairyland officially files its petition to get the county position on the record early.
The second option involves directly negotiating with Dairyland for an alternative route. Swayne pointed to a successful case where the Town of Paris managed to persuade the commission to require a different site for a natural gas plant demonstrating that local governments can sometimes force developers to change their plans.
The most powerful option Swayne explained would be filing a formal motion to intervene in the PSC docket.
“When you do that you become a party to this action, that gives you a lot of ability that you don’t otherwise have,” said Swayne.
Intervening would grant the county the authority to provide sworn testimony hire expert witnesses and conduct formal discovery to force developers to answer written interrogatories and produce internal documents. Because PSC proceedings are highly specialized Swayne strongly advised the committee to consider hiring an experienced outside attorney if they choose to intervene.
“I could try to get my head around it but bang for your buck and prospects of success, I would suggest we get an experienced attorney who regularly appears in such proceedings before this commission,” said Swayne.
Swayne suggested a hybrid approach where she first researches similar ongoing cases such as a current transmission line dispute involving the Village of Merrillan to provide the board with a clear cost benefit analysis before they spend significant funds on outside legal help.
Supervisor Wayde Lawler supported throwing the full weight of the county behind the opposition effort.
“I do think that this is the issue, if I get reelected and I do nothing more for two years but work on this and prevent this project from developing in our county, I would consider that time well spent,” said Lawler. “I do not think any of our constituents that packed this room a few weeks ago would fault us for laying it all on the line to stop this thing.”
The committee discussed two different approaches for resolutions. Supervisor Mary Henry drafted a resolution stating outright opposition to the project.
“My resolution is to stay the hell out of Vernon County,” said Supervisor Dave Eggen.
Meanwhile the committee also reviewed an information seeking resolution modeled after one recently passed by neighboring Crawford County. That document formally demands detailed environmental and economic data from Dairyland Power before the PSC application is filed.
Administrative Coordinator Cassandra Hanan expressed a preference for the Crawford County model.
“I like this a lot better than what we were looking at here,” said Hanan. “There are a lot of assumptions being made in this that I do not feel comfortable that there are scientific inferences being made in this resolution that I do not like and that is pretty much gone in this resolution.”
Committee Chair Alycann Taylor noted that the county could pass both resolutions simultaneously utilizing one to state firm opposition and the other to gather necessary facts for a potential legal fight.
“I think it is prudent to hear what the list is and take it back to committee see if modeling their proposal is better than the one we did and then come back with a response,” said Taylor.
Lawler pointed out that the eastern half of the transmission line running from Bell Center toward Portage will be built by Transource. He suggested the county draft resolutions targeting both developers.
“I also think we should pass information seeking resolutions on both,” said Lawler. “It does not cost us anything. It does not hurt us.”
The committee ultimately voted unanimously to advance both an information seeking resolution and a statement of opposition to the full Vernon County Board. The committee also directed staff to explore collaborating with Crawford and Richland counties to potentially share the cost of hiring specialized outside legal counsel.
Below is the resolution passed by the Crawford County Board of Supervisors that Vernon County is using for a model for their own ordinance:
Residents will have several upcoming opportunities to voice their concerns directly to project developers. Dairyland Power plans to host two public open houses in Wisconsin on March 10 and March 12.
March 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. 
Gays Mills (Wis.) Community Center
March 12, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Retreat Sportsman’s Club (De Soto, Wis.)
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