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Judge admits stray voltage testimony in powe=
r line hearings
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Posted by Chris Hardie on January 09, 2101 at 20:14:24:
Stray voltage testimony to remain in power line hearings
By CHRIS HARD=
IE
Local news editor
MADISON, Wis. -- Testimony from one of the key=
witnesses for a group fighting a major transmission line proposal across=
northern Wisconsin will be allowed, subject to later scrutiny, a judge h=
as ruled.
Janine Geske, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court judge, ruled =
Jan. 3 that testimony filed by Duane Dahlberg, a retired professor from M=
oorhead, Minn., would be allowed. Dahlberg is one of the main witnesses f=
or Citizens United for Responsible Electricity, a group that is fighting =
the proposed Arrowhead-Weston power line on the basis of health effects. =
Dahlberg has filed 23 pages of testimony in the case, which was challenge=
d on a motion from utility lawyers Deb Amberg of Minnesota Power Co. and =
Trevor Will of Wisconsin Public Service Corp.
Both utilities are aski=
ng the Wisconsin Public Service Commission for approval to construct a hi=
gh voltage electrical transmission line located in St. Louis County, Minn=
=2E, and the Wisconsin counties of Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Lincoln, Mar=
athon, Oneida, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor and Washburn.
Proponents o=
f the 345-kilovolt power line say it is necessary to meet the growing dem=
ands for electricity in Wisconsin. Opponents say it will devalue property=
or have adverse effects on some of the pristine areas of northern Wiscon=
sin. Others say it will increase stray voltage or have other harmful envi=
ronmental effects.
Technical hearings for the power line began Jan. 4 =
and are expected to continue for at least a month in Madison. The final d=
ecision on whether to approve the power line will then go before the PSC,=
which has no timetable for arriving at a decision.
In his testimony,=
Dahlberg said the transmission line is a grounded-wye and would increase=
the amount of earth currents in the ground, which he said would increase=
the health risks to animals and humans.
Dahlberg's work has been att=
acked by utilities before. An Iowa court ruled in a stray voltage case th=
at Dahlberg's testimony in that case was not credible.
"Two courts hav=
e ruled that he has unproven theories and should be properly excluded," A=
mberg said on Jan. 3. "There is no scientific basis for his theories."But Carol Overland, an attorney for CURE, said that Amberg was taking Da=
hlberg's testimony out of context. "Utilities are very fond of saying tha=
t an expert has to prove to a scientific certainty that something exists,=
" Overland said. "Experts are allowed to extrapolate from the evidence."<=
br>Overland also said a similar proposal to dismiss Dahlberg's testimony =
was introduced in Minnesota, where it was also rejected.
Geske, in rul=
ing against the utility motion to strike Dahlberg's testimony, said there=
will opportunity to question him in direct testimony. She said if Dahlbe=
rg's testimony is not found to be useful to the fact-finders (the PSC com=
missioners), then it can be excluded later.
Dahlberg is the last of 53=
scheduled witnesses in the technical hearings, which will include testim=
ony about whether the proposed line will increase stray voltage cases. St=
even Schott of Wisconsin Public Service Corp. has filed testimony saying =
that in WPSC's current 124 miles of 345 KV transmission lines, the utilit=
y has recorded only one case where the lines resulted in elevated levels =
of stray voltage. That occurred where distribution lines to a farmer bein=
g adjacent and parallel to the transmission line, which elevated the prim=
ary neutral voltage on the distribution line through induction.
Schott=
testified that WPSC was able to solve the problem by moving the distribu=
tion line and placing it underground.
Also expected to testify in the =
hearings regarding stray voltage is Patricia Hoben, who worked with the M=
innesota Science Advisers and will testify against Dahlberg, and Theresa =
Peterson, a veterinarian who has treated cows exposed to stray voltage. Steven Bircher, an Eau Claire chiropractor, will testify about human h=
ealth effects, while John Moulder of the Medical College of Wisconsin is =
expected to testify to the contrary.
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