PSC hears transmission line testimony

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Feb 21, 2001 | by Hardie, Chris

MADISON, Wis. - A witness for a group fighting a proposed transmission line across Wisconsin testified Tuesday that the power line could adversely affect humans and animals.

Duane Dahlberg, a retired physics and environmental sciences instructor from Moorhead, Minn., said farmers living and working near the transmission line would be exposed to more electricity and more likely experience health effects.

"I'd probably sell my farm and go; sell it to someone else," Dahlberg said when asked what he would do if the line were on his farm. "I'd have to get out of there one way or another to protect myself."

Dahlberg is a key witness for World Organization for Landowner Freedom, one of several groups opposed to the power line that is proposed by Minnesota Power and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. The 345-kilovolt line would run from near Duluth, Minn., to Weston, Wis., near Wausau, but provide power for customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and much of the upper Midwest. Advocates say the power line is needed to meet growing energy needs, but opponents cite numerous environmental concerns, including stray voltage.

Technical hearings before the Wisconsin Public Service Commission began Jan. 3 and are expected to conclude Friday. A final decision from the PSC is not expected for several months.

Dahlberg, who testified about three hours Tuesday, said in his written testimony that human contact to electromagnetic energy related to electricity and the electrical system can range from electrocution to less-understood connections with stray voltage and human health.

"I have concluded that (electromagnetic energy) can adversely affect the behavior, health and production of confined livestock and the health of people," Dahlberg said.

But a witness scheduled to testify Thursday for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. said in his testimony that stray voltage small amounts of voltage that leak from power lines or wires does not affect humans.

"To my knowledge there are no effects on humans associated with stray voltage in dairy barns," said T. Dan Bracken, an electrical consultant from Portland, Ore. Lawyers for Minnesota Power and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. questioned Dahlberg's credentials and credibility, citing two court cases where Dahlberg's pretrial testimony was thrown out. Dahlberg said he did not testify in person at either trial.

Deb Amberg for Minnesota Power asked hearing examiner Judge Janine Geske to rule Dahlberg's testimony as inadmissible.

"I will renew our motion to strike Dahlberg's testimony," Amberg said. "There is no support for his theories. He is being offered as an expert witness but has not established that he has any expertise."

Geske denied the motion, just as she did to a similar motion Jan. 3. Geske said Dahlberg fit the criteria for being an expert under Wisconsin law, although she said it was a close question.

"I'm going to allow the (Public Service Commission) to weigh the credibility of his testimony," she said.

Dahlberg said after the hearing he expected his credibility to be challenged but emphasized that when he has testified in person, his testimony has never been thrown out. "It was only in depositions, and then the testimony was taken out of context," he said.

Dahlberg, who has written several papers summarizing stray voltage and electrical ground currents that he believes causes health problems, admits he does not do field research or publish peer-reviewed papers.

"If you're working on a problem that has been identified, you collect information," Dahlberg said. "That's my job. I work with the people and investigate the problems."