Oak Creek Power Plant Murky History

There's a bad aura that the Oak Creek Power Plant can't shake.

Seems like something is always backfiring there.

Back in the 1950's, utilities were a cash cow of sorts, as they paid a tax to the state on the value of generating stations and 65% was rebated to the municipality in which the property was located.

Milwaukee back then was still expanding through annexation, and had its eye on the relatively-undeveloped Oak Creek both for its land and the rebated power plant tax revenues, and when a protracted legal battle was over, Oak Creek was permitted to remain independent, incorporate and keep the power plant revenue - - and Milwaukee lost big and bigger:

It had its annexation power removed forever by the State Legislature.

There's a nice, short book about it all, and an online link, here.

These days that juicy revenue formula is long gone, and now there's an even bigger power plant in Oak Creek with it's share of controversy, too.

The new mega-plant's opening a few years ago was delayed by litigation over permits and pollution fears that produced a court-approved settlement including a fund to prevent or mitigate air and water pollution that might arise from the plant's everyday operations.

And not to handle something like the recent bluff collapse and coal ash spill into Lake Michigan where some construction was taking place at a spot where state DNR regulators had declined to require an environmental review.

Here's my proposal for holding We Energies accountable.

Like I said, there's something irreparably negative about the site.

The company and the DNR can't rewrite their clumsy regulatory and management history, but they can do a better job as regulators and stewards at the Lake Michigan shoreline, can't they?

And we should treat this as a warning about pending legislation that further deregulates public management and protection of Wisconsin's waters.