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County counsel briefs Marathon supervisors on limits of local power and how JDAs, intervention can secure protections
Summary
Outside counsel told Marathon County supervisors that state law and the PSC limit local ordinances for projects over 100 MW, and advised early negotiation of joint development agreements, PSC intervention or other steps to secure decommissioning funds, road repairs and emergency-response training.
Marathon County supervisors spent much of the March 19 meeting on a detailed briefing from Atollis Law and the Wisconsin Counties Association about how the county can respond to proposed large-scale wind and solar projects.
The essentials. Counsel told the board that projects above a 100‑megawatt threshold generally trigger Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) jurisdiction and a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which limits the reach of local ordinances. Rebecca Roker (Atollis Law) explained that Wis. Stat. §66.0401 and case law (including Echert/Echert Brothers and the Town of Brighton litigation) tightly constrain local regulation and leave counties with a narrow set of police-power exceptions…
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