The News: The American Transmission Company (ATC) has refiled its transmission line application, removing WILL Client Tom Uttech’s Saukville, WI property from the proposed routes.
In 2025, the company initially sought to build transmission lines across Uttech’s land to power a new OpenAI data center and WILL threatened legal action.
The Quote: WILL Deputy Counsel Lucas Vebber, stated, “The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty exists to defend the rights of American citizens like Tom who faced down one of the biggest transmission companies in the Midwest. We are not fighting a war against AI, but we will not allow companies to seek eminent domain for private gain. Period.”
WILL Client Tom Uttech, stated, “I am honestly relieved about this development, but I am afraid that this fight will continue across the entire country as more data centers are built. I am thankful for WILL for playing an integral role in preserving my land, my means of making a living, and taking a principled stand against eminent domain.”
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The Background: WILL previously warned ATC that its planned transmission line would have cut across the Uttech’s’ 52-acre property, destroying the landscape that has shaped Tom Uttech’s decades-long career as an artist.
The Uttechs had no interest in selling, and so under state law ATC potentially could have taken their land via eminent domain. WILL argued the project failed the constitutional “public use” requirement for the use of eminent domain, since it existed only to serve a privately owned data center. Ultimately, PSC determined the application was incomplete and dismissed that initial proposal.
The newly filed application no longer proposes a route across the Uttech’s property. WILL doesn’t oppose the construction of data centers, but we took a clear stand for the property rights of our clients.
Unlike other states, archaic Wisconsin regulations encourage the construction of miles of unnecessary and destructive power lines for data centers instead of on-site power generation.
Read and share the press release online.
