Roseanne Lee 

Clerk of Circuit Court 

730 Wisconsin Ave. 

Racine, WI 53403-1238 

July 1, 2013 

Re: State of Wisconsin v. Wisconsin Electric Power Company 

Dear Ms. Lee: 

Enclosed for filing please find an original and two (2) copies of the plaintiffs Summons and 

Complaint in the above-entitled action. This is a civil action for forfeitures using the classification 

code of Complex Forfeiture 30109, and thus no filing fee is required. 

The State has reached a settlement with the defendant, so I ask that this case be brought 

to the immediate attention of the judge to whom this case is assigned. Enclosed are the original 

and two (2) copies of a Stipulation and Order for Judgment and Judgment. If the Stipulation and 

Order for Judgment and Judgment are acceptable, I respectfully request that they be signed and 

filed with the Comt. Then, please have the judge's clerk conform the copies and return them, 

along with the copies of the authenticated Summons and Complaint, to me in the enclosed 

envelope. I wi II, in turn, send copies to defendant's com1sel upon receipt of these documents from 

the Court. 

Thank you for your assistance in this matter. 

SET:jph 

Enclosures 

c w/encs.: Thomas P. McElligott 

Deb Roszak 

Sinn-rJ 

Steven E. Tinker 

Assistant Attorney General 
Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7857, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

WISCONSIN ELECTRIC 

POWER COMPANY Keith H. Ecke, Registered Agent 

231 Michigan Street 

P240 Milwaukee, WI 53203, 

Defendant. 

THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, 

SUMMONS 

To each person named above as a Defendant: 

Case 

Complex Forfeiture: 30109 

THE AMOUNT CLAIMED IS 

GREATER THAN THE 

AMOUNT CLAIMED UNDER 

WIS. STAT.§ 799.0l(l)(d). 

You are hereby notified that the Plaintiff named above has filed a lawsuit or other 

legal action against you. The Complaint, which is attached, states the nature and basis of 

the legal action. 

Within twenty (20) days of receiving this Summons, you must respond with a 

written answer, as that term is used in Chapter 802 of the Wisconsin Statutes, to the 

Complaint. The Court may reject or disregard an answer that does not follow the 

requirements of the statutes. The answer must be sent or delivered to the Racine County 

Circuit Court, 730 Wisconsin Avenue, Racine, Wisconsin 53403-1238 and to Plaintiffs 

IF YOl! REQliiRE TilE ASSISTANCE OF AliXII.IARY A IllS OH SF:IlVICICS BJo:CAliSE OI' A ()ISABILITY, CALL (262)636-3333 

ANI> ASK FOR THE RACINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COlJRT ADA COORDINATOR. 
grant judgment against you for the award of money or other legal action requested in the 

Complaint, and you may lose your right to object to anything that is or may be incorrect 

in the Complaint. A judgment may be enforced as provided by law. A judgment awarding money may become a lien against any real estate you own now or in the future, 

and may also be enforced by garnishment or seizure of property. 

Dated this J_ day of July, 2013 . 

Wisconsin Department of Justice 

Post Office Box 7857 

Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7857 

(608) 266-0764 

(608) 266-2250 (fax) 

tinkerse@doj.state.wi.us 

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J.B. VAN HOLLEN Attor:tEr..£ 

STEVEN E. TINKER 

Assistant Attorney General 

State Bar# 1013319 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 
Madison, Wisconsin 53707

7857, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

WISCONSIN ELECTRIC 

POWER COMPANY 

Keith H. Ecke, Registered Agent 

231 Michigan Street 

P240 

Milwaukee, WI 53203, 

Defendant. 

COMPLAINT 

Case No. ____ _ 

CompiexForfeiture: 30109 

THE AMOUNT CLAIMED IS 

GREATER THAN THE 

AMOUNT CLAIMED UNDER 

WIS. STAT.§ 799.01(l)(d). 

The State of Wisconsin, by its attorneys, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and 

Assistant Attorney General Steven Tinker, at the request of the Wisconsin Department of 

Natural Resources, brings this complaint against the above-named defendant and alleges 

that the defendant has violated Wis. Stats. ch. 283, ch. 289, and rules promulgated under 

the authority of those chapters, as follows: 

I. The plaintiff is a sovereign state of the United States of America, with its 

principal offices at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. It has enacted and through 

its Department of Natural Resources (DNR) administers laws requiring erosion control at 

construction sites (Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 216), and laws regulating the operation of 

solid waste facilities (Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 506). 

-~----------------------

IF YOU REQUIRE THE ASSISTANCE OF AUXILIARY A IllS OR SERVICES BECAliSE m· A DISABILITY, CALL (262)636-3333 

AND ASK FOR TilE RACINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ADA COORDINATOR. 
violations of Wis. Stats. chs. 283 and 289, and violations of administrative rules adopted 

under the authority of those chapters, including Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 216 and 506. 

4. Defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WE) is a domestic 

corporation registered in Wisconsin and is in the business of providing electrical service 

and natural gas. The registered agent and address for WE is Keith H. Ecke, 231 Michigan 

Street, P240, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. 

5. On October 31, 20 II, a section of bluff collapsed at the south end of the 

WE property known as the Oak Creek Power Plant, located at II 050 South Chicago 

Road, Oak Creek, WI. The collapse occurred in the vicinity of an on-going construction 

project by WE. The project site contained several areas known as Early Ash Disposal 

Areas, which had been used by WE in the 1950's and 1960's for the disposal of bottom 

ash and fly ash. 

6. On June 20, 2007, WE submitted a Construction Project Consolidated 

Permit Application for Water Regulatory Permits and Approvals for construction planned 

to upgrade the air quality control system of the Oak Creek Power Plant. The application 

was submitted pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 30.025 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 216. 

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regarding the permit application. 

9. WE responded to these comments on May 14, 2008, and the permit was 

granted by the DNR on May 20, 2008. 

10. On July 3, 2008, subsequent to the granting of the permit but prior to the 

commencement of construction, WE notified the DNR Office of Energy that the storm 

water management plans submitted with the application for the permit had been updated 

due to the discovery of wetland areas on the project site. WE stated that the discovery of 

the wetland areas required the relocation of the detention basin for the flue gas 

desulfi.Jrization construction to an area north of where it had been specified in the original 

plan. 

11. WE also applied for an Exemption for Development at a Historic Fill Site 

for two early ash disposal areas that existed in the area of the project site on January 30, 

2008, pursuant to Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 506.085. 

12. The DNR granted a conditional exemption to WE for construction in the 

early ash disposal areas on June 6, 2008. The conditions required by the DNR included 

the prevention of surface water ponding on the waste mass after completion of the 

construction except where specifically approved; inspection of the construction at 50% of 

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WE was granted coverage under a petroleum contaminated water general permit, permit 

number WI-0046531-04. 

14. WE's discharge monitoring repmi for 2011 for permit number WI0046531-04 shows the following discharge volumes for oil/water separator discharge: 

July- 831,453 gallons; August- 4,274,773 gallons; September- 2,223,313 gallons; 

October -7,965,978 gallons. 

15. On October 31, 20 II, at about 10:45 am, a section of bluff collapsed at the 

south end of the Oak Creek Power Plant in Racine County. The bluiT collapse released 

approximately 22,720 cubic yards of material, including coal ash, a small pmiion of 

which was discharged into Lake Michigan. The collapse carried debris from the 

construction worksite, including vehicles, heavy machinery, a filter press, a fi·ac tank and 

four miscellaneous conex boxes filled with unknown amounts of miscellaneous 

equipment, down the blufl and into Lake Michigan. 

16. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, WE undertook response actions, 

including the placement of containment berms and booms and a geotechnical analysis of 

the stability of the bluff. WE then undertook additional response actions, including the 

excavation and removal of the material and debris which had been released as a result of 

the bluff collapse. This work was completed by late November 2011. 

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connection with the collapse. In a letter dated December 10, 2012, DNR confirmed that 

no further response action was required. 

FIRST CLAIM: IMPROPER EXCAVATION IN A WASTE DISPOSAL AREA 

18. Section NR 506.085(3), Wis. Adm. Code provides that excavation of the 

final cover or any waste materials is prohibited at solid waste disposal facilities which are 

no longer in operation unless specifically approved by the DNR in writing. 

19. Sections 289.01(35) and 289.01(41), Wis. Stats. would include ash disposal 

areas as a solid waste facility or waste site. 

20. WE was granted a conditional exemption from Section NR 506.085(3) by 

the DNR on June 6, 2008 based on the request it provided on January 30, 2008. The 

original request did not cover the installation of a holding tank or any associated utility 

pipes. Although WE submitted updated storm water plans to the DNR Office of Energy 

on July 3, 2008, including the relocation of the flue gas desulphurization pond to avoid 

impacts to wetland areas, WE did not submit a request for modification of the solid waste 

exemption previously granted by the DNR. 

21. WE excavated waste materials and constructed the new storm water pond in 

areas other than those covered by the June 6, 2008 Grant of Exemption in violation ofNR 

506.085(3) and Wis. Stat 289.96(3). 

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when grading of the project was at fifty percent completion for the purpose of allowing 

the DNR to inspect the work. 

23. WE did not notify the DNR when grading of the project reached fifty 

percent completion in violation of Condition #12 ofthe Conditional Grant of Exemption, 

NR 506.085(3) and Wis. Stat 289.96(3). 

THIRD CLAIM: FAILURE TO AMEND OR REVISE STORM WATER 

POLLUTION MANAGEMENT PLANS AS NEEDED TO PROTECT THE 

WATERS OF THE STATE 

24. Sections NR 216.50(1) and NR 216.50(l)(a), Wis. Adm. Code state that a 

permitee or landowner shall amend its erosion control and storm water management plans 

if there is a change in design, construction, operation or maintenance at the construction 

site which has the reasonable potential for the discharge of pollutants and which has not 

otherwise been addressed in the erosion control and storm water management plans. 

25. The flue gas desulphurization storm water pond was designed and 

constructed to function as a sediment basin during the construction of the air quality 

control system project. Non-storm water discharges from the air quality control system to 

the flue gas desulphurization sediment basin started in July 2011. These discharges 

continued until the bluff collapse in October 2011. ·During this four-month period over 

fifteen million gallons of water were discharged from the air quality control system to the 

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control system baseflow discharges on the peak outflow rate from the principle outlet, as 

required by DNR sediment basin technical standard I 064 in violation of Wis. Stat. 

§ 283.91(2). 

STATUTORY REMEDIES 

27. Wisconsin Stat. § 283.91 (2) provides that any person who violates this 

chapter, any rule promulgated under it (including Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 216), or any 

permit issued thereunder shall forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $10,000 for each 

day of violation. 

28. Wisconsin Stat. § 289.96(3)(a) provides that any person who violates this 

chapter or any rule (including Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 506) promulgated or any plan 

approval, license or special order issued under this chapter shall forfeit not less than $10 

nor more than $5,000 for each violation. Each day of continued violation is a separate 

offense. 

29. Wisconsin Stat. § § 283.91(5) and 289.96(3)(b) provides that in addition to 

the above-referenced penalties, the Court may award the reasonable and necessary costs 

of the investigation and prosecution, including attorney fees. 

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jail surcharge under Wis. Stat.§ 814.75(14), the $25 court costs imposed under Wis. Stat. 

§ 814.63(1), the $8 crime laboratories and drug law enforcement surcharge under Wis. 

Stat. § 814.75(3), the $68 court suppot1 services surcharge under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(2), 

the $12justice information system surcharge under Wis. Stat.§ 814.75(15), and the costs 

and expenses of this prosecution, including attorney fees, as provided for in Wis. Stat. §§ 

283.91(5) and 289.96(3)(b). 

2. Such other relief as the Court deems appropriate. 

Dated day of July, 2013. 

Wisconsin Department of Justice 

Post Office Box 7857 

Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7857 

(608) 266-0764 (608) 266-2250 (Fax) 

tinkerse@doj .state. wi. us 

J.B. VAN HOLLEN 

STEVEN E. TINKER 

Assistant Attorney General 

State Bar# 1013319 

Attorneys for Plaintiff State of Wisconsin 

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v. 

WISCONSIN ELECTRIC 

POWER COMPANY, 

Defendant. 

Case No. 13-CX-_--:--:---:-cc-: 

Complex Forfeiture: 30109 

STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR JUDGMENT 

Plaintiff State of Wisconsin ("State") brought this civil action against defendant 

Wisconsin Electric Power Company regarding its Oak Creek Power Plant, located at 

11050 South Chicago Road, Oak Creek, WI. The complaint alleges violations of 

Wisconsin laws regarding erosion controls at construction sites and the operation of solid 

waste facilities. The parties now wish to settle this matter by agreement and avoid further 

litigation and, therefore, enter into this stipulation. 

IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by the State of Wisconsin and Wisconsin 

Electric Power Company that this case shall be settled on the merits, with prejudice, on 

the following terms and conditions: 

I. The parties to this Stipulation are the plaintiff State of Wisconsin and the 

defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company. 

2. The Circuit Court for Racine County, Wisconsin (the "Court") has 

jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this action. 
Judgment. 

4. Judgment shall be entered in favor of the plaintiff State of Wisconsin and 

against the defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company in the amount of $100,000.00. 

This sum is comprised of forfeitures, statutory surcharges, costs and reimbursements as 

follows: forfeitures of$29,575.15 under Wis. Stat.§§ 283.91(2) and 289.96(3)(a), a 26% 

penalty surcharge of $7,689.54 under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(18), a 20% environmental 

surcharge of $5,915.03 under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(12), $25.00 in court costs under Wis. 

Stat. § 814.63(1), a $13.00 crime laboratories and drug law enforcement surcharge under 

Wis. Stat. § 814.75(3), a $68.00 court support services surcharge under Wis. Stat. § 

814.75(2), a !%jail surcharge of$295.75 under Wis. Stat.§ 814.75(14), a $21.50 justice 

information system surcharge under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(15), pay the Wisconsin 

Department of Natural Resources $53,397.03 for its costs of investigation and the 

Wisconsin Department of Justice $3,000 for its costs of prosecution pursuant to Wis. Stat. 

§§ 283.91(5) and 289.96(3)(b). 

5. The defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company will pay $43,602.97 by 

check payable to the Racine County Circuit Court and delivered to the Clerk of Court, 

730 Wisconsin Ave., Racine, Wisconsin 53403-1238, along with a cover letter to the 

Court identifYing the case by name and number. A copy of the check and cover letter 

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6. The defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company will pay $53,397.03 by 

check payable to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and $3,000 by check 

payable to the Wisconsin Department of Justice and delivered to Assistant Attorney 

General Steven Tinker at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Post Office Box 7857, 

Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7857. Payment shall be made within 60 days after the Court 

enters the Judgment in this case. 

7. The parties acknowledge that this Stipulation and Order for Judgment sets 

forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereto. 

8. The defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company waives the requirement 

for formal service of the authenticated summons and complaint. 

9. The Judgment accompanying this Stipulation and Order for Judgment will 

be a final and appealable order. The Order for Judgment and Judgment may be entered 

incorporating the terms of this Stipulation without further notice, and the Judgment may 

be docketed, pursuant to Wis. Stat.§ 806.10(1). 

10. This Stipulation and Order for Judgment reflects the compromise of 

disputed claims and, except as between the parties to this action, nothing contained in this 

Stipulation and Order for Judgment, nor the fact that Wisconsin Electric Power Company 

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directors, affiliates and agents for any and all violations described in the complaint or 

arising out of the facts alleged therein. 

Dated this?if__ day of June 2013. 

J.B. VAN HOLLEN 

STEVEN E. TINKER 

Assistant Attorney General 

State Bar #1013319 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

Wisconsin Department of Justice 

Post Office Box 7857 Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7857 

(608) 266-0764 (608) 266-2250 (fax) 

tinkerse@doj .state. wi. us 

Dated this &__ day of June 2013. 

State Bar # 1 000079 

Attorneys for Defendant 

411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2350 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 

(414) 277-5531 (414) 978-8974 (fax) 

thomas.mcelligott@quarles.com 

Dated this .) 5 day of June 2013. 

WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER 

COMPANY, 

Printed Name: ,xt t U11. . A e vv?ftTitle: VIC( ;t' 

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reimbursements to the Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources and Justice. The 

Court therefore directs the clerk to enter and docket the Judgment accordingly. 

This is a final order that disposes of the entire matter in litigation between the 

State of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Electric Power Company, and is intended by the Court 

to be an appealable order within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 808.03( I). 

Dated this day ofJune 2013. 

BY THE COURT: 

RACINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT 

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Madison, Wisconsin 53707

7857, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

WISCONSIN ELECTRIC 

POWER COMPANY 

Defendant. 

JUDGMENT 

Case No. 13-CX-_~-:-::-:: 

ComplexForfeiture: 30109 

The plaintiff, State of Wisconsin is a sovereign state of the United States of 

America, with its principal offices at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company is a domestic corporation 

registered in Wisconsin and is in the business of providing electrical service and natural 

gas. The registered agent and address for WE is Keith H. Ecke, 231 Michigan Street, 

P240, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. 

Based on the Stipulation between the plaintiff State of Wisconsin and the 

defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company and on the Court's Order, the terms of 

which are incorporated into this Judgment in their entirety, judgment is granted in favor 

of the plaintiff State of Wisconsin, and against the defendant Wisconsin Electric Power 

Company in the amount of $100,000.00. This sum is comprised of forfeitures, statutory 
laboratories and drug law enforcement surcharge under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(3), a $68.00 

couti suppoti services surcharge under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(2), a !%jail surcharge of 

$295.75 under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(14), a $21.50 justice information system surcharge 

under Wis. Stat. § 814.75(15), pay the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

$53,397.03 for its costs of investigation and the Wisconsin Department of Justice $3,000 

for its costs of prosecution pursuant to Wis. Stat.§§ 283.91(5) and 289.96(3)(b). 

The defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company will pay $43,602.97 by check 

payable to the Racine County Circuit Court and delivered to the Clerk of Couti, 730 

Wisconsin Ave., Racine, Wisconsin 53403-1238, along with a cover letter to the Court 

identifying the case by name and number. A copy of the check and cover letter shall be 

simultaneously mailed as proof of payment to Assistant Attorney General Steven Tinker 

at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Post Office Box 7857, Madison, Wisconsin 

53707-7857. Payment shall be made within 60 days after the Court enters the Judgment 

in this case. 

The defendant Wisconsin Electric Power Company will pay $53,397.03 by check 

payable to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and $3,000 by check payable 

to the Wisconsin Depmiment of Justice and delivered to Assistant Attorney General 

Steven Tinker at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Post Office Box 7857, Madison, 

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BY THE COURT: 

RACINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT 

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