The Mendota Heights City Council will take up Xcel's power line upgrade request on Tuesday with the threat of a second lawsuit lurking in the shadows.

Xcel wants to rebuild its 115-kilovolt power line on new, taller poles and add an additional circuit to help offset potential power failures. The line would stretch from Newport through South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Sunfish Lake and Mendota Heights, with a second, later phase that would take it to Bloomington.

Opponents of the proposed power line have raised objections about adverse health effects of the electric and magnetic fields generated by the line, as well as the potential to lower property values.

The Mendota Heights Planning Commission has already voted not to recommend granting Xcel's request.

"It was a hard vote," said commission chairwoman Sally Lorberbaum. "We spent a lot of time going through the information; we probably had over 2 feet of paper to read," she said, with much of it conflicting data.

"The clearest answer is it does look like property values would be negatively impacted by the change, and we can't recommend something that affects the health, safety and welfare — including the property values — of our community."

Xcel already has sued both Mendota Heights and South St. Paul over the issue. In early February, Sunfish Lake rejected Xcel's request for a conditional-use permit and Xcel has said legal action is likely.

"We have to build this line, it is an essential service between the cities of Newport and Mendota Heights. We have an obligation as a utility to build it," said Dave Callahan, who oversees siting and land rights, with Xcel. The city's denial to build forces a conflict, "so when we have a conflict, the only venue to resolve this is in court."

South St. Paul eventually settled with Xcel.

In the Mendota Heights case, which hinged on the city not deciding the issue within the required 120-day limit, the court ruled against Xcel. Xcel has appealed that ruling. Xcel decided to litigate in that case, said spokesman Ed Legge, after a lengthy delay in its planned construction schedule, in which the utility agreed to a three-city steering committee and an independent environmental review that found low risk involved in the project.

Should the Mendota Heights council reject the request Tuesday, Callahan said "we are following the directions of district court to try to resolve this issue in the meantime. That's our choice too, we want to. If we get a permit that works for us, we'll use that permit. If they deny it, we'll look to the appeal, but it may require further court action. We have nowhere else to go."

A recent law giving regulatory agencies site-approval authority over power lines across several communities does not apply to the current project, said Pat Cline, Xcel communications manager.

Opinion remains divided on the possible health effects of EMFs, and research continues. The Power Line Task Force, a citizens group, has been the main opponent of the proposed upgrade and cites a number of studies, including a recent draft report by the California Department of Health that says there is evidence EMFs might cause an added risk of childhood leukemia, adult brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease. Miscarriage, childhood brain cancer and Alzheimer's disease also were mentioned.

The Minnesota Department of Health's position, which Xcel follows, is that there is not enough evidence to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between EMF and adverse health effects" saying that while some studies have reported a "weak association between leukemia with increasing exposure to magnetic fields, others have reported no association. Existing laboratory studies have not substantiated this relationship (even at high exposure levels).

"As with many other environmental health issues, the possibility of a health risk from EMF cannot be entirely dismissed."

Chuck Stroebel, environmental scientist with the Health Department, says the department has been tracking the issue since 1979, and has taken into account the most recent studies the Power Line Task Force has cited, but the department's position has not changed.

While Xcel has agreed to reduce magnetic fields around the power line, the Power Line Task Force is still concerned that those levels will rise over time.

If that is the case, said Stroebel, there may be more research and studies done by then, and the department will continue to track the research.