Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of thepublic service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be inthepublicinterest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
In Lake Village, Arkansas, a grant-aided project to renovate and study Lakeport, the last remaining cotton plantation inthe state, has aroused little publicinterest.