The diverse opponents
of the proposed new TrAIL electric power transmission line are dedicated to
bringing a halt to the project. This 240 miles line includes 114 miles in West
Virginia and will consume an estimated 7500 acres of land
here.
The cooperating
organizations that oppose the line include the WV Environmental Council, the
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition, the Ft.
Martin Community Association, the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club,
Halleck - Triune Community Association, Laurel Run Watershed Association, WV
Highlands Conservancy, WV Inter-faith Global Climate Change Campaign, Capon
Valley Coalition, Laurel Mountain Preservation Association and others.
Don Corwin Jr,
President of the Halleck Community Association says that "West Virginians are
being forced into a position where we are giving up our property rights for a
power line that passes through the heart of our communities, does not benefit
us, and we have to pay for it. This is the ultimate example of bad business in
West Virginia."
Allegheny Energy
submitted an application for the transmission line in March. The 240-mile line
consists of 140-foot tall support towers and overhead wires carrying up to
500,000 volts. It would transport electricity from local power plants to the
east coast states.
Two proposed
transmission line routes through West Virginia have been submitted to the WV
Public Service Commission by Allegheny Energy. In either case, the line would
come south from Washington and Greene counties in Pennsylvania then pass through
the counties of Monongalia, Marion, possibly Taylor, Preston, Tucker, Grant, and
Hampshire in West Virginia, and then pass through northern Virginia.
Opposition to the line
is extremely strong in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. Allegheny Energy avoided
Maryland all together, apparently to avoid opposition in that state, despite the
fact that the shortest distance for this line would have been through Maryland
and not northern West Virginia.
Lew McDaniel of
the Laurel Run Watershed Association believes that “This really is a battle between
rural and urban America. We are a nation that fights wars over equal
values, which means a green space covered with trees deserves the same
consideration as a city lot covered with asphalt. Yet here we are trying to
preserve over 7000 acres of our property in the face of unbridled demand for
electricity in other states.
Primary concerns
of the groups are that:
(1) current
eminent domain rules and practices are not fair to property owners and other
residents since the right-of-way will be seized without just compensation for
reduced property values for all those near the line,
(2) land
disturbances will be extensive, surface and ground water flows will be affected,
the natural beauty of the region will be substantially degraded, and these
disturbance will prevail for many decades to come, essentially forever,
(3) a new line
will give added life to old power plants that generate extremely large volumes
of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas affecting climate change,
as well as other pollutants,
(4) and, of equal
significance, the line will not serve the electric customers of West Virginia in
spite of the fact that local electric bills are being increased already to pay
for the planning, permitting, engineering, construction and operation of this
line.
"I am not aware of any
previous application for a transmission line that has ever been turned down by
the WV PSC," said Jim Kotcon, President of the West Virginia Environmental
Council. "But there has never been such strong opposition from so many diverse
groups to such a transmission line. This one is truly a bad idea for West
Virginia, and Allegheny is proposing it simply because it is an easy way to make
money by gouging the ratepayers."
According to Bill
Golemon of the Capon Valley Coalition,
“Allegheny Power has not adequately considered other alternatives to the
power line or made a convincing case that it is really necessary.”
Concern is also
being expressed over the recent designation of 42 counties in West Virginia as
part of a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC), under the US
Energy Policy Act of 2005. The designated counties include Kanawha and
essentially all the State north of Kanawha. Federal eminent domain authority now
applies which supercedes State authority for high voltage electric transmission
lines, should the US Department of Energy decided to use the authority. These
regulations have not yet been tested in the federal courts, as the designation
attempts to overrule the rights of the States that may have constitutional
superiority.
The WV Public
Service Commission will hold extensive public hearings at 1:30 and 6:30 pm on
October 23rd in Morgantown, October 24th in Grafton, October 29th in Davis
(Tucker County), and October 30th in Moorefield; hearings will start at 9:00 am
on November 28th and 29th in Charleston. Anyone interested in the proposed power
line may appear at any of these public comment hearings and make statements if
relevant to the line, and/or send written comments to the Public Service
Commission, ATTN: Sandra Squire, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, WV 25323.
Correspondence should designate the TrAIL Case Number: 07-0508-E-CN.
See also the following
web site: www.notowersinwv.org
For further information, contact:
Duane Nichols, duane330@aol.com, 304-599-8040.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Contact
information for participating groups:
WV Environmental
Council Don
Garvin
2206 Washington Street,
East
www.wvecouncil.org
Charleston, WV
25311 304-414-0143
........................................................................................................................................
Ohio
Valley Environmental
Coalition Dianne
Bady
PO Box
6753 304-522-0246
Huntington, WV
25773-6753. ohvec@ezwv.com
.........................................................................................................................................
Mon
Valley Clean Air Coalition
Duane G. Nichols
P. O. Box
4679 Duane330@aolcom
Morgantown, WV
26504
304-216-5535
..........................................................................................................................................
Sierra
Club, WV
Chapter Barbara
Fallon
P. O. Box 4142
brbr_fallon@yahoo.com
Morgantown, WV 26504
304-292-3345
.........................................................................................................................................
Ft.
Martin Community
Association Rosemary
Eavenson
1634 Ft Martin
Road
304-599-6916
Maidsville, WV 26541 FortMartin1769@aol.com
.........................................................................................................................................
WV Interfaith
Global Climate Change
Campaign Wil
Reilly
115 Lakeside
Drive
Wjreilly99@yahoo.com
Morgantown, WV
26508
304-292-0001
..........................................................................................................................................
WV
Highlands
Conservancy
Frank Young
Route 1, Box 108 304-372-3945
Ripley, WV 25271
fyoung@mountain.net
...................................................................................................................................................
Halleck
- Triune Community
Association
Don Corwin, Jr.
Monongalia County,
WV
Decorwin@aol.com
www.notowersinwv.org 304-291-0886
...................................................................................................................................................
Laurel Run Watershed
Association Lew
McDaniel
Route 1 Box 252
lewmcdan@hrea.coop
Independence, WV
26374 304-288-4078
.................................................................................................................................................
Laurel Mountain Preservation
Association Art
Dodds, Montrose, WV www.laurelmountainpreservationassociation.org
pamart@meer.net
P. O. Box 217,
Montrose, WV 26283 304-823-1095
....................................................................................................................................................
Capon Valley
Coalition Bill
& Lynn Golemon
P. O. Box 127
billgolemon@frontiernet.net
Yellow Springs, WV
26865 304-856-1188
...................................................................................................................................................
Date: October 12, 2007