Handley to host public hearing on PATH line
* Breaking NewsIf local news is breaking and you know about it:
* Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos |
Recommend ThisBy Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER -- The State Corporation Commission plans to hold a public hearing later this week on the proposed PATH high-voltage power line.
The $2.1 billion Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline project calls for a 765-volt power line to span 275 miles from a substation near St. Albans, W.Va., through Virginia and ending at a facility in Frederick County, Md. Approximately 20 miles of the power line would go through southern Frederick County, Va. The route as proposed takes the line through Clarke and Loudoun counties as well.
The SCC will hold the public hearing at John Handley High School on Wednesday at 2 and 7 p.m., according to the agency. A formal hearing on the proposed project will be held in April in Richmond.
The SCC holds the hearings similar to proceedings in court wherein an examiner hears testimony from interested parties. A reporter records the minutes and the session becomes part of the record that SCC officials consider when making a ruling.
Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power representatives have stated future power needs in the Northeast call for the creation of PATH to supply that region with electricity.
Opponents have argued such a large-scale power line would harm property values and natural and historic resources along its route. Also, the data as provided by the utilities to the SCC do not support the backers' argument the need for the power line exists, opponents have said.
Senior Hearing Examiner Alexander F. Skirpan earlier this month ruled against a request by the project's backers to postpone scheduled hearings on the proposal. The utilities sought extra time to provide regulators with updated information on electricity use.
Skirpan kept the schedule intact out of fear any delay may cause the SCC to lose jurisdiction over the case to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Similar filings regarding the PATH project in West Virginia and Maryland are currently under consideration.
This marks the second time the utilities have sought approval for PATH. The SCC denied a request to delay the proceedings in the first application in 2009. The utilities eventually withdrew the first application.
1 
run it thru berryville and clarke co, it will be an asthetic improvement to the asphalt plant clark county rubberstamped / approved behind the old house i lovingly restored , / since they had no problem negating the zoneing , open space agracultural , thru a specal use permit then the power line should be easy to get approved im am glad i left that place my opinion
what a bunch of morons
scott flues