APCO POWER-LINE OPPONENTS ASK FOR HEARING DELAY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 28, 1992                   TAG: 9201280406
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BY GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
APCO POWER-LINE OPPONENTS ASK FOR HEARING DELAY
Roanoke and Craig counties' opponents of Appalachian Power Co.'s proposed high-voltage power line are seeking a three-month delay in State Corporation Commission hearings, set for early April.
In response, Apco and Virginia Power have urged the SCC to go ahead with its scheduled April 2 hearing in New Castle and another in Richmond, starting April 6.
William Bilenky, attorney for the opposing residents of Roanoke and Craig counties, says he needs more time for studies that are essential to his case.
Bilenky calls his request an issue of "fundamental fairness." Apco "is pushing so hard" for the proposed 765,000-volt line from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale, he said, "and they don't need it until 1998. . . . Three months won't affect their timetable."
A three-month delay "will still put pressure on our people to get things done," Bilenky said. Pre-filed testimony for the hearings is due at the SCC by Feb. 17 .
"They want to keep us from doing studies," Bilenky said. The two county organizations have decided that they have the money for additional studies.
Ernst Kastning, a Radford University professor who has done work on the karst type of topography in the power-line corridor, has been hired for hydrology studies, according to Eric Day, a spokesman for the Citizens to Preserve Craig County. Brenda Williams of Newport and Jane Johnson of Craig County will study the historical aspects of the power-line corridor, Day said.
To avoid additional expense for Apco to advertise a delayed hearing, Bilenky said, he suggested that the field hearing at New Castle be held as scheduled and that it be extended for three months for a later Richmond hearing.
Charles Simmons, Apco vice president for construction and maintenance, said, "We don't see where anybody will benefit" from a delay. Apco's testimony has been filed since August, he said, "and the information is there."
The decision on hearing dates will be made by Howard Anderson, an SCC examiner assigned to the case.
The issue needs to move on for the utility and as well as to clear up uncertainty for landowners, Simmons said.
Environmental evidence on ways to mitigate the effects of the line was filed in early December and time is needed to prepare a response, Bilenky said.
Simmons said Bilenky has known the proposed route ever since Apco's testimony was filed in August.
Virginia Power, a partner with Apco in the overall power-line project, also has objected to any delay. "Our concern is that any delay in Apco hearings could result in delay" for the entire program, according to Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for the Richmond utility.
Hearings on Virginia Power's proposed line from Lynchburg to near Richmond are set for April 23 and 27. The two utilities' projects "are moving in lockstep," Norvelle said. "Any delays in their case could result in delays in ours."
Expert witnesses already have scheduled days off to testify in the cases, Norvelle added.
Meanwhile, the Roanoke County Preservation League, another organization formed to stop the high-voltage line, will meet at 7 p.m. today at Mason Cove Elementary School and at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 with the Red Lane Civic League at Bethel Assemblies of God Church in Salem.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB