Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 5, 1992 TAG: 9202050378
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
APCO EXPECTS HEARING DELAY
The State Corporation Commission is expected to grant a three-month delay for its hearing on substantive issues in Appalachian Power Co.'s proposed high-voltage power line.The SCC has not released an official order delaying the April hearing, but attorneys involved in the matter have been conferring on acceptable dates to bring expert witnesses to Richmond.
July 7 is the agreed date for the delayed hearing, according to information received by Charles Simmons, Apco vice president for construction and maintenance. He said he has not seen an SCC ruling, "but attorneys have been working back and forth on an acceptable hearing date."
Public witnesses are expected to testify at what likely will be a one-day hearing April 6 in Richmond and that will be extended to July, Simmons said.
William Bilenky, attorney for opponents of the line, said Tuesday that an SCC staff member told him the hearing would be delayed from April to July.
A hearing slated for April 2 at New Castle will be held as scheduled, Bilenky said. The field hearing is to be held for residents and organizations to comment on the plan to bring a 765,000-volt line from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale.
At the July hearing in Richmond, attorneys for both sides will question expert witnesses about the environment and health and safety issues related to the line. Bilenky guessed that hearing may last three or more days.
Bilenky, representing organizations from Roanoke and Craig counties, said earlier that he needed more time for essential studies and to prepare his case. He said that Apco has had years to prepare its case, and that the utility has said the line will not be needed until the late 1990s.
Both Apco and Virginia Power, partners in the project, opposed delaying the hearing. Apco's information has been on file with the SCC since August, Simmons said earlier.
Tuesday, Simmons said he sees no purpose for the delay, but his company will live with the decision and present its case at the hearings.
The Roanoke County Preservation League and the Citizens to Preserve Craig County have been selling quilts and conducting other projects to raise money to support their own expert witnesses. The Roanoke County group has been meeting in different communities to gather support for its opposition.
Apco has said the line is essential for the economic growth of Western Virginia in the latter part of this decade.