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

DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993                   TAG: 9306240318
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LARRY W. BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

APCO: DESIGNATION AND LINE CAN COEXIST

Appalachian Power Co. President Joseph H. Vipperman told a congressional subcommittee Tuesday that the utility isn't opposed to making the New River a Wild and Scenic River if there's a provision that allows a proposed high-voltage line to cross the river if the utility gets all the proper permits.

Designating the New River through West Virginia and into Giles County, wild and scenic could bar Apco from building the power line by prohibiting construction that spans the waterway.

Vipperman suggested several conditions to the designation:

That the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and the Virginia State Corporation Commission approve the need for the line and its route.

That Apco, once in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, be granted any federal permits it needs to build the power line.

That the National Park Service allow the construction once it determines that the utility has done its best to minimize the line's scenic and recreational impact on the river segment.

Since it was proposed two years ago, Apco and environmentalists have been at odds over the 110-mile, 765-kilovolt power line. Last year, Apco was stalled when a study was begun to determine if the New River deserved wild and scenic status.

Citizens have argued that the line's electromagnetic field and constant noise would result in health effects and that the line would mar the beauty of the mountains.

The power company says the line is needed for electricity that will be required by the late 1990s for Apco customers and those of Virginia Power in more populous eastern Virginia.

by CNB