Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 3, 1993 TAG: 9312040121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Opponents of Appalachian Power Co.'s project called the recommendation a setback. Company officials called it a step forward. Both said the three-year battle over the proposed 765,000-volt line will continue.
"It's a big day. Of course, we're not there yet," Apco spokesman Richard K. Burton said before a news conference.
The three-member commission still must make a final decision on the line, which would run 115 miles from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale. The commission's counterpart in West Virginia also must approve the line, and the Jefferson National Forest must complete an environmental impact statement before Apco can begin construction.
But the mood was cheerful at Apco offices Thursday as Charles Simmons, vice president for construction and maintenance, answered questions from the media.
"The hearing examiner was in agreement with us on virtually almost every point," he said.
Those points include:
The line will be needed by 1999 to provide reliable power at peak times to Apco's customers.
Apco's energy conservation programs cannot deter the need for the transmission line.
Apco has increased the capacity of its existing lines as much as possible.
The line is needed to help independent power producers compete in the market. Under federal law, utilities such as Apco must provide transmission for small producers. Apco is setting aside 25 percent of the proposed line for that purpose.
Multiple studies about the health effects from electromagnetic fields generated by high-voltage lines are inconclusive, at best.
"Surprise, surprise," said opponent Jeff Janosko of the hearing examiner's decision. "We were expecting this all along."
Janosko, a Roanoke County resident whose home would be condemned by the line, is chairman of Arcs Inc., a nonprofit group of opponents from both states.
Waiting outside Apco's Roanoke office to hold his own impromptu news conference, Janosko said Arcs will appeal to the state Supreme Court any decision by the State Corporation Commission in favor of the line.
The group is focusing its efforts to organize opposition in West Virginia, where the Public Service Commission has twice dismissed Apco's application and demanded more information.
Opponents say the line would ruin scenic vistas, threaten public health and cause environmental damage.
The hearing examiner, Howard P. Anderson, Jr., wrote in his recommendation that "this project could hardly be at a more detrimental location for Craig County . . . [and] will have a significant impact on what is otherwise a relatively unmarred landscape. However, this is an instance in which the greater good must be recognized and given greater weight."
At the request of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, he recommends shifting the proposed route so the line would cross the national scenic trail at the same place the trail crosses Virginia 621 in Craig County.
Simmons said Apco will resubmit its West Virginia application next year, closer to the anticipated September release of the U.S. Forest Service's draft environmental impact statement. The federal agency has said a final statement will come in February 1995.
Another potential obstacle in West Virginia is a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 23 that would grant scenic river status to a part of the New River near the West Virginia-Virginia border.
If the Senate approves the measure within a year, the U.S. Park Service would be added to the list of agencies evaluating the route. Apco has said approval still could be obtained.
Estimated cost of the project is between $240 million and $250 million. Apco hopes to energize the line at the end of 1998.
Spokesman Ken Schrad said the commission usually makes a final decision within two months of an examiner's recommendation. But he stressed that this application is complex and unique, and hinges on several other factors.
by CNB