Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060149
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bill Bilenky, the line opponents' lawyer, said Wednesday he will file an "exception" to the December recommendation by the state examiner that the commission approve Appalachian Power Co.'s project.
The opponents are asking the state commission to dismiss Apco's application and "go back and do it right," Bilenky said.
Apco's proposal to build a 115-mile transmission line from West Virginia to Cloverdale, stretching across Craig, Botetourt and Roanoke counties, is based on old data, Bilenky wrote in the 81-page document.
Also, the hearing examiner's decision ignores a "preponderance of evidence," Bilenky said, that electromagnetic fields from such lines increase the likelihood of leukemia in children living near them.
Lastly, the examiner's own recommendation, made Dec. 2, said the line would mar the landscape in Craig County, but that the need for the line took precedence.
"If you can't mitigate it, you can't use the route. It's as simple as that," Bilenky said.
Apco has said the 765,000-volt line - the largest kind of transmission lines - is necessary to provide reliable power to its customers.
The company has said if the line is not built by 1998, the chance of power brownouts and blackouts in Western Virginia and West Virginia will increase.
Bilenky represents Arcs Inc., a non-profit coalition of opponent groups in both states. Although the opponents' arguments have been rejected by the state several times before, Bilenky said Wednesday that those decisions were made by the hearing examiner, Howard Anderson, Jr.
Today's filing will go directly to the three-member commission, Bilenky said. The commission is under no deadline to make its final determination.
"We're optimistic. I'm serious when I say that," he said.
by CNB