Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411210042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The agency, with the aid of a hired consultant, continues to sift through information pouring in almost daily from concerned citizens and other agencies. It is too early to say whether the deadline needs to be changed or by how much, forest special project coordinator Frank Bergmann said.
Thursday, after a meeting with power line foes, forest supervisor Joy Berg had indicated to a reporter that the environmental impact statement might have to be delayed. She said she had not received an update from New Jersey-based Woodward-Clyde Consultants, which is preparing the report under forest supervision. Apco is paying for the work.
Forest spokesman Dave Olson said that Berg, after reading Friday's Roanoke Times & World-News story about the meeting, told him she had been misquoted and that she had not delayed the report.
Berg was traveling Friday and could not be reached for comment.
The Jefferson has twice delayed the report in the past few years to respond to the constant influx of public comments and expanding scope of the study, Bergmann said.
As part of the environmental impact statement required by federal law, the forest has drawn a web of corridors as alternatives to Apco's preferred route for the 765,000-volt power line, which would connect its Wyoming, W.Va., and Cloverdale substations.
Eight groups in both states have organized to fight the power line, which they say would harm the environment, damage property values and pose a health threat.
Apco says the power line is necessary to provide reliable electricity to its customers, and must be in place by 1998 to avoid the potential for power failures.
The line would cross about 15 miles of federal land, and the forest service must grant permission before it can be built.
The Jefferson should know by the second week of December whether the draft will have to be delayed, Bergmann said.
by CNB