Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412100050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The SCC denied Apco's September request that the commission go ahead and tentatively decide the need for the 765-kilovolt line and approve a route for it later.
Opponents have argued the SCC lacked the legal authority to do that; but without ruling on their argument, the commission concluded "that a determination as to the need for a particular project should rarely, if ever, be made completely independently of the health, safety and environmental impacts of the project along its proposed route."
The commission's action likely means final state and federal regulatory decisions on the line's fate will face more delay.
Apco Vice President Charles Simmons said he was surprised and disappointed by the commission's decision. Simmons said he hoped the ruling meant the SCC wants to move forward to decide the whole issue.
Roanoke-based Appalachian asked the SCC for permission to build the line more than three years ago, saying it was needed to meet the demand of its customers and prevent power outages.
An SCC hearing officer recommended last December that the commission approve Apco's plans for the line. The line, which will run 115 miles from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale in Botetourt County, will also have to be approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission before it can be built.
The state's decision has been delayed by a federal study of the impact of the line on the Jefferson National Forest and the New River. The Forest Service, which is conducting the environmental study, has said the SCC must decide if the line is needed before the agency can complete its study.
The completion of a draft environmental impact statement will not be affected by the state's Tuesday decision, but Jefferson National Forest Supervisor Joy Berg said the Forest Service would not issue a final report and decision on whether Apco's proposed location for the line - which crosses 12 miles of national forest - is suitable until the state rules on the line's need.
The Forest Service's self-imposed deadline for completing the draft environmental study is Feb. 28, but Berg said Thursday that date may be changed and she doesn't mean the draft will be done sooner. "We're looking at the tasks that still need to be done and the time to do them," she said.
Apco's proposed route for the line in Virginia runs through Craig and Roanoke counties, but the Forest Service has developed alternative routes as a part of its environmental study that also pass through Giles and Montgomery counties. Residents of those counties have sued the Forest Service, asking to be given the same right to participate in the study that was given to the residents of Craig and Roanoke counties.
Robert Zacker of Linside, W.Va., executive director of Arcs Inc., a two-state coalition of citizens' groups opposed to the Apco project, welcomed news of the SCC's decision. He said Apco has used the strategy of separating need from location in the past, and state regulatory agencies have recognized the opportunity for abuse that it provides.
Opponents view the project as "driven by invalid commercial motive" and remain opposed to it regardless of the route chosen, Zacker said. Opponents have argued the purpose of the line is to sell excess power from Apco and other American Electric Power Co. subsidiaries to power-hungry utilities in the Northeast.
Jeff Janosko of Roanoke, a power-line opponent, said he was pleased the SCC had "seen fit to abide by state law." He said he expects the commission's refusal to go along with Apco to delay the line by as much as two years. Without the SCC pushing things along, the Forest Service will slow down and do a more thorough job on its environmental study, he predicted.
by CNB