Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 4, 1995 TAG: 9502060044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mark it on your calendar, but use a pencil: The new due date for the long-awaited environmental report on Appalachian Power Co.'s planned transmission line is Oct. 20.
The Jefferson National Forest announced the date Friday.
``I think we've got it pretty well covered; I think we're going to make it,'' said Ken Landgraff, the Jefferson's planning officer. He added that because the agency is continuing to take comments from the public, there's always a chance something else will come up that requires more study.
The draft report, which promises to be a hefty volume replete with maps, charts and tables, has been delayed three times since mid-1992, the original publication date. The latest deadline was Feb. 28.
Meanwhile, the forest has been reviewing reams of comments from the public that came after it unveiled a web of alternative corridors for the proposed 765,000-volt line.
Apco says it wants to build the 115-mile power line from West Virginia to its Cloverdale substation to provide reliable power to its customers. Opponents in both states charge the line will allow Apco to sell power to eastern utilities, while damaging the environment and rural lifestyles of Appalachian communities.
``As we've said all along, the environmental impacts [of the power line] are enormous, and the magnitude is finally dawning on the Forest Service,'' said Jim Loesel, an agency watchdog who has teamed up with the opponents.
Charles Simmons, vice president of Apco and chief project manager, was not optimistic the date would be met.
``Past performance wouldn't give you 100 percent confidence,'' Simmons said.
In a letter to Simmons on Friday, U.S. Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas said he would try to make sure the draft came out on time.
The forest will continue to take public input, but urged citizens to send comments by March 20. Any information received after that will be incorporated in the final report, but not the draft report. After Oct. 20, the public will have 90 days to comment on the draft.
Jefferson supervisor Joy Berg has said she will not issue the final report until government commissions in Virginia and West Virginia rule on whether the line is needed.
Landgraff said the forest will spend the next eight months expanding work on mapping, doing simulations of the line's impact on scenic views, adding natural and cultural resources to the inventory base and completing work on the impact on private lands within the forest's alternative corridors.
One key focus of the work will be evaluating the unique ``cultural attachment'' that people have to Peters Mountain, the ridgetop that divides Virginia and West Virginia and harbors several small rural communities. Landgraff said the project's consultant has hired a subcontractor to work exclusively on the Peters Mountain issue.
Simmons said the delays mean the line, if approved, won't be built until after 2000, putting Apco customers at increased risk of potential brownouts and blackouts. He said the utility has made changes to some transmission lines to reduce the risk, but can do no more.
by CNB