ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 22, 1996 TAG: 9602220019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PEARISBURG
SOURCE: CLAYTON BRADDOCK STAFF WRITER
Giles County citizens sent a surge of "people power" to American Electric Power this week.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed two resolutions saying that the board and local residents don't want a 765-kilovolt power line passing through their area.
AEP plans to build the 115-mile line between Oceana, W.Va., and Cloverdale in Botetourt County.
The supervisors oppose construction of the new power line "on any route that crosses into or through" the county, one resolution said.
The crowd that packed the board's chambers agreed with applause and whistles.
This is not the first time the Giles Board has opposed the power line, though it is the first time newly elected board members have voted on the issue.
In one of two separate resolutions Tuesday, the supervisors said: "The line would be detrimental to property owners, the environment and to the economic well being of the county."
The board also told the AEP - formerly Appalachian Power Co. - that officials there have "so far failed to provide information regarding the need for the transmission line" and that alternatives, such as upgrading a power plant in Glen Lyn, have not been given adequate consideration.
The company has said the line is needed to prevent power shortages in its service territory by 1998.
The supervisors also asked that requests for information from the county come through the Virginia State Corporation Commission instead of AEP.
AEP had requested information from the board regarding the proposed route.
In December, the SCC had agreed that the power line could be the best way to meet Virginians' need for more electricity by the end of the century.
"Where do we go from here?" asked Cliff Shaffer, a county resident and a computer science professor at Virginia Tech, after the resolutions had passed.
David Brady, a Clover Hollow resident who has studied the power line from the beginning, said the supervisors "should make it hard to go through Giles County."
"This thing is going to come roaring down on us and do a lot of damage to homes and farms," said Tony Brobson, another Clover Hollow resident.
In other business, the board:
Approved payment of service contracts on the proposed countywide E-911 telephone plan.
Took no action on the Public Service Authority's new effort to clarify a water purchase agreement. Board members were concerned about long-term payment for bulk sale of water provided by the PSA and the rates that would be charged to users.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB