ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210063
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PEMBROKE
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
Members of a citizens' group opposing American Electric Power's plan for a high-voltage power line through Giles County and other parts of the New River and Roanoke valleys were soothed Friday as U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher repeated his stand against the line.
Boucher, D-Abingdon, told about 80 people who attended his "town hall" meeting in Pembroke that he will work with them to stop the project.
"I have a sense ... that American Electric Power today realizes that this power line is in trouble," Boucher said. "AEP understands there is a tremendous amount of local opposition" by the affected counties.
But he cautioned that if the proposed line's route moves out of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, federal involvement stops.
"The real problem I think we're going to have is [with] those routes that do not cross Forest Service land," he said.
He encouraged power-line opponents to get their state legislators involved, particularly if the route shifts to avoid federal property.
Boucher's comments were just what the crowd - including members of the Giles-based Citizens Organized to Protect the Environment - wanted to hear. Many in the crowd sported stick-on badges that showed a power-line tower with a slash through it
Boucher has encouraged the utility to build smaller plants in coal-producing counties instead of the proposed 115-mile, 765-kilovolt line from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale in Botetourt County.
AEP has said the line is needed to prevent power shortages in parts of its Virginia and West Virginia service territory, including the New River and Roanoke valleys. But Boucher said AEP also would like to become an independent power producer to sell electricity to Richmond, Norfolk and Northern Virginia.
The State Corporation Commission gave preliminary approval to AEP's certificate of need for the new line in December, but asked the company to study an alternative that would avoid Craig County's Sinking Creek Valley and Roanoke's Carvins Cove reservoir. AEP filed an alternative with the SCC in March that would roughly parallel U.S. 460 through Giles County, cross Clover Hollow north of Newport, and enter Montgomery County in the Craig Creek Valley, where it would turn east toward Cloverdale.
Earlier this month, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., reported the U.S. Park Service had ruled out a proposed crossing of the New River in AEP's preferred route. That section of the river is under consideration for federal protection.
That could force the line onto the alternative route through Giles County. The Forest Service, as the lead federal agency, is studying the impact of the proposed line on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, the Appalachian Trail and the New River. That environmental impact statement is due by late June and will include a route recommendation.
Cliff Shaffer, chairman of the citizens' group, told Boucher the Forest Service should allow for an extended comment period and slow its review.
Boucher agreed extending the comment period would be a good idea, and said he will ask the Forest Service to do that. But he said he had confidence in the Forest Service process. "The focus should be not in delaying their process but making sure they have relevant information," he said.
The citizens' group will meet again at the Pembroke Fire Department's bingo hall at 7:30 p.m. on May 28. Boucher's opponent, Patrick Muldoon of Giles County, said he has been invited to attend that meeting. The group also will meet at 7:30 p.m. June 10 at the Giles County Courthouse in Pearisburg.
Bill Freeman, a member of the Giles County Board of Supervisors, suggested the power company should run the line through North Carolina into central Virginia. He thinks the power line would adversely affect tourism in the county at the Cascades and Mountain Lake.
Bob Williams, another Giles County supervisor, told Boucher that in February the new board voted 5-0 to oppose the power line and asked Boucher to endorse the resolution.
"You have my endorsement of that," Boucher responded. He then asked that the supervisors consider passing a resolution asking that the New River in Giles be placed in a study area for wild and scenic designation. If the river gains that status, it could help reroute the power line from Giles County
Shaffer said it was good to hear Boucher's opposition.
"Of course, we still have a lot of hard work before us. If enough people oppose it, it will die," Shaffer said, but opponents must "keep up the pressure."
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB