ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609130076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors reiterated its 2-year-old stand Monday supporting American Electric Power Co.'s preferred route for a 765,000-volt power line from West Virginia to Cloverdale.
The supervisors stood behind a Sept. 12, 1994, resolution rather than adopt a more loosely worded update proposed by Chairman Henry Jablonski.
Jablonski represents Montgomery County on the New River Valley Planning District Commission, a regional advisory body that will consider its own power line resolution later this month. Jablonski sought comments from the Montgomery board before that vote.
The issue is relevant in the Blacksburg area because several power-line corridors pass through northern Montgomery County, including one that would cut right through the Preston Forest subdivision and neighborhoods along Mount Tabor and Catawba roads.
The county's 1994 resolution supports the power company's preferred route, which would take the 115-power line across 12 miles of national forest land and avoid the New River Valley altogether.
Though the proposed new resolution didn't specifically say so, it also supported that route, saying that Montgomery County "includes areas which might otherwise be crossed by the proposed power line."
Several members of the public urged the county board to table Jablonski's resolution until stronger language could be added that specifically opposes the Montgomery County alternatives.
"This route through Montgomery County has some serious environmental impacts. There's no wall between the [national] forest and Preston Forest. What's bad for the national forest is bad for Preston Forest," said Brad Klein. He expressed concerns about power lines sagging as much as 30 feet because of heat; about the noise from the lines; and about the possibility of defoliants and other contaminants affecting groundwater quality.
In June, the U.S. Forest Service issued a draft environmental impact statement that recommended a "no-build decision." Forest Service Supervisor Bill Damon ruled that the power line would have too profound an effect on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
A decision on whether the power line could be built on private land - in order to avoid the national forest land - is up to the State Corporation Commission.
The supervisors saw no need to adopt Jablonski's new resolution when their 1994 version seemed to have more meat on it.
"This doesn't say anything, really ," Supervisor Joe Gorman said of the new version. For instance, wording that suggested the most economical route could be regarded as subjective, he said. "Why should we put something else out that dilutes our position?"
The '94 resolution minimizes impact on private land and disrupts fewer people, Gorman said.
Besides supporting AEP's preferred route, the 1994 stand also states that should any other route be considered, the supervisors recommend that the entire public-comment process be reopened.
Supervisor Joe Stewart voted against the resolution. He said it would support the construction of the line instead of merely expressing a position. Stewart said a large power line runs through some of his property and "I would never support building. I'd never wish that on nobody, I don't care who it is."
Supervisor Jim Moore, who originally voted against the 1994 resolution, was the one who suggested that resolution be reapproved Monday. He said it would "support a line completely outside Preston Forest out of Montgomery County." In 1994, Moore opposed the resolution because he said he was concerned that the residents of his district, which covers much of northeast Montgomery, were being denied due process.
In other business, the supervisors met in executive session for about an hour to discuss County Administrator Betty Thomas. The board has met several times on this topic but members have said the discussions are part of a regular review process. Thomas recently returned to work after taking six weeks off to recuperate from surgery. The board adjourned from its regular meeting room that abuts county administration offices to a fourth-floor jury room for the discussion. Members did the same thing in 1994, during the last review.
The supervisors adjourned without taking any action.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB