ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609230030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PEARISBURG
SOURCE: CLAYTON BRADDOCK STAFF WRITER|
The Giles County Board of Supervisors wants to make certain American Electric Power Co. gets the message about the county's opposition to its proposed 765,000-volt power line.
In a resolution approved Thursday, the board said it wants AEP to understand that opposition means don't tread on Giles County. Though the utility's preferred power-line route avoids the New River Valley, several alternative corridors pass through Giles and Montgomery counties.
The supervisors commended George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Supervisor Bill Damon for his stand against allowing the power line to enter forest territory. But they want AEP to understand its meaning.
Damon's draft environmental impact statement, released in June, means that the "No Action Alternative" is the U.S. Forest Service's clear choice, the supervisors' resolution stated.
The resolution was proposed by Cliff Shaffer, principal spokesman for Citizens Organized to Protect the Environment, a Giles-based power-line opposition group.
The intent of such a resolution is to help deter any effort to alter the language and direction of the impact statement, Shaffer said.
If even a small piece of the forest land were to be allowed for power-line construction, such a change would be harmful and counter to Damon's decision, he said.
In other business, the board:
Delayed until Sept. 25 plans to examine proposed boundaries in the ongoing debate between the county Board of Supervisors and Pearisburg over annexation. A resolution amending an agreement between Town Council and the board is also on the agenda.
Approved spending $960 to gather names for the countywide E-911 emergency program requested by Katherine Smith, program director.
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