Capon Valley Coalition

Willard “Bill” Wirtz, U.S. Secretary of Labor under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and a part-time resident of the Capon Valley in Yellow Spring, has written a moving letter to U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller supporting the Capon Valley Coalition position on TrAIL.

(Mr. Wirtz made a copy of his letter available to us and is allowing us to post it on the CVC Web site.)

Mr. Wirtz developed something of a love affair with the Capon Valley in the 1960s and wrote a delightful history of it under the title, “Capon Valley Sampler: Sketches of Appalachia from George Washington to Caudy Davis.”

Here are some excerpts from his letter:

The company already has one power line across the valley. They are apparently maintaining that “homeland security” requires that they have another and that it not parallel the one they already have. I don’t believe this can be supported. …

I don’t suppose it matters that these two counties are where George Washington did the heart of his surveying. This was in 1750 and the proposed high voltage routes all cut across the lots he laid out. …

I know that I am only saying what hundreds of people here in this valley feel very, very deeply. We seem helpless against a powerful corporation seeking to misuse the power of eminent domain. [Emphasis added.] It becomes a basic issue of democracy’s meaning. …

You have a meeting scheduled with the Capon Valley Coalition. Suffice it perhaps to say that I join fervently in what they will be saying.

ROCKEFELLER MEETING FRIDAY (March 2)

A delegation from the Capon Valley Coalition will meet Friday (March 2) with two members of Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s staff to present copies of our petitions — that’s why it’s important to sign the petition — and to brief them on the vigorous opposition in West Virginia to Allegheny Power’s ill-conceived and unjustified power line.

Watch the Web site for a report on the meeting.

One of our observant members in Independence, WV — yes, we have them all over the place — has found disturbing evidence that West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin supports Allegheny Power’s TrAIL power line.

On Oct. 3, 2006, Manchin wrote U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman to “encourage” him to “designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors that coincide with the paths of … the Trans-Allegheny (TrAIL) project.”

He noted:

“My staff and I have reviewed both of these projects and spoken at length with AEP and AP officials regarding the benefits of the lines — benefits to the citizens of West Virginia as well as millions of citizens of other states. I support both of these projects.”

He may have “spoken at length” with a bunch of hired guns from the electric companies, but he obviously never bothered to talk to any West Virginia voters! Because we would have asked him about those so-called benefits.

You can read his entire letter at the Department of Energy Web site. Click on the “View 177″ link to open the letter. (It requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.)

Or you can read it here. (We included the link so everyone can see where we found the letter.)

MAKE MANCHIN CHANGE HIS MIND

He needs to hear from those of us who will be dramatically affected by the “benefits” of this power line. And he needs to hear from us right now.

You can find all of his contact information — phone number, email, street address — on the Take Action page. It also has tips on what to write. So get writing.

It’s time for the governor to write another letter. This time, he needs to say NO to TrAIL.

TELL ENERGY DEPARTMENT NO TO TrAIL

If you would like to send a comment to the U.S. Department of Energy opposing TrAIL, it’s not too late!

You should refer to “Opposition to PJM Allegheny National Corridor Designation” in your email subject line, letter or phone call.

Comments go to:

Ms. Poonum Agrawal

Manager, Markets and Technical Integration

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability

U.S. Department of Energy

poonum.agrawal@hq.doe.gov

Phone: 202-586-6048

Fax: 202-586-1472

Lynn Golemon and Priscilla Ireys will carry the Capon Valley Coalition message of saying NO to TrAIL to Charleston on Friday (March 2).

Armed with petitions, flyers, a large copy of the TrAIL Map and a slide show developed by the Coalition, the intrepid duo will represent us at E-DAY at the Capitol, sponsored by the West Virginia Environmental Council.

Our show-and-tell will join others from about 30 environmental organizations and sustainable businesses in the House and Senate Halls and Upper Rotunda of the State Capitol.

The displays will be available and members of the organizations will lobby their elected representatives from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Lynn and Priscilla will be exposing our organization and our message not only to representatives of the 30 environmental groups but to members of the State Senate and Assembly as well.

Allegheny Power asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to raise electric rates effecitve June 1, 2007, to pay for building the TrAIL power line.

The filing is 227 pages long (1,897 KB PDF file).

The Capon Valley Coalition is currently reading it and will report our findings soon. In the meantime, feel free to download it and read it yourself. (Good luck with that.)

If you do read it, we invite your feedback. Write us at caponvalleycoalition@yahoo.com.

A delegation from the Capon Valley Coalition met with two staffers at Sen. Robert Byrd’s office on Friday (Feb. 23). Here are their reports:

From Lynn Golemon:

We had a very communicative day yesterday with Senator Byrd’s office. Both with Brian Booth and Paul Gay, who are two of his legislative assistants.

We left with no specific promises, however we did impart much information to them, and they seemed to hear us loud and clear. They assured us that they will pass along our concerns to Senator Byrd.

We were informed that the most impact we will have on Senator Byrd is to encourage individuals to write individual letters, explaining their concerns and the losses they will incur. So – please pass this along to any and everyone you know and ask them to do that.

From John Anderson, chairman of our Federal Outreach Committee:

We met with Bryan Booth and Paul Gay. Both of them spent a lot of time with us, listened carefully and attentively, and I think both will be good to work with.

We asked four things of Senator Byrd and they said they will get back to us about our requests. Our requests were developed in consultation with the lead legal expert working with the Piedmont Environment Council, Lyn Coleman.

Byrd’s staff asked us to draft a letter for Senator Byrd to Secretary Bodman that would pose specific questions to Secretary Bodman. We will do that.

The most impressive things about the meeting to me were the folks from our coalition. Everyone who attended the meeting was articulate, passionate, and persuasive. For me, it is an honor to be a part of such a diverse and intelligent group that cares about so much more than their own personal interests.

I will add additional reports as other members of the delegation report in.

Check back here often for the latest news.

AND WRITE TO SEN. BYRD. Address and writing tips on the “Action” page.