Capon Valley Coalition

The Observer Publishing Co. of McMurray, Pa., reports today on Allegheny Power plans to run the high-voltage power line known ever so quaintly as TrAIL through Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Read along and see if any of Allegheny Power’s tactics sound … well … familiar.

Allegheny Power officials say there is a demonstrated need for additional power from southwestern Pennsylvania to the northern Virginia corridor, and as a result a new North Strabane substation and 240-mile mega-transmission line will be built from Pennsylvania to Virginia. …

Approvals from state and federal agencies will be required, but Allegheny Power says it was these agencies which notified the company of the power grid deficiencies in the first place.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. The letter we saw from Gov. Joe Manchin to Allegheny Power said he and his staff had “reviewed” the plans and thought they benefited everyone. (He’s dead wrong, and we are letting him know that. You should, too.) But there was nothing in the letter thanking Allegheny Power for coming to the rescue. It sounds an awful lot like they came to him. Not the same as WV notifying Allegheny Power of deficiencies.

Let’s move on. (But just note the discrepancy. And by the way, one of our problems with Allegheny Power is their absolute refusal to provide evidence for their statements.)

While Allegheny Power has dedicated a Web site to the project, (www.aptrailinfo.com), it has yet to approach North Strabane officials with a proposal that can be examined and evaluated, said Township Manager Frank Siffrinn. “The company does own property in North Strabane and 4-5 different alignments have been looked at,” Siffrinn said. “But we’ve heard nothing on preferred alignments and they have not submitted a plan.

How about that? Does it sound familiar? Did Allegheny Power knock on the doors of the Hampshire and Hardy County Commissions BEFORE the Capon Valley Coalition and all of our great supporters started questioning this? I don’t recall that.

A meeting is planned with Allegheny Power and North Strabane officials on March 14. That meeting won’t be open to the public, but Siffrinn said township officials hope to have a better idea of Allegheny Power’s intent afterwards.

A closed door meeting with the elected representatives of the people who will be most affected? So that’s how Allegheny Power does business. Somehow, we are not surprised.

You can read the entire article about the folks up in Pennsylvania on TheAlmanac.net.