Progress Holding Allegheny Power TrAIL At Bay
Over Easter weekend in Wardensville, we ran into someone who asked if Capon Valley Coalition was giving up, now that Allegheny Power has proposed a single route for its 500-megavolt power line.
Heck, no. We’re just getting started … and we’ve had a very good start.
- More than 750 supporters in our database
- More than 700 people have signed the petition to stop Allegheny Power
- More than 225 email addresses
Both the Hampshire County and Hardy County commissioners have passed resolutions opposing Allegheny Power.
We have met with the staffs of Sen. Robert Byrd, Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. We are providing them with information, and we are making it clear we expect them to support their constituents in Eastern West Virginia.
We have also met with the local staff of Gov. Joe Manchin and conducted numerous phone conversations with staff at the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
We have received news coverage from the newspapers in Moorefield, Romney and Cumberland as well as West Virginia Public Radio.
We have a Web site up and running and a bulk email program that can reach all of our supporters who have email addresses.
That’s in just three months, folks, on a budget of absolutely ZERO!
Bottom line: On Dec. 30, the day before Allegheny Power shut off comment on their plans to run this power line through our communities, no one in the state knew how the residents, property owners and businesses of Hampshire and Hardy Counties felt about this invasion of our land. Now everybody knows: We say NO to Allegheny Power and TrAIL.
And we’re just starting.
You think Alleghey Power hasn’t noticed? They have! That’s why they ran the full-page ad in the Hampshire Review “thanking” people for input. Never mind that they ignored the input.
NEXT STEPS
With Allegheny Power’s formal filing of the application to build the power line in West Virginia, our focus is turning to the W.V. Public Service Commission, the various state offices that will work on the application … and Gov. Manchin.
CVC Cochairman Bill Golemon — Bill was volunteered for the post at a meeting of the steering committee on Saturday — and member Grady Bradfield hope to exchange a few words with the Governor on Wednesday at a function in Charleston.
CVC is also planning to hire an attorney to represent our interests before the Public Service Commission. We have culled our list of potential lawyers to two and expect to make a decision in the new week or so.
We have also begun the process of incorporating the Coalition as a non-profit entity so that we can accept donations. (We have actually collected $500 in checks already, and steering committee members have spend more than $1,000 out of their own pockets on expenses.)
WE NEED YOU …
To write letters.
We know we sound like a broken record, but you do have power. Politicians and bureaucrats alike pay attention to voters.
Write to the West Virginia Public Service Commission and tell them you oppose Allegheny Power’s TrAIL project. Be sure to send a copy to Gov. Manchin as well.
It does not have to be a long letter. It does not have to be technical. It carries more impact when it comes in your words.
If you feel tongue-tied, we have letter-writing tips on our Take Action page.
Down the road, we will be asking for donations. Not everyone will be able to donate even a few dollars, but everybody can write a letter.