County landowners continue battle over power lines (Hampshire Review)
Don Kesner of The Hampshire Review sat down with four CVC members on Sunday to discuss the economic impact of Allegheny Power’s TrAIL power line on our area.
His story appeared in today’s edition (May 9, 2007) of The Hampshire Review. This excerpt appeared on the newspaper’s Web site, but will likely disappear in a week.
CAPON SPRINGS — Residents in River Ridge Estates near Capon Springs know they have very little chance winning their fight against a major power line scheduled to run through their development.
The $850 million, 240-mile power line proposed to be built by Dominion Energy of Richmond, Va., and Allegheny Power of Greensburg, Pa., would reportedly run from southwestern Pennsylvania’s coal country to growing northern Virginia.
A PJM planning group in May 2006 concluded that the 500-kilovolt line would serve the region’s most immediate need and could be built in five years.
But residents of River Ridge said Sunday afternoon that the project is moving fast, and that officials of the major energy companies are not concerned about who the line affects.
Ralph Wojtowicz has nearly $800,000 invested in a home he is currently building in River Ridge, and he has concerns about completing the project.
Too far into the building stage of his new home, Wojtowicz said it’s pertinent that he finish it.
But Wojtowicz said he has concerns about moving into the home when it is finished because of the large power lines that are projected to run near his residence.
“In early February my wife gave birth to twin boys at 27 weeks,” said Wojtowicz.
Getting the attention of the power companies, according to Wojtowicz, has been everything but successful.
“Trying to bring my situation to the attention of Allegheny Energy, public officials and reporters has cost me thousands of dollars that I should be spending on hospital bills,” he said.
But Wojtowicz isn’t standing alone in the fight against the energy companies.Bruce Rooney and Dan Lender are equally concerned about the effects the power lines will have on property values, as well as possible health risks.
“We don’t know what the health impacts will be, and it seems that no one can tell us,” said Lender.
Just the economic impact alone will be great for homeowners, as well as for Hampshire County, according to Lender.
Some homes in the River Ridge area top the $1 million mark and, according to Hampshire County Assessor Frank Whitacre, would generate approximately $5,000 per year in taxes.
“But we don’t have that many million dollar homes in the county, and there’s no way of knowing how many are going to be built in the future,” said Whitacre. “So to try to determine the amount of taxes the county would lose if the power line comes through would be impossible.”