Capon Valley Coalition

CVC Cochairmen Bill Golemon and Mitch Story sent along their impressions of the meeting in Wardensville last night.

We plan to do a comprehensive summary of the questions asked and the answers given, but it may take us a day or so to get it done. It was a long meeting — two and a half hours — and a lot can be said in that amount of time. Check back here often until you see it.

So here are the first impressions:

Bottom line: Bill — I think we got a lot of people’s attention. We definitely have the Governor’s attention and the legislators in the northeastern counties here (Hardy, Hampshire and the three Panhandle counties) are listening. … Mitch — The turnout was very good. … We didn’t end until 9:30. Bill did a great job!

Great crowd: Between 100 and 120 people attended, filling the community hall of the War Memorial Building and overflowing into the vestibule.

Speakers & Guests: Billy Jack Gregg of the West Virginia Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in our state. Bri West of Piedmont Environmental Council, a leader of the opposition to TrAIL in Northern Virginia. State Senator Clark Barnes (Elkins). Delegate Stan Shaver (Preston and Tucker Counties) who has been one of the leaders opposing the line since the beginning. Hampshire & Hardy County Commissioners.

Press coverage: Moorefield Examiner.

Reasons for hope: Two things Bill Jack Gregg said that gives reason to believe that we, and others like us, can stop Allegheny Power and the TrAIL power line:

Capon Valley Coalition, on behalf of more than 800 persons who signed the CVC petition, filed a letter opposing Allegheny Power’s plan to build a destructive high-voltage power line through the Capon Valley communities in Hampshire and Hardy Counties.

CVC Chairman Bill Golemon sent the letter along with a copy of the petition and a spreadsheet containing the names and addresses of the signers to the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

PSC has placed the filing in TrAIL docket, and the commission now knows that another 817 individuals do not want this power line built.

It’s not too late to write your own letter opposing the power line. Sign our petition. Write to the WV Public Service Commission.

The Capon Valley Coalition will host a public meeting at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 11th, at the War Memorial Building on Main Street in Wardensville, in order to oppose the TRAIL power line proposed by Allegheny Power. Mr. Billy Jack Gregg, Director of the Consumer Advocate Division of the West Virginia Public Service Commission will discuss Allegheny’s proposal and the approval process, listen to comments and answer questions.

Steve Ferris of The Herald-Standard of Uniontown, Penn., reported over the weekend:

MORGAN TWP. - Duann Vanderslice said she fears that Allegheny Power’s proposed 500-kilovolt power line would sour her vineyard and her plans to build a winery.

Vanderslice explained her concerns about the proposed Trans-Allegheny Interstate Transmission Line, referred to as TrAIL, on Friday while taking administrative law judges for the state Public Utility Commission on a tour of her Greene County farm.

A 37-mile section of the line connecting a substation Allegheny Power would build in Mount Morris to another new substation in North Strabane Township in Washington County would be located across Center School Road from Vanderslice’s hilltop vineyard.

The PUC plans to render a decision on Allegheny Power’s application to build the line next year in the late spring or early summer.

The line would be built on the crest of a hill on Jack Snyder’s farm, which has been in his family since his grandfather bought the 180-acre spread in 1918.

The judges, Michael Nemec and Mark Hoyer, visited both farms and several other sites at the request of property owners, who feel the line would adversely affect their homes or land.

The visits came after the judges conducted public comment hearings in the county on Wednesday and Thursday.

Additional site visits are being planned for next week.

When herbicides would be sprayed to kill vegetation in the corridor for the “vast monstrosity of a power line,” Vanderslice said, winds could carry the substance to her grape vines.

“We did a lot of research and planted these grapes in 2000,” Vanderslice said, adding that different types of grapes have been planted over the years.

The herbicides could also contaminate the natural spring she uses for cooking and drinking in her home and watering cattle, she added, noting that she uses public water for bathing.

Due to the topography of the farm, the vineyard receives the optimum amount of sunlight to produce quality grapes, Vanderslice said.

She said she currently works with a vineyard and winery in Fayette County, but she has applied to the state for a winery license and would build a winery if her application is approved.

The vineyard and trails through wooded areas of the farm were designed for agritourism and, Vanderslice said, the power line and its support towers would ruin the ambiance that agritourists seek.

She said the power line could wipe out her current and future business plans.

“This is exactly the type of business we’re trying to attract in Greene County,” said County Commissioner Pam Snyder, whose husband owns the farm across the road.

She said there was no public water in the area until water lines were recently installed, but the power line could deter future development that the public water system would attract.

Across the road at the Snyders’ property, the line would be located above a spring-fed creek and a pond across the road on a section of their property adjacent to the vineyard.

Pam and Jack Snyder’s daughter and son-in-law, Joy and Kevin Eggleston, have two children and live in a home located behind the Snyders’ home.

Other relatives, Charles Brian Snyder and Charles Nelson Snyder, also have homes on the farm. Charles Brian Snyder lives in a home built in the 1800s that was once Central School before it was converted back into a house.

Jack and Charles Nelson Snyder said they worked for Allegheny Power or its predecessor West Penn Power. Jack Snyder said he was a lineman for over 30 years.

Pam Snyder said she and her husband board horses on their property, and the horses drink from the creek.

Jack Snyder said a well that draws water from the spring is used to fill their swimming pool and for emergencies, but they use public water in their home.

They also grow wheat and sweet corn on their farm.

Contamination from herbicides used in the power line corridor and electromagnetic fields from the line are the Snyders’ primary concerns with the project.

Pam Snyder said she does not want the line so close to her grandchildren.

“The line is within 300 feet of his (4-year-old son’s) bedroom,” said Kevin Eggleston. “As responsible parents, we’ll have to sell the house and look for somewhere else to live.”

Joy Eggleston said she and her husband used all the money they had to build their house and selling it would create a huge financial hardship.

Charles Brian Snyder said the line would run through a pasture where cattle graze, and herbicides from the line corridor would pollute his well water. He said he uses the well instead of the public water.

Charles Nelson Snyder said he raises cattle and crops, and the herbicides from the line could contaminate the spring where the cattle drink.

His part of the farm also has caves that Indians once used, he said.

In addition to working for West Penn Power, Charles Nelson Snyder said he also worked on power lines for a local coal company. He said he spent 45 years working on power lines.

He further commented that he suffers from cancer.

Pam Snyder said all the farm properties are enrolled in the state Clean and Green program that provides property tax breaks to farmers who agree to continue using their land for agriculture.

From Australia’s ABC News comes this report, dated Aug. 23, 2007:

It is something that has been debated for years; whether living next to high-voltage power lines can lead to cancer.

Now an Australian study returns what could be the best evidence yet that it can.

Scientists from the University of Tasmania looked at more than 850 patients with cancer.

Tasmanian Cancer Council spokesman Lawson Ride says the study uncovered some interesting results.

“They discovered that people who lived within 300 metres of a powerline had a three-fold increase in their risk,” he said.

But that risk increased to five-fold for people who lived near the cables during childhood.

The Internal Medicine Journal said the study found prolonged residence close to high-voltage power lines - especially early in life - may increase the risk of leukaemia, lymphoma and related conditions later.

The risk also increased to double for patients who had lived 50 metres or nearer to the transmission lines.

The University of Sydney’s Bruce Armstrong is one expert who feels the study found a credible connection.

“What this study shows is what I would consider moderately strong evidence of an association,” he said.

However, the electricity industry says the lines are kept at a safe distance from schools and houses and that exposure to low-level radiation is safe.

“If you happen to sleep on an electric blanket for example, you would be in a magnetic field the same strength as standing under a transmission line. So we live with electro magnetic fields and their effects every day,” Transend spokesman Richard Bevan said.

Cancer researchers say what is needed is a wide ranging study to resolve the safety questions over powerlines once and for all.