Capon Valley Coalition

The Dominion Post reported today:

By J. Miles Layton, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jun. 2–Morgantown City Council has sent a letter to the state’s Public Service Commission expressing its opposition to the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line.

“Collectively we felt we must speak up because of the impact it could have on the area surrounding Morgantown,” Mayor Ron Justice said. “Council wanted to be able to go on record with a position and felt this was not in the best interest of Morgantown.”

Allen Staggers, Allegheny spokesman, said the city is entitled to its opinion.

“We’re disappointed,” he said. “Their letter will be on the record and the commissions will give some consideration to it.”

If approved by the PSC, the project would start in Pennsylvania, pass through West Virginia and continue to northern Virginia.

The letter said TrAIL is wrong for West Virginia and Monongalia County.

“The City urges you to defer TrAIL planning for further consideration and creative revamping,” wrote Dan Boroff, city manager, in the letter dated May 12. “In today’s world, building a bigger road rarely solves a transportation problem. In the same vein, building a larger transmission system will not make West Virginia’s problems more manageable. On the contrary, it will make living in the area more unsafe, more unhealthy, more costly, and less beneficial.”

Staggers countered that the power line by itself will not create a power-generating ghetto in the region.

“There’s no evidence that that approval of the line will prompt the location of coal generation power production in the Monongahela Valley,” he said.

The letter said council believes the TrAIL plan is ill-advised for the following reasons:

Allegheny officials recognize that TrAIL will allow their company to raise rates on West Virginia customers to levels consistent with rates charged to customers throughout the power market in which their energy is sold.

Concentrating the production of coal-generated power production in the Monongahela Valley, primarily in locations 25 miles or less from Morgantown, will create a power ghetto in the area with increased air pollution, water pollution and health problems for area residents. The air quality in this area is already near or at nonattainment levels.

The construction of TrAIL and the increased power production in the valley will diminish property values and diminish the attractiveness of the area to businesses, services and institutions seeking a quality of life for their employees.

The TrAIL plan will relieve East Coast metropolitan areas from sharing the responsibility for their own power generation and conservation. This point has been repeatedly made during TrAIL hearings, and it is an important consideration for the future well-being of the economy.

The TrAIL plan also creates a power delivery system to multiple destinations that is vulnerable at any single point along the transmission lines to terrorist activity.

Staggers said the line is good for West Virginia and is a necessary part of the nation’s electricity grid. The company has a legal responsibility to maintain reliability and deliver electricity to its customers, he said. Infrastructure additions are part of that obligation.

West Virginia and other states in the region could see blackouts and brownouts as early as 2011 if the line is not built, Staggers said.

The Dominion Post reported today:

By J. Miles Layton, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jun. 2–The West Virginia Public Service Commission continues to meet to hear from supporters as well as opposition to Allegheny Energy’s plans to build a 500-kiloVolt power line though six counties in the state.

The PSC again met last week to listen to comments concerning a proposed agreement among some of the major parties involved in Allegheny’s plans.

Though the commission has yet to approve or deny the power line, its staff and consumer advocate division, Allegheny Energy and the West Virginia Energy User’s Group agreed in April on a proposed route, financial incentives and other perks if the line is approved.

The commission did not make any decision regarding the agreement.

“This is a chance for all of the parties to present evidence why they support the agreement or crossexamine the parties to the case to demonstrate why they oppose the settlement agreement,” said Allen Staggers, Allegheny spokesman. “We hope the outcome is that the body of evidence supports the agreement and it is in the best interest of all the parties who signed the agreement — all the people in West Virginia.”

The Sierra Club has opposed the line from the start and was not a party to the agreement. Jim Kotcon, Sierra Club spokesman, said the group sought answers about why other opponents of the power line changed their minds after saying weeks earlier that the line was unnecessary.

“The Sierra Club pointed out that the PSC still has no credible evidence that the line is needed,” he said. “Under our questioning, PSC staff witness Earl Melton acknowledged that their own analysis still shows no need for the line before 2014, and that a route through Maryland would be cheaper and environmentally preferable compared to either route proposed in West Virginia.”

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Sierra Club, the governor’s office released information on a proposed transmission tax that Gov. Joe Manchin intends to pursue should either the federal government or the state PSC approve the TrAIL project.

Kotcon said the Sierra Club sought the records to nail down what Manchin’s position is on TrAIL.

“The Sierra Club submitted FOIA requests to the governor for documents regarding TrAILCo because Gov. Manchin has been very inconsistent in his position,” he said. “He appears to have been for the line before he was against it, and now claims to be opposed, but still tells TrAILCo we will benefit from it. We want to see if these or other statements influenced PSC staff to reverse their previous opposition to the line.”

The governor’s proposed plan comprises four components:

Rate reductions for West Virginia’s citizens so they will pay less, not more, for the power they will receive from the line.

Extra revenue for the counties that house the line.

Extra revenue for the state that will allow it to provide additional services to all its citizens. Free electricity for all landowners who are affected by the placement of the line.

Should the project be approved, Manchin wants the communities along the power line’s 114-mile route to receive some benefit.

“If the TrAIL line is approved, either by the PSC or the federal government, we will stand ready to make sure that our citizens aren’t taken advantage of and instead receive a benefit from its placement in West Virginia,” Manchin said.

In May 2007, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order interpreting the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to say that FERC had the power to issue a permit for construction of a power line even if a state lawfully denied a site transmission application.

John Balasko, vice president of the Halleck Community Association, said any plans or proposals regarding TrAIL are shortsighted.

“All of these settlement agreements and ideas for resolution of the TrAIL case that have been authored by TrAILCo, and discussed and amended by the PSC Consumer Advocate Division, PSC staff, the West Virginia Energy User’s Group and the governor are too late in the procedural process, too rushed, too one-sided, without equal input of affected state residents and intervenors, and lack the in-depth and thorough cost/benefit analysis required,” he said. “TrAILCo should be required to go back to the drawing board and consider less expensive alternatives.”

Staggers said the need for the TrAIL facilities is driven by load growth in the Mid-Atlantic and northern Virginia areas, as well as the southwestern Pennsylvania portion of Allegheny Power’s zone, including the ever-expanding Pittsburgh suburbs. The company has a legal responsibility to maintain reliability and deliver electricity to its customers, he said, and that infrastructure additions — such as the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line project — are part of that obligation.

CVC Member Ralph Wojtowicz had a letter to the editor of the Cumberland Times-News earlier this month. It’s worth reading and sharing:

Thank you, Ralph.

To the Editor:

As a former teacher, I find the scandal involving the improper awarding of a West Virginia degree to a member of Gov. Manchin’s family offensive. What is alarming as a father and property owner in West Virginia, however, is that this scandal reveals the governor’s office openness to engaging in dishonest business.

The proposed Trans-Allegheny Transmission Line has been terrorizing my family and thousands of others for over a year now. If completed as proposed, the project would increase the risk of leukemia in my children, decrease our property value, and degrade our quality of life.

Protest letters on the Public Service Commission Web site written by families, farmers, religious groups, Native Americans, conservation groups, and others illuminate the fact that this project is a civic evil.

Earlier this year I learned from Jay Ruberto, route engineer for the line, that agents of this project had trespassed and taken photos of my property and home. Mr. Ruberto and officials at the Louis Berger Group characterized the incident as an honest mistake.

Byron Harris, consumer advocate of the West Virginia PSC, however, informed me that such trespasses were a pattern of behavior discussed at the PSC hearings. This week a neighbor observed and confronted project representatives on his property. Trespassing and lying to West Virginia residents are unacceptable business practices.

The cancerous relationship between Massey Energy and the West Virginia Supreme Court, the tragedy of the Marsh Fork Elementary School, and the recent deal struck between Allegheny Energy and the PSC occurred under Governor Manchin’s administration. In 2006 the governor wrote a letter to the Department of Energy supporting the project and National Interest Energy Corridor designation in West Virginia.

In past elections he has accepted substantial contributions from the energy industry. West Virginians deserve to know the governor’s current stand on the project and the role he is playing in its advancement.

Ralph Wojtowicz
Yellow Spring, W.Va.

The Dominion Post ran this story on May 4, showing consistent, widespread opposition to TrAIL wherever it would run and not benefit the communities it trashes.

May 04, 2008 (The Dominion Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — – Allegheny Energy has said the Trans Allegheny Interstate Line project will be good for West Virginia and is a necessary part of the nation’s electricity grid.

llen Staggers, an Allegheny spokesman, said the company has a legal responsibility to maintain reliability and deliver electricity to its customers. Infrastructure additions, such as the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line project, are part of that obligation.

Under the leadership of President Don Corwin and Vice President John Balasko, the Halleck Community Association has brought attention to Allegheny Energy’s proposed 240-mile, 500-kilovolt power line that could cross six West Virginia counties if approved by the state’s Public Service Commission.

“Don and John work tirelessly researching the issues and educating themselves in order to bring information to the public about Allegheny Energy’s plans,” said Edie Jett, a member of the Halleck Community Association. “Without their dedication, the project would have steamrolled through Monongalia County without any resistance.”

The Laurel Run Watershed Community Association has worked closely with Corwin and Balasko to oppose the power line project.

“Don and John have certainly been very diligent and worked very hard for the folks over there in the Halleck community,” said Lew McDaniel, spokesman for Laurel Run.

If approved by the PSC, the project would start in Pennsylvania, pass through West Virginia and continue to northern Virginia.

“This power line project is the first of many more to come,” Corwin said. “West Virginians must stand up to protect their own interests and ensure that we, not the corporate executives, benefit from any exploitation of our resources.”

Jim Kotcon, a spokesman for the Sierra Club, had high praise for Corwin and Balasko.

“Both of those gentlemen have made significant contributions to saving Allegheny’s ratepayers money and for protecting the quality of life in Monongalia County,” he said.

Corwin and Balasko have tried to convince federal and state officials to oppose the project, with some success.

They’re “raising the awareness of this issue among the public and elected officials by making it clear that this power line project is a bad deal for West Virginia,” Corwin said.

Staggers said the need for the TrAIL facilities is driven by load growth in the Mid-Atlantic and Northern Virginia areas of PJM, as well as the southwestern Pennsylvania portion of Allegheny Power’s zone, including the everexpanding Pittsburgh suburbs.

Staggers said the benefits to the West Virginia economy also include an estimated 700 jobs during the construction phase (2007-11). There is also the potential that more coal used in power plants will come from West Virginia.

The Halleck Community Association remains unconvinced.

“We are of course hopeful that the commissioners will conclude that there are viable alternatives to TrAIL and deny TrAILCo a certificate that grants eminent domain,” Balasko said, “but should they decide to approve its construction, our options will be to request a rehearing and to appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court.

This story comes out of Maryland, and concerns the second power line that Allegheny wants to ram down our throats — the so-called PATH line. (Does someone stay up nights thinking up innocent cute-sounding names for power lines that will blight the landscape?)

Why is this important now?

At the end of the story, we see Allegheny’s real strategy. They don’t care what West Virginia does with TrAIL (or PATH). They don’t care that Maryland and Pennsylvania have rejected these power lines. They intend to get the Feds to do their dirty work for them … all in the name of national interest. (Big city interest is more like it.)

Read on:

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) ― State officials are urging local government leaders in several Maryland counties to prepare now for an upcoming debate over a proposed multistate high-voltage line.

The so-called PATH power line is planned by Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power. It would run from St. Albans, W.Va,, to Kemptown, Md., a community near where Frederick, Montgomery, Howard and Carroll counties meet.

Allegheny Power says the precise route may not be determined until the end of the year. The companies would then seek regulatory approval from the appropriate states.

The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail reports that a representative from Maryland’s Power Plant Research Program urged local governments and other interested parties at a meeting last week to start preparing now for the state regulatory process.

They were told that foot-dragging could enable the project to bypass the state process and win approval from federal regulators.