ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607220062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Opponents of American Electric Power Co.'s proposed 765,000-volt power line told the State Corporation Commission on Friday they oppose extending the deadline for public comment on the line and are against the SCC's suspending action on the company's permit application.
AEP requested the deadline extension and suspension of proceedings July 12, saying it needed more time to react to a U.S. Forest Service decision to not allow the line to cross national forest land in Southwest Virginia.
The line's opponents also want the SCC to dismiss AEP's permit application on the grounds that the line can no longer be built along the route that the company originally proposed. They noted that state law requires that a line's need and route must be considered together.
Cliff Shaffer, a power line opponent from Giles County, said the SCC had requested the opponents to respond to AEP's requests. Shaffer, however, said he will be surprised if the SCC denies the requests.
Last December, the SCC ruled on an interim basis that the power line may be needed for AEP to maintain reliable service to its customers in Virginia. In 1991, AEP, then operating as Appalachian Power Co., had filed an application with the state to build a 115-mile line from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale.
The deadline for public comment on the SCC's interim ruling is Aug. 1. AEP wants it extended until Dec. 1. The company said it would be premature to go ahead with the permit application until it knows how the Forest Service's decision will affect the project.
AEP said it would try to convince the Forest Service to consider the consequences of its decision on the people and economy of Virginia and West Virginia. The company said the region faces power shortages and blackouts if the line isn't built.
The line's opponents told the SCC that consideration of AEP's application is at an impasse, citing the Forest Service's decision and an earlier U.S. Park Service recommendation that the line not be allowed to cross a section of the New River being considered for scenic river designation. If a new route is required for the power line, AEP will have to start over with a new application, they said.
Each day the application remains under consideration, landowners near the proposed routes are impaired in their ability to sell their land, they said.
Opponents also say the power line is not needed, despite the SCC's finding in December. In support of their position, they cite AEP's contracts to sell power wholesale outside its service territory and improvements made to the existing transmission system.
In a related matter, Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, who represents Montgomery and Giles counties in the General Assembly, has written Theodore Morrison Jr., chairman of the SCC, to voice his opposition to new power lines in those two counties. Building more lines through the area would be economically and environmentally harmful, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB