[MA-RPC] FW: Ohio utility plans power line right through themidstate

Thu Feb 2 19:59:10 EST 2006

Thanks for the info, Walt.
We have several powerline crossings in PATC territory, including a wide
right-of-way just north of Swift Run Gap in Shenandoah National Park.  It's
not much of a management problem, other than the occasional visits by the
power company to trim trees (and the need for aggressive weeding by
volunteers). I'll forward this message to Tom Lupp, to make sure he's aware
of the South Mountain plan.

Kerry 

-----Original Message-----
From: ma-rpc-bounces at commerce-02.cilia.org
[mailto:ma-rpc-bounces at commerce-02.cilia.org] On Behalf Of Walt Daniels
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 2:31 PM
To: MARPC list
Subject: [MA-RPC] FW: Ohio utility plans power line right through
themidstate

Note two comments by Don Owen below, the route map and FERC eminent domain
possibilities.

It is clear that this effects our region so it on our plate to decide our
position. It looks like the Land Use and the Natural Heritage subcommittees
should have the lead on this.

The route looks pretty generic at this point so a very early conversation
with AEP about our concerns may lead to a better crossing. It looks likely
that we will not be able to stop the project so we better be prepared with
good solutions. Probably the best we can insist on is a perpendicular
crossing. I don't envy AEP's job of finding a 1000ft corridor in that area
as the AT has had no end of problems finding a corridor in that area.

There are far worse things than powerline crossings of the AT, e.g. roads
which have the same typical width but also a large noise factor. Does anyone
have existing ATC and/or NPS policies on powerline crossings? I can post
them on the web for reference. I have only hiked that part of the AT once so
I don't have much to offer in terms of less damaging routes. I am sure there
are Civil War cultural sites in the vacinity. Don Owen or Kent Schwarzkopf
should be able to provide T&E sites to avoid. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Donald_Owen at nps.gov [mailto:Donald_Owen at nps.gov]
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 1:51 PM
To: Michele Miller; lbelleville at appalachiantrail.org
Cc: klutz at appalachiantrail.org; wdhiker at optonline.net;
Pamela_Underhill at nps.gov; bproudman at atconf.org;
momland at appalachiantrail.org; AAPreston1 at aol.com; dspedden at dnr.state.md.us;
tmccorkle at dnr.state.md.us; southmountaineers at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Ohio utility plans power line right through the midstate

Hi -

Check out the route map and other details at:

      http://www.aep.com/newsroom/intrastateProject.asp

Looks to me like it will cross the Appalachian Trail on South Mountain in
the general vicinity of Greenbrier or Washington State Park.

Don

Don Owen
Environmental Protection Specialist
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
(deliveries: 31 High Street)
P.O. Box 50
Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425
phone: (304) 535-4003
fax: (304) 535-6270
email: donald_owen at nps.gov

__________________
Mich et al -

Please note the paragraph in the article that says:

American Electric is billing its proposal as the first test of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005, which gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
authority to override state and local opposition to transmission-line
projects deemed to be "corridors of national interest." If states fail to
approve such a line within a year, FERC can exercise eminent domain and
force the line through.

Don

Don Owen
Environmental Protection Specialist
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
(deliveries: 31 High Street)
P.O. Box 50
Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425
phone: (304) 535-4003
fax: (304) 535-6270
email: donald_owen at nps.gov

__________________

Mich -

Thanks.  Just sent you another related article.  Chances are, it would cross
the A.T. somewhere in the mid-Atlantic Region, but I'm copying Laura
Belleville anyway.

Don

Don Owen
Environmental Protection Specialist
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
(deliveries: 31 High Street)
P.O. Box 50
Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425
phone: (304) 535-4003
fax: (304) 535-6270
email: donald_owen at nps.gov

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|         |           "Michele Miller" |
|         |           <mmiller at atconf.o|
|         |           rg>              |
|         |                            |
|         |           02/01/2006 09:35 |
|         |           AM EST           |
|---------+---------------------------->

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  |       To:       <Donald_Owen at nps.gov>, <klutz at appalachiantrail.org>
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  |       cc:       <wdhiker at optonline.net>
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  |       Subject:  Ohio utility plans power line right through the midstate
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Don/Karen-This would have to cross the Trail somewhere.

Walt-Please post to RPC.  Thanks.

Mich

                                                      |

     (Embedded image moved to file: pic06120.gif)

 Ohio utility plans power line right through the

 midstate

 Wednesday, February 01, 2006

 BY DAVID DeKOK

 Of The Patriot-News

 American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio, said

 yesterday it plans to build a mammoth

 electric-transmission line -- with towers more than

 13 stories high -- that would cut through the

 midstate.

 The 550-mile aboveground line, which would have a

 1,000-foot right of way, would connect American

 Electric's power plants in the West Virginia

 coalfields with the New Jersey market.

 In the 1980s, GPU Energy Inc. and Duquesne Light Co.

 tried unsuccessfully to build a 268-mile-long

 transmission line across Pennsylvania. That proposal

 was stopped by public opposition from farmers and

 other landowners on environmental, aesthetic and

 economic grounds. John Hanger, who was on the Public

 Utility Commission then and is now head of Penn

 Future, an environmental policy group, says to expect

 the same.

 "This will face enormous opposition unless they can

 figure out a route that uses existing rights of way,"

 he said. "Understandably, local people who are either

 near the line or will lose property will fight it."

 The line appears likely to pass through southern York

 County and the area just south and east of Lebanon.

 No final route has been selected, however. And maps

 released by American Electric and the office of PJM

 Interconnection -- which operates the regional power

 pool -- gave only general indications of where it

 would run. The electric company declined to be more

 specific.

 Melissa McHenry, a spokeswoman for American Electric,

 said the utility's engineers have identified a

 tentative route that closely parallels one devised by

 PJM Interconnection and called "Project Mountaineer."

 PJM Interconnection, based in Valley Forge, oversees

 a high-voltage electric system that serves 51 million

 people in 12 states, including Pennsylvania and the

 District of Columbia.

 Ray Dotter, a spokesman for PJM Interconnection, said

 American Electric, not PJM, will have the final say

 on what route the line follows. He said PJM's role is

 to fit the new line into the regional power grid.

 "This one happens to parallel one of the pathways we

 developed [as part of Project Mountaineer]," he said.

 Dotter said a new transmission line is the only way

 to get electricity produced by "clean coal"

 technology in West Virginia to where it is needed in

 New Jersey and elsewhere in the eastern part of the

 PJM territory.

 McHenry said American Electric has allotted three

 years for site approval and five years for

 construction. The $3 billion project is being

 financed by the company, but the utility would be

 open to partnerships with other utilities.

 The line would be 765 kilovolts -- the biggest power

 line that is built -- and would typically be carried

 by towers about 135 feet high, depending on terrain.

 That would be about 35 feet higher than the towers to

 carry 500 kilovolts, which was the size that GPU and

 Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Light had wanted to build.

 American Electric is billing its proposal as the

 first test of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which

 gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 authority to override state and local opposition to

 transmission-line projects deemed to be "corridors of

 national interest." If states fail to approve such a

 line within a year, FERC can exercise eminent domain

 and force the line through.

 American Electric said the transmission line will

 relieve congestion in the power grid. That congestion

 cost customers of utilities in the PJM power pool

 nearly $1 billion in 2005, the company said, adding

 that it also forced use of more natural gas and

 oil-fired units to make electricity at peak periods.

 The proposed line would originate in Putnam County,

 W.Va., connect through Doubs Station in Frederick

 County, Md., and terminate at Deans Station in

 Middlesex County, N.J.

 From the map supplied by American Electric, the

 proposed line appears to come through southern York

 County, where real estate values have been climbing

 as more people build homes there to escape even

 higher prices in Maryland.

 American Electric also is likely to face regulatory

 unhappiness over the idea of creating new markets for

 electricity made by burning high-sulfur West Virginia

 coal. Hanger said that, while some Pennsylvania power

 plants are polluters, the state faces a significant

 problem with airborne pollution carried into the

 state from the south and west.

 "I would not want a transmission line to enable those

 [American Electric] plants, which are poorly

 controlled and more dirty, to ship power more

 efficiently," he said.

 DAVID DeKOK: 255-8173 or ddekok at patriot-news.com

                C2006 The Patriot-News

       C 2006 PennLive.com All Rights Reserved.

Michele Miller
Associate Regional Representative
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
4 East First Street
P.O. Box 625
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
Phone: (717) 258-5771
Fax: (717) 258-1482

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a volunteer-based nonprofit
organization dedicated to the conservation of the 2,175-mile Appalachian
National Scenic Trail, a 250,000-acre greenway extending from Maine to
Georgia. Our mission is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the
clean air and water, scenic vistas, wildlife and opportunities for
recreation and renewal along the entire Trail corridor. To become a member,
call 304.535.6331, ext. 119, or visit our Web site at
www.appalachiantrail.org. There, you will also find volunteer opportunities
and general hiking information.

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