Despite Ruling, Legislator Pushes to Bury Power Line

By Jonathan Mummolo (Contact)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A state legislator who has been an adamant supporter of putting power lines underground says the fight to bury a new transmission line in Loudoun County is not over, despite a state regulatory panel’s decision last week in favor of overhead construction.

Del. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun), whose bill to establish four underground pilot projects has passed the House of Delegates and is in the Senate, said Tuesday that he will amend the legislation so that the 12-mile Loudoun line becomes eligible for that program.

May said he was caught off guard by the Friday ruling from the State Corporation Commission, which approved aboveground construction of a 230,000-volt Dominion Virginia Power transmission line from Leesburg to Hamilton. “I honestly didn’t expect the decision to be made at this point,” he said.

Under his bill, projects would be eligible for the underground program if the applications were sent to the SCC between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2012. May said he will omit the start date, leaving the door open for the SCC to reconsider its decision about the Loudoun line.

He said that he had always intended for the Loudoun line to be one of the pilot projects and that the July 1 date was a “drafting error” he planned on correcting. July 1 is the standard date for new state laws to take effect unless otherwise stipulated in a bill.

Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Dominion — which supported May’s bill in its original form — declined to comment Tuesday on May’s proposed changes, saying that they had not been finalized and that Dominion officials had not spoken to May about them. But Norvelle said the company is moving ahead with the plan approved last week.

The Washington Post

The Modified D route approved by the SCC.

“The commission approved an overhead route. . . . We’re getting right on it,” said Norvelle, adding that Dominion hopes to have the line up and running by Jan. 1, 2011 or sooner and has contracted with a company to begin negotiating right-of-way land acquisitions.

May called into question the imminent need for the line, pointing out that projections for construction of houses have declined since the need for electricity in the area was assessed.

Norvelle said that although the housing market may be slumping, the energy demands from existing customers continue to climb because of new devices such as cellphone chargers and DVR boxes, which run all day and night.

“We’ve done all we can with the power lines in that part of Loudoun to accommodate the growth we have seen,” Norvelle said. “It is now time to build this transmission line.”

May said his staff is researching how to get the SCC ruling reconsidered should his bill become law. Under SCC guidelines, rulings may be reconsidered if one of the parties in a case files a petition within 21 days of the initial ruling, according to commission spokesman Andy Farmer. The ruling can also be appealed before the state Supreme Court, he said.

Last week’s decision was a blow to preservation groups such as Save the Trail, which has fought to keep the line away from the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.

Under the commission’s ruling, the line would follow the Modified D route — a path through southern Leesburg and along parts of the trail.

The Associated Press

Del. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun) is pushing to bury a transmission line.

“We’ve been waiting for this decision forever,” said Brin Luther, the nonprofit group’s president. “Save the Trail’s mission is to protect the trail, and we’re horrified at what happened.”

Opponents of an aboveground line say it would be an eyesore, would lower property values, would be more susceptible to outages and could pose health risks given the high voltage.

Although Dominion officials supported May’s original idea of a limited pilot program involving future projects, they still have reservations about undergrounding, saying it would add to costs and create servicing problems.

The SCC’s decision comes after two recommendations by the agency’s hearing examiner, Howard P. Anderson Jr., to install the proposed line aboveground.

Tagged: Dominion , power line

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