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At least seven county commissions have adopted resolutions opposing the giant high-voltage power link that is slated to cross several West Virginia counties.
The 765 kv line carried on giant mega-towers would provide coal generated electricity from the John Amos Power Plant in Putnam County to the northeast corridor.
WV electric users would share in the cost of the multi-billion dollar project.
The Calhoun Commission adopted an oppositional resolution Monday, based on how the project would negatively impact the region, indicating a lack of clarity how the project would benefit West Virginia citizens.
The resolution was presented to the commission by Bill Howley and Tom McColley, with Ali Haverty presenting a petition against the project.
The power company opted out holding a public meeting in Calhoun, while a local group has organized in opposition.
THE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the members of the Calhoun County Commission have been elected
to serve and protect the collective interest of citizens of Calhoun
County, WV, and
WHEREAS, Allegheny Energy (Allegheny) and American Electric Power (AEP)
have proposed the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) 765
KV electrical transmission line to pass through Calhoun County, WV, and
WHEREAS, the PATH project is intended to deliver electricity to the
Northeastern Corridor of the United States with relatively little or no
benefit to West Virginia customers of either Allegheny or AEP, and
WHEREAS, the rights of way required by the PATH line will be a minimum
of 200 feet in width and will significantly damage and restrict land use
and value along the entire Calhoun County section of the line, resulting
in declining real property tax revenue for years to come, and
WHEREAS, the PATH is designed to transmit electricity from existing and
new coal-fired power plants and will reduce the need for advanced
natural gas-fired generating plants both in West Virginia and in the
Northeast Corridor causing direct economic harm to Calhoun County's
natural gas industry, and
WHEREAS, under policies of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
Allegheny Energy is allowed to include construction and operating costs
of the PATH line in electric rate increases for its customers in Calhoun
County, who will receive no benefit from the line, and
WHEREAS, scientific and medical research has demonstrated adverse health
effects in humans and wildlife from chemical herbicides used to maintain
rights-of-way and electrical magnetic fields generated by the line
itself, and
WHEREAS, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources has
documented high levels of mercury in the fish in our state caused by
emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the construction of new
coal-fired power plants to feed the PATH will destroy a major state
resource and pose additional health risks to the citizens of Calhoun
County and the state as a whole, and
WHEREAS, the US Department of Energy has announced that Calhoun County
lies within the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC)
which would eliminate the need for Allegheny Energy and American
Electric Power to perform an environmental impact study concerning the
impact of the PATH line on the environment and people of Calhoun County,
and this same NIETC designation would allow the power companies to seize
the property of Calhoun County citizens by federal eminent domain
powers, and
WHEREAS, a secure, reliable and economically efficient electrical power
system can only be assured by a decentralized power grid fed by a wide
range diverse energy sources, not by huge transmission lines fed by a
few large generating plants burning primarily coal, and
WHEREAS, by making electrical rates lower in the Northeast Corridor and
adding to increased rates in West Virginia, the PATH line will reduce
West Virginia's attractiveness for businesses seeking to locate in the
state because of our lower cost electricity, and
WHEREAS, major programs to reduce electricity demand and create local
power generating capacity in many states in the Northeast Corridor, most
recently the state of New Jersey, makes PATH unnecessary for its stated
purpose, and
WHEREAS, PATH is an inefficient use of resources, because large amounts
of electricity on large transmission lines are lost when electricity is
transmitted over hundreds of miles, and
WHEREAS, it is likely that AEP and Allegheny will construct up to four
new coal-fired generating plants in West Virginia and eastern Ohio to
feed PATH, increasing the destruction of West Virginia streams,
communities and land from mountaintop removal coal mining and generating
large amounts of new air pollution that will harm the health of Calhoun
County citizens living downwind of these plants, and
WHEREAS, the $1.8 billion proposed in PATH construction costs could be
better invested in improving the reliability and security of local West
Virginia electrical infrastructure and more diverse and secure
generating capacity in the state, and
WHEREAS, the proposed PATH project does not demonstrate a need to
originate or pass through West Virginia, and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Calhoun County Commission does
hereby oppose the construction of the PATH within the boundaries of
Calhoun County, WV, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Calhoun County Commission expresses its
support for and agreement with other counties in West Virginia that
oppose the construction of PATH within their boundaries.
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