Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection

Rappahannock County Opposition To The Designation Of A National Interest Transmission Corridor And Concern Over The Air Quality Effects Resulting From Continued Reliance On Ohio River Valley Power

WHEREAS, Allegheny Energy (Allegheny) and Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion) have proposed a 240 mile 500 kV transmission power line project (Power Line) to be built between Allegheny Power’s Proxy Substation in southwestern Pennsylvania and Dominion Virginia Power’s Loudoun substation in southeastern Loudoun County; and,

WHEREAS, PJM Interconnection (PJM), a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) of which Allegheny and Dominion are members, has requested that the United States Department of Energy (DOE) designate the area through which the Power Line is proposed to be built as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC); and,

WHEREAS, Section 216 of the Federal Power Act stipulates that the Secretary of Energy consult with affected states in conducting a study of electric transmission congestion prior to the designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors; and,

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia was not consulted in the preparation of the National Electric Transmission Congestion Study (the Study) dated and released August 2006 by the US Department of Energy; and,

WHEREAS, this would be the first creation of a NIETC and would extend the power of eminent domain to electric power companies in a manner inconsistent with our understanding of the public’s interest, at least as it is manifested in the Commonwealth; and,

WHEREAS, it appears to the Board of Supervisors of Rappahannock County that the intent of the project is to facilitate the transmission of cheap energy to end users in the Commonwealth and elsewhere; and,

WHEREAS, this energy is largely created in coal-fired facilities which are located in the Ohio River Valley and which are operating under a variety of exemptions from the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards; and,

WHEREAS, the Shenandoah National Park suffers from some of the worst levels of ground-level ozone recorded in any national park, while acid rain negatively impacts on plant and animal species and visibility from the Skyline Drive has declined dramatically over the past decade; and,

WHEREAS, the County of Rappahannock and the Shenandoah National Park attribute a portion of these negative impacts on the Shenandoah National Park to heavy industry in the Ohio River Valley; and,

WHEREAS, the County of Rappahannock depends upon the Shenandoah National Park for the tourism it generates and which sustains a great portion of our local economy.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors opposes the designation of a NIETC at this time as being premature, the need being not proven; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors opposes any plan that facilitates the continued avoidance of Clean Air Act standards by power producers whose emissions harm the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of the Commonwealth in general and the County of Rappahannock in particular.

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